Although the fourth preseason game is no barometer for the regular season, Barkevious Mingo showed in his debut with the Patriots that there might be a good football player somewhere in that body.
Mingo had six tackles, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hits in the Patriots’ 17-9 preseason loss to the Giants Thursday night at MetLife Stadium. Mingo also forced a fumble that was negated by a penalty.
The Patriots traded a fifth-round pick to the Browns for Mingo last week. The Browns drafted the linebacker sixth overall in 2013, but he had been shaping up as a bust with just seven sacks in three seasons. He had none last year.
Maybe Mingo needed a change of scenery. For NFL players who like to win, the scenery is always better in New England than Cleveland.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick said that Mingo had been diligent with film study since coming to the Patriots.
“He lived in the facility for the last week,” Belichick told CSN New England.
The Patriots have a history of turning another team’s trash into a treasure, and while playing against backups doesn’t indicate that Mingo’s game has suddenly clicked, there might be a few “here we go again” whispers in Cleveland right now.
[NFL.com]
