Chris Long, Eight-Year Veteran, Working Himself Like A Rookie At Patriots Training Camp
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- From the sound of it, you'd never know Chris Long was a 31-year-old veteran of eight NFL seasons. The former Rams defensive end is working and learning at Patriots training camp in ways you'd expect from a rookie or younger kid, and that can only be a good thing for a Patriots defensive front that will need to adjust to life without Chandler Jones.
On Thursday during Patriots practice, head coach Bill Belichick reportedly pulled Long aside for a quick one-on-one session to work on the finer points of his technique. You wouldn't expect most 31-year-olds to happily take that kind of coaching, but with Belichick, Long is ready for anything.
"I was on one team, but I played for a lot of head coaches, so my mindset is always just to come to work and whatever I'm asked to do, do it and have an open mind," Long told reporters after practice. "Certainly, coming to a new place is exciting, but I've been through change before and these guys here have done a great job welcoming myself and all the new guys. It's a great group to be a part of."
Like you'd expect more from a less experienced player, Long is trying to learn as much as he can.
"I think asking questions is one of the biggest components to learning, and there's a lot for me to learn," he said. "I'm asking a lot of questions every day, I'm never shy about asking questions."
Long knows Belichick is a special case when it comes to NFL head coaches. He understands how valuable Belichick's experience in the league can be for him as a player to continue improving into his 30s.
"He knows the game, he knows defense, he knows defensive line play, so it's always nice to have that as another voice as a head coach," said Long. "That's not the case everywhere, and he just knows football."
With Belichick, the feeling is mutual. He scouted Long extensively in 2008 before the NFL Draft - where the Patriots ended up selecting Jerod Mayo 10th overall - but acknowledges that he's a different player now and continues to evolve.
"We did a lot of work on [Long]," said Belichick. "In the end, he was drafted before we picked so it never played out but we definitely spent a good amount of time with Chris ... But that's a long time ago. At this point, I think the player's definition of his NFL abilities and value is based on – there's a lot of evidence there much more so than there is in college. I think that ship has probably sailed from an evaluation standpoint."
Whatever kind of player Long turns out to be for the Patriots, he's certainly not settling for anything less than the Patriots mantra of getting better every single day. And the defense will be much better off for it.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
