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Chris Long Still Has Plenty of Gas in the Tank

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One of the more intriguing free agents that the Patriots brought to town this year was veteran DE, Chris Long. There have never been questions about Long’s work ethic, attitude or abilities during his time in the NFL. As a second overall pick, he represents one of the higher caliber players in the league from a pure talent perspective.

However, nagging injuries have plagued Long for the last two seasons to the point where there are now questions about “how much does he have left in the tank?” Well, rest easy Patriots fans, because it appears Chris Long has plenty of fuel left to burn.

I wrote about Long last week as it was particularly relevant since he was playing his brother Kyle. In reviewing some old Long film it became immediately clear that at his best and in his prime he was an elite edge defender. I mean just look at this decapitation of Luke McCown, I’m hurting on the other side of the screen and this play took place 3 years ago.

Again, Long has had to battle injuries for the past two years, so while his past accolades aren’t in doubt the question becomes: can he still perform at a high level? Here are a couple of plays that stood out to me against the Panthers and would have me leaning towards a “yes” on that question. One of the first plays that stood out to me took place late in the first quarter on a 1st & 10 from the Carolina 41.

The Patriots came out in a rare base look with Long lining up in a 5-technique off the right tackle’s outside shoulder.  As Long begins his rush he is able to keep the tackle’s hands off of him by spinning to the inside. As he moves inside he draws a double team from the guard, but shows determination to work through the block and continues to pursue the passer. The pressure in Newton’s face results in a high throw, which allows Butler to come over and steal Ed Dickson’s soul. Honestly I’m surprised Dixon wasn’t pulverized into thousands of those little rubber pellets in artificial turf fields. While only Vincent Valentine was credited with a pressure on this play, I was very impressed with Long’s drive and pass-rush technique.

 

Long’s incredible motor was also noticeable on this play, where he worked off a stunt to create pressure on Newton. Long shows relentlessness in working through blocks, and uses leverage to drive would-be blockers back into the face of the passer, disrupting the pocket. While Newton was ultimately able to escape on this play, Long was still able to do his job and get pressure on the passer.

Long also stood out to me in his run defense during this game. If teams are going to try to block Long with a TE this year, the Patriots are going to have a field day. This was the case in the beginning of the second quarter on Thursday, as Long was asked to set the edge on a 1st-down run play.

As Long engages the TE he shows good technique to get his hands inside the blocker’s pads. This allows him to control the blocker’s body so that if the runner bounces outside he would be able to disengage and make the play. As Long tries to disengage, the TE continues to hold on to his block which results in a 10-yard penalty, forcing the Panthers into an obvious passing down. This would prove to be a turning point in the came.

 

Here comes the play that I (and I would assume most Patriots fans) was most excited about after the game. On the next play from scrimmage after the hold, Newton lines up in the shotgun and the Panthers draw up dual routes over the middle for their TE and slot receiver. However, instead of rushing the passer, Long decides to drop into a shallow, middle-zone.

I have watched this play 100 times and I don’t think Cam Newton even sees Long on the field. While he pump fakes, I think this is a reaction to him realizing the TE is being covered by Chung. From there he works to his deeper read over the middle and tries to work the ball in front of Chung, but Long is waiting there to make the tip, and wisely bats the ball up into the air where his teammate can make a play on the ball. Phenomenal instincts.

 

Granted this is a small sample size, but Long’s performance in preseason is certainly encouraging. I’m not going to sit here and claim that he’s going to be a Pro Bowler, but I see him being invaluable to the team and capable of playing on all three downs thanks to his versatility and elite skill set. Chalk up another victory for BB, Caserio & the Patriots personnel department.

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