Chris Long

Charlottesville's Chris Long On Verge Of Super Bowl With Patriots

... seasons with the Rams.  He signed a one-year contract with the Patriots in March aiming for this moment. Long did his part this season to help the Patriots to a 14-2 regular season record.   He played in all 16 games making seven starts. Long played in 65 percent of New England's defensive plays this season.   He had 35 tackles and four sacks.   Long says he's thankful to be playing football this late into the season. On Sunday the Patriots will be playing in their seventh straight AFC championship game. Long says, "I can't really get too wrapped up in that I got to pay attention to this week, so for me I wasn't part of that stuff.  I'm in the moment.". Long and the Patriots defense will try to slow down one of the NFL's best offenses Sunday.  Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell ranks third among NFL running backs this season in total yards. Long says, "He's really fun to watch, unless you're getting ready ...

Super Bowl Experience Priceless For Patriots Defensive End Chris Long

... including postseason — has a way of reinvigorating an older player. "They realize how special it is and makes them realize it a little bit more," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "It is similar to what we had with Corey Dillon when he came from Cincinnati. Randy Moss when he came from Oakland. Bryan Cox when he came from Chicago. Guys who weren't with great teams and had success here and they brought an energy to the team that from a veteran player was unique and special. "Some of these players who have been with the Patriots for a while have had a lot of successful seasons and won a lot of games. Chris hasn't. I think he appreciates winning a lot.". Now, Chris is one victory away from earning the family's second Super Bowl ring after Howie's for from Super Bowl XVIII. "I definitely ...

After Long Journey, Chris Long Finally Gets His Shot At A Ring

... will also be a chance for him to match the Super Bowl ring won by his father, Hall of Famer Howie Long, who won a title with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1984. The elder Long will have a unique vantage point to watch his son as an analyst for Fox, which has the broadcast rights for the game. But Chris said it shouldn't affect him. "Not a ton. It just means he's there," he said. "We'll see each other. But we're not big on the sentimental stuff.". While Howie Long was an integral part of the Raiders' defense, Chris has embraced being a role player on a New England defense that's really void of any big names. With 35 tackles, four sacks and fumble recovery, he is having his best year since 2013 when he recorded 40 tackles and 8 1/2 sacks. He also helped steady a New England defense that started the season without linebacker Rob Ninkovich, who was serving a four-game suspension for violating the ...

Chris Long Learned Quickly What 'the Patriot Way' Is All About

... Way' is all about. Matthew Florjancic, WKYC 2:04 PM. EST February 05, 2017. New England defensive end Chris Long learned quickly what "The Patriot Way" is all about. (Photo: Winslow Townson, Custom). CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN GOOGLE+ PINTEREST. The son of Hall of Fame Raiders defensive lineman Howie Long, Chris Long knew what winning looked like from an outsider’s perspective, but he never experienced it in its highest form, not at the University of Virginia or the then-St. Louis Rams. So when the Rams parted ways with Long, he went search of a team where he could be part of a successful culture, and that quickly led him to the New England Patriots, where winning is not just an ideal, but the standard. “I think it’s approaching every day like it’s the most important day of the season,” Long said. “That certainly made this week a lot easier from a ...

Chris Long Was Nearly A Member Of Lions Before Patriots

... along their defensive front, and Chris Long almost was the one to provide it. Before Detroit signed Wallace Gilberry, who ended up not making an impact and getting cut, they apparently explored the idea of adding Long to the roster. And if not for a game changing offer from the New England Patriots, it might have happened. The Detroit Lions start to take the next steps in the scouting process and free agency. Make sure you're in the loop - take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Lions newsletter now. Talking to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press at the Super Bowl , Long admitted that he gave much thought to signing in Detroit , and respects Jim Caldwell for being honest in him and believing in him at a very tough point in his career when he was attempting to remake his brand after leaving the Los Angeles Rams. "Coach Caldwell was awesome throughout that whole free agency process," Long said. "They showed me a lot of respect ...

How Belichick’s Evaluation Of Chris Long Has Changed Over The Year

... defense. “Well that’s what he is,” Belichick said about Long playing the five-technique. “That’s what he is. You’ve got to be strong enough to handle [double teams at] the five-technique, unless you play on the weak side all the time, which if they use two tight ends or flip the tight ends you have to deal with it anyway, some teams will play five-technique. “A tight-inside five-technique is a bigger guy and an open-side five-technique is probably a little lighter, a little more athletic, faster guy, that kind of thing. You get them both on the field if that’s what they want to do if they can’t move that guy or they don’t want to move that guy to outside linebacker. Those guys can play outside linebacker in a running game; it’s really not a problem. The problem is in the passing game. If you have a defensive end playing outside linebacker, then it’s probably going to limit some of the things that you can do.”. Belichick is describing Long as the “open-side five-technique” and one that can play outside linebacker against the run, but could ...

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... years 11 or 12 times, and what team has been to six Super Bowls and won four? He loved his trip to Atlanta, but where do you fit? It’s interesting because the place that gave him the least definitive idea of what his role would be was New England. But it came back to the same thing: the opportunity to win.”. Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he has seen a similar thing before on his teams: Guys who “weren’t with great teams” had success in New England and “brought an energy to the team that from a veteran player was unique and special.”. “Some of these players that have been with the Patriots for a while have had a lot of successful seasons and won a lot of games. Chris hasn’t,” Belichick said. “I think he appreciates winning a lot, and I think that energy and spirit that he has about winning carries over to some of the guys. They realize how special it is and makes ...

Chris Long Living ‘in The Moment’ During First Playoff Run With Patriots

... Mass. – For Chris Long, this is a whole new way of life. Long spent his first eight seasons with the St. Louis Rams, who’ve since moved to Los Angeles, after being drafted second overall in 2008. He never appeared in a single playoff game in that span, but he’s now one win away from reaching the Super Bowl in his first season with the New England Patriots, a team that’s been the NFL’s model of consistency over the last decade-plus. “I can’t really get too wrapped up in that. I’ve got to pay attention to this week,” Long said Wednesday of the Patriots’ success, which he witnessed from afar before signing a one-year contract with New England this past offseason. “So for me — somewhere that I wasn’t, I wasn’t a part of that stuff — I’m in the moment.”. Long made his playoff debut in the divisional round against the Houston Texans after appearing in 130 career regular-season games, including all 16 regular-season games with the Patriots this season. The veteran defensive end immediately tasted victory, as the Patriots won 34-16, but he understands New England will face an even tougher task this Sunday in the AFC ...

This Playoff Appearance Has Been A Long Time Coming For Patriots Vet

... signed Chris, I reached out to him, and from that day forward, we had a good connection. We’ve had a great time this year,” Ninkovich said of his locker room sidekick. “Throughout the season, I’ve got to know him and hear his story and the things he’s had to go through. Every year here, we have a goal and we’re going toward that goal, while in other places that goal is not attainable. So it’s awesome to see him have this opportunity to continue a season past every season he’s had before, when he’d done the last week in December.”. Long will join fellow veterans Shea Mc Clellin (fifth year), Dion Lewis (fifth year), Barkevious Mingo (fifth year) and Chris Hogan (fourth year) in making his first career playoff appearance on Saturday night. Younger players such as Eric Rowe (second year), Trey Flowers (second year) and Matt Lengel (first year) join that group in the first-timer category. As for Long, he has talked about being excited to play meaningful football, and his approach has made an ...

Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long Say Super Bowl Relies On Super Players

... has been partnered with Terry Bradshaw for 23 years of sports broadcasting. Sunday, they'll be part of the Super Bowl LI broadcast team. editor's pick featured top story. Super team: Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long say Super Bowl relies on super players. BRUCE R. MILLER __link__. Terry Bradshaw will be part of the Fox Sports team at Sunday's Super Bowl. Analyst Howie Long has been partnered with Terry Bradshaw for 23 years of sports broadcasting. Sunday, they'll be part of the Super Bowl LI broadcast team. LOS ANGELES | When it comes to watching football, Terry Bradshaw likes a big party atmosphere. Howie Long prefers the quiet of his own home. Both have women in their lives who are rabid fans. “You can’t tell my mother to shut up,” says Bradshaw, who won four Super Bowl titles in a six-year period. “My brothers, my uncles are huge fans and they’re all real loud.”. No sweat. “I don’t need to hear it,” says the Fox broadcaster. “I can see it.”. Long, his broadcast partner for 23 years, prefers to ...

Chris Long Relishing His Super Bowl 'opportunity

... be in this position.”. The Rams failed to make the playoffs during Long’s eight years in St. Louis, winning a total of just 38 games and finishing with a losing record every year. It took him one season in New England to rectify that. The Patriots went a league-best 14-2 in the regular season, defeated the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers in the conference tournament and are headed to Super Bowl LI in search of their fifth Lombardi Trophy. For Long, the realization that he was headed to the Super Bowl, against the Atlanta Falcons on Feb. 5 at NRG Stadium in Houston, didn’t take long to sink in. The 31-year-old is both thrilled and pragmatic about the opportunity to win a ring. “At the end of the day, that’s all it is — an opportunity,” Long said. “It’s what we make of it. It means a lot to have that opportunity and we’ve earned that right, but we have to go out there and do it justice and play our best ...

Former Ram Chris Long Has A Chance To Follow In His Father's Footsteps And Win A Super Bowl

... the Patriots this season. (Charles Krupa / Associated Press). Gary Klein Contact Reporter. With the spectacle that is Super Bowl media night swirling about him, Chris Long sat at a podium in Minute Maid Park answering rapid-fire questions from reporters as fans in the bleachers shouted. Last January, he could not have imagined being a part of the frenetic scene. He had just finished his eighth season with the Rams , his second in a row marred by injuries. “A year ago I was thinking a lot about football or no football?” he said. “I was thinking about if I wanted to keep going, where I would be. “So I never could have dreamed of this.”. On Sunday, Long will achieve a lifelong goal when he competes for an NFL championship. The veteran defensive lineman is a key role player for a New England Patriots team that will meet the  Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. And his father, Howie Long, a Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Fame player, will be on site watching closely — and rooting for his son — while working as an NFL ...