DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Ray Horton to rush Kruger, play Shelton more, dust off Mingo

IMO, Kruger is just above average as a pass rusher. My problem with him is sealing the edge. Seems like regressed in that department.

I really don't see Justin lasting beyond this season. JMO

I am a little curious to see if Gilbert can perform better for the new coaching staff. He obviously had the talent to stand out in college, we weren't the only ones who ranked him highly. I'm hoping that a different set of coaches can break through and salvage some of the value we have invested in him.

Julius Peppers, the time was about 24 months ago.

Was really surprised to see he was a FA, and I don't follow FA's at front 7 defender. Don't really see this as a (current) priority anyways.

Didn't PFT or FO or one of those "football" sites grade Kruger as a top 15 pass rusher in 2013? I certainly remember him not getting sacks, but I thought he did pretty well under Horton. I'm really glad that we won't be cutting him though. I always thought he was a lot more talented than an immediate replacement.

A few other comments Gilber may make:

--I would rather sleep than step-up.

--We'll see what happens.

--I'm already elite.

Kinda sounds like the Kanye West of football...

The thing about Mingo is that he doesn't have the typical build of an edge rusher. People keep saying he needs to put on weight and get stronger, but that's just not his body type. He won't ever bulk out like a Kruger or Watt.

But the dude is stoopid quick!

My gut says that the only way we get any production out of him is if Horton creates a fairly unique role for him. Disguise his blitzes, send him on delayed blitzes, move him around a lot. If he has to go in to pass coverage, he doesn't go backwards... at most he covers the flats. Heck, I'd even have him spend a little time with the DB's to learn a little technique... he covers RB's swinging outside or if he can learn to read screens well, I could see him being the kind of guy who could blow a lot of them up.

But what do I know about defensive schemes? NOt much honestly, but I DO know that we haven't had a coach that has really put Mingo in to a position to use his greatest asset, that being his speed.

I too think Mingo still has potential to be a beast in the backfield.
I dont mind him dropping back into coverage, but he should be going after the QB at least 70% of his snaps.

He's lean. He can get past a RT. I've seen him do it plenty of times. But if the NT doens't help collapse the pocket, the QB will step up every time.

LOl...but....Mingo is the type who has a hard time keeping on weight. Not sure where he is now with the weight and speed, but at the combine he clocked 4.58 in the 40. That is safety speed.

You comment just has me thinking out loud.

I remember posting once that I thought Mingo should be tried as a sort of monsterback; a defensive wildcard type of player that lines up all over the place and gets after the QB. It would have to be a variation on the SS role that guys like Polamalu or Brian Dawkins had, except that Mingo wouldn't have any deep coverage responsibilities. Now, after watching him for a couple years, I'm not sure he's a fluid enough athlete for that role. He's all fast-twitch, but he doesn't change directions well and often takes crappy angles to the ball, over-running the play too many times. IMO, if he's anything in the NFL, its a 4-3 OLB.

So, we've now got The Six-Million Dollar Man on our team.

I want to know how he's going to determine who wins the championship belt each week.

Browns outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo says he achieved personal goal by gaining weight

Outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo declined to reveal his weight, but he confirmed he's heavier than last season. NFL Network recently reported Mingo bulked up from 240 to 260 pounds.
"This whole offseason, my main focus was getting bigger -- bigger, faster, stronger," said Mingo, whose chest and arms appeared thicker. "... So I achieved my goals.
"I put on a lot of weight, and I’m comfortable where I am."
Coaches from different regimes have talked about wanting Mingo to gain weight since the Browns drafted him sixth overall in 2013. The Browns have listed him at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds throughout his career.
Mingo said gaining weight this offseason was "a personal goal."
"New year, new coaching staff, new strategy," said Mingo, who even worked out at a different training facility this offseason in an effort to transform his body.
During Ray Horton's first tour as Cleveland's defensive coordinator, the Browns drafted Mingo as an edge rusher out of Louisiana State University. He had five of his seven career sacks then. But after Horton left, the next coaching staff used Mingo more as a coverage linebacker than a pass rusher. Now Horton is back and seeking different ways to use Mingo's speed and athleticism.
Asked if he expects to rush the passer more this coming season, Mingo said, "I don’t know the particulars yet, but I expect to play football."

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/cleveland-brow...weight-1.677037

He didn't look like he gained that much weight in the presser but I didn't have before/after pics to go off of.

But if he plays well, all the better.

Mingo looks bigger to me.

Yeah, it's definitely noticeable.

I'm looking forward to Kruger going back to being our best all-around, nothing spectacular but everything pretty good, LB. I think he's got just enough talent for offenses to worry about him rushing, and would be particularly effective if someone would step up as a true pass rush threat on the other side. Kruger went to hell when he was moved into a total support role, and he's not effective in coverage.

j/c:


https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/727202243649396737

No shock there, I mean honestly, why would they?

The option year is non-guaranteed. If you don't want him at the end of the season you can just cut him (like Washington did with Griffin). If he plays well you have him under contract for the 2016 season (albeit at a very high price)/

(I don't think they should have picked up the option, those are just reasons why we might have.)

Not picking it up puts him on notice now, before OTA's & camps. No gray area.

Certainly serves notice to Mingo AND to his agent. Produce or pack. Does this make him a camp cut? Do you see him shopped around? What will he need to do to stick?

Was he here with Horton before? I hate to judge much of anything based on last year's DINO (defense in name only), especially with the lousy secondary play and torched corners.

I believe the deadline to accept/decline is today.

Non guaranteed? Well you learn something new everyday, I didn't know that. Wow I guess they're giving Mingo a "slim to none" chance to fit in their schemes.

I thought it does become fully guaranteed at some point. Huh.

Wow alot of fifth year options not being extended. Perhaps it's an indicator of how weak that draft class was?

Yeah, the 2113 draft class was one of the worst of all-time. It's crazy because it was sandwiched by two strong classes.

So, you're predicting that a draft that won't happen for 97 years is already the worst all-time?

Prove it.

We have a weak crop of people who will be great great grandparents by then..

Not following your logic here. If the draft class was that weak, wouldn't that lead you to want to lock up a veteran for an extra year rather than risk needing to roll with the kids from this draft class?

Not if it's for above market value.

Can you reword the question please? If you're at four years with a guy like Mingo, who let's cut the debate, hasn't done much in his career - why would you extend his 5th year over new young blood who, again using Mingo example of lack of production, where you could have a player who just needs the opportunity to show what they can do which results in better production?

I don't see why you'd want to lock up a subpar player and suffocate the opportunity for a younger player to step in, but I don't think I'm following ya.

I don't understand your question, either.

LBer was talking about the 2013 class.

I understand DC was talking about signing a vet over one of the said LB's in the 2013 class, makes sense to me. "this draft class?" was referring to the 2013 class...

Hopefully, by then we will have a franchise QB in place and can take a run at the playoffs.

Joe Thomas will have lost a step or two by then.

The day will come where his technique won't make up for his decline is physical attributes like speed and etc.

Hopefully, and I sure mean hopefully, by the time that days comes - he'll have a ring to exit the league with as he preps himself for the hof ceremony =)