I want to say it was Quinn, but I think that's wrong.

@scdawg82 said:

Did he get hurt? He had a really strong start to the season didnt he?

One thing l think l remember the talking heads say about him was that he was essentially a "one move dude," and after a few blockers getting burned in the early season the rest of the league adjusted to him.

Mingo cupcakes? Sounds like a pickup line he could use. Hey, wanna try a Mingo, cupcake?

"New defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil, who worked as the Buffalo Bills’ linebackers coach under Pettine last season, was a fan of Mingo’s before last April’s draft, when he was invited to Buffalo for one of the Bills’ 30 official visits.

O’Neil’s wife was a fan of Mingo’s as well, and even made “Mingo cupcakes” (which were different flavors and had “Mingo” written on top) for the Bills’ decision-makers in an effort to persuade them to select the talented pass rusher from Louisiana State."

http://www.ohio.com/sports/browns/browns-notebook-new-defensive-coordinator-jim-o-neil-a-fan-of-barkevious-mingo-chris-tabor-thankful-to-stay-1.464698

@miktoxic said:

it makes perfect sense to me that sheard was picked as having a great year. i think he's earned it myself.

But Sheard doesn't exactly fit the purported Pettine mold of a coverage capable LB.

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

Between Mingo, Sheard, Kruger, Dansby, Robertson and Kirksey, I think our LB corps will be more similar to hockey lines than anything else. We'll have a pass rushing line, a run stopping line, a "get the ball" line, an all-around line, a prevent line, etc.

Good analogy... now if we can just figure out a way to dump the puck so we can change on the fly. I guess we could lead the league in leg cramps...

mingo needs to go to the dick butkus/jack lambert school of rip your head off football. the guy is almost too nice. throw him in the boxing ring or something. he needs to turn into a bad ass from the neck up.

Though it looks like we have plenty of "_I told you so"s lining up here. Of course, who knows what they actually said then, but at least they look right now

@gftchris said:

If we put the 20\20 hindsight goggles on, 4 players drafted after Mingo made the Pro Bowl. + Kiko Alonzo, but you can drive yourself crazy playing the what-if game.

XxDaBuckeyexX said:

it was a weak draft also. Finding players who could live up to the 6 pick, potentially, was a tough task. Everyone knew he'd have to add some bulk to be an every down player.

Yes it was.

@poeticg said:

Kiss of death

I hated the Mingo pick and it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but a pass-rushing specialist is something that teams have to gameplan for. If Mingo can manage 1-1.5 sacks per game, he'll end up in the Hall of Fame.

Between Mingo, Sheard, Kruger, Dansby, Robertson and Kirksey, I think our LB corps will be more similar to hockey lines than anything else. We'll have a pass rushing line, a run stopping line, a "get the ball" line, an all-around line, a prevent line, etc.

@cleinchi said:

The biggest thing standing in the way of Mingo being an every down linebacker is not his size it's his lack of coverage skills.

wow. there are some high standards around here.

@nickers said:

I don't know about that quite yet. He was seen as a project from the get-go (and he still is) but you can't deny that he showed flashes last year that were impressive.

I would say he deserves at least 2 more years before we decide whether or not he's a bust because it's still way too early to tell.

they need to utilize his long arms in a way where he bats down 3 passes a game and puts the ball in play for our D.

12 sacks is cool but i'm greedy so give me 20.