Chicago Bears' Long takes big first step as tackle
After his first game as an NFL starting right tackle, Kyle Long noted his position.
"I'm still standing," said Long, actually sitting at his locker stall inside Soldier Field. "We'll be rolling this week."
Considering he completed the Chicago Bears' season-opening, 31-23 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday standing upright, Long is confident in his upside.
After all, he has been to a pair of Pro Bowls as a right guard in as many seasons as a pro football player. Plus, he relishes a challenge, and the former college pitcher might be as athletic as any offensive lineman in the league.
"I can't wait to improve," said the 6-foot-6, 328-pound Long, a 23rd-round draft pick of the White Sox in 2008 and the 20th overall selection by the Bears out of Oregon in the 2013 NFL draft. "I'm a competitor. That just runs through my veins. I want to compete. I want to be the best player I can be, wherever I'm lined up."
It was assumed since last weekend, when the Bears waived former starting right tackle Jordan Mills, that Long would be moved to the position. But the Bears didn't make the depth-chart change official until Sunday. With Long sliding outside, the Bears started Vladimir Ducasse at right guard.
It started out looking like Long was in for a long day. After the offensive line allowed a sack by Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji on the Bears' 10th snap of the season, Long gave one up himself on the Bears' next series.
His former Bears teammate Julius Peppers overpowered Long, sacked Jay Cutler and forced an apparent fumble. After the Bears challenged the call on the field, it was ruled that Cutler's right knee was down before he fumbled. Still, the 10-yard loss made it fourth-and-19 from the Bears' 21.
According to STATS, LLC, Long didn't allow a sack all last season in 15 starts.
Even at 35, Peppers showed he still can make plays. In his first season with Green Bay last year, after four in Chicago, he had 7 sacks and returned 2 interceptions for touchdowns.
"Pep can go inside, outside, he can go through you," Long said. "He's a savvy vet. There's a reason everybody knows his name. I thought it was a good challenge and something I can build on."
Long admittedly settled in after the opening quarter. He didn't allow another sack and neither did his team.
"Kyle played well," left tackle Jermon Bushrod said. "Right tackle against that team with all that great personnel, he did a great job responding."
"I had my struggles individually," Long said. "I kept my head up. I thought I played pretty hard. You've got to move on and make progress next week."
What Long and his offensive-line teammates did well was create space for running back Matt Forte and allow him the opportunity to make plays. Forte responded by rushing for 141 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
"That's been a point of emphasis for us since the (front office and coaching) regime change (after last season), that we're going to run the ball," Long said. "I think we gave the fans a bit of a taste of what's to come with this offense. But at the same time, there were yards left on the table, and we can't have that as an O-line."
One game down, 15 more - including next Sunday against Arizona at Soldier Field - left this season. Whether he remains at right tackle remains to be seen.
"I'm just trying to move on," said Long, whose 31 NFL starts before Sunday were all at right guard. "We've got a meeting (Monday). We'll take a look at the film, and if (the coaches) don't think I was too atrocious, then I'll continue to play out there."
And, knowing his history, he will continue to improve.