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Nick Foles and Vikings QB Case Keenum were teammates with the Rams in 2015. Martin Frank/The News Journal
Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby, Jay Ajayi on Eagles’ playoff win. Martin Frank/The News Journal
Pass rush on Matt Ryan forced errant pass, he said. Kevin Tresolini, The News Journal
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Having secured a Super Bowl ring on a one-year contract with the Patriots last season, Chris Long knew where he wanted to play football in 2017.
The defensive end had his eyes on Philadelphia and coordinator Jim Schwartz’ scheme.
“I was antsy to get on a team and I saw the team I wanted to be on,” Long said this week. “And it was just real simple for me.”
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He called friend and fellow defensive end Connor Barwin, who’d spent four successful seasons with the Eagles but was released for salary-cap reasons and had signed with the Rams.
Barwin’s recommendation couldn’t have been more glowing.
“He was like, ‘It’s awesome, you’re gonna love it,’ ” Long said of Barwin’s response to his query about Philadelphia. “ ‘You’d be a great fit.’ ”
Of course, the feeling had to be mutual, which it was.
Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman wanted Long, too, and they agreed to a two-year contract March 28.
“He could have been like ‘No, dude, you’re too old’ or ‘I looked at your tape last year... ,’ ” said Long, whose wife Megan (nee O’Malley) is also from nearby Moorestown, New Jersey. “He was like, ‘’Yeah, awesome, it would be great.’ ”
It has been exactly that in numerous ways for Long and the Eagles, who’ll play Long’s previous employer, those Patriots, in Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4 in Minneapolis.
Eagles teammate LeGarrette Blount, a running back, also played with the Patriots on their last two Super Bowl wins and had strong words for his now-rivals from New England this week.
As much as he relished his New England experience, especially after eight losing seasons with the then-St. Louis Rams, Long admits the Eagles have been a much better fit.
“Everybody wants to do their job well at the end of the day,” Long said. “I got a great thrill out of being there last year and I was certainly a part of it. I had to do some things that weren’t natural to me but I was happy to do them because it was a blessing to be there. Great team and great coaches and all that stuff.
“This year my role’s different. I’ve actually taken less snaps here than I did there but the ones I’m taking here I did what I do and I can be more proud of my individual contributions as far as quality of football so it’s been a blessing to be here.”
Long has also been the source of considerable civic pride. He donated his entire year’s salary -- $1 million – toward educational projects in the three cities where he played in a campaign entitled “Pledge 10 for Tomorrow.” This is Long’s 10th pro season and his goal was to encourage other individuals and businesses to contribute.
The former University of Virginia standout was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 draft by the Rams. In eight seasons there, he had 54½ sacks in 114 games.
He has found the Eagles’ defensive scheme utilizing his edge-rushing talents fits him better than New England’s, a point Patriots coach Bill Belichick seconded this week. Long was more of an interior pass rusher there.
“I think his defensive role is similar to what it was when he was with the Rams,” Belichick told the media. “Chris has a lot of good skills, but his overall skill set and experience is definitely more in the system that he’s in than it was in our system.”
Belichick added that Long “probably made a good decision” in coming to Philadelphia.
Long had five sacks this season, his most since 2013, and a career-high four forced fumbles.
“I still feel quick and I still feel explosive and I know how to rush,” Long said. “I’ve been doing it a long time.”
In Sunday’s 38-7 NFC title win over Minnesota, he disrupted Vikings quarterback Case Keenum’s throw on the Patrick Robinson’s interception and 50-yard return for the Eagles’ first touchdown and then recovered a fumble on Derek Barnett’s strip sack of Keenum.
Long, who has 63½ career sacks, doesn’t feel like having spent a year with the Patriots gives him any particular advantages going against the Patriots.
What that experience did give him was a healthy respect for what the Patriots do on offense, for Belichick, and for quarterback Tom Brady.
“I was just lucky to have played for him for a year,” Long said of Belichick. “When you play for a guy who’s that awesome as a coach, you look at football different. I learned a lot from him.”
His praise for Brady is equally flattering.
“He’s the best of all-time,” Long said. “There’s no other way to go. When you’re getting ready for somebody like that, you’ve gotta play your game the best you can. Obviously, we’re gonna have a game plan and all that but specifically, you’ve gotta worry about what’s your job, do your job to the best of your ability, don’t try to re-invent yourself.”
And now Long will try to add a second Super Bowl ring against the team with which he won the first.
“When I left I certainly thought New England could be in this position and I’d have to live with that if I wasn’t,” Long said. “I also knew the team I was coming to had a lot of tools so I had the potential to make a deep run.
“But no team is guaranteed to be here whether it’s New England or Philly or any team. It’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of execution. It’s a lot of luck, and you put all those things together and here we are, so I’m just very lucky.”
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.
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