Rozner: Long a beacon amid Bears darkness

Kyle Long believes there will be better days ahead.

He has to.

Otherwise, it might be difficult to tie his shoes and go to work every day.

And as it is, tying his shoes is no simple task, not with a mangled right hand that was sporting some sort of club Sunday, an odd combination of cast, boxing glove and snow shovel.

"No, it was great," Long said Sunday. "No problem at all."

Long isn't the type to make excuses. Leaders don't blame injuries, even if they're playing one-handed.

They just play.

"It's an extremity issue," Long said with a smile. "Nothing to worry about."

What is a concern is the Bears' lack of talent. They can try all they want and scheme until the cows come home, but it's easy to look at the opposition and know the Bears are outmanned at virtually every position, virtually every week.

It's a rebuilding process that's going to take time, and this is not a surprise.

For Long, it can't be much fun. He's a terrific football player, even in a new job, the best player on a struggling team that's at least a year away from competing, and maybe more than that.

He's got eyes. He can see what's happening, but he would never say it.

"We line up and we believe we've got 11 good players on both sides of the ball, good enough to get it done," Long said. "Just have to get back to work and make the most of our chances."

But it can't be easy for a professional athlete who was so used to winning before he arrived in Chicago. He comes from winning programs and he comes from a winning family.

All he knows in Chicago is 0-2 this year, 5-11 last season and in his rookie year the Bears went from 3-0 to 8-8, losing the last game of the year to Green Bay in the final minute at home when a victory would have meant a division title and a playoff berth.

Still, he has to believe in the future or it would make going to work a mind-numbing, self-defeating chore.

"We're going to come in next week and we're going to practice even harder," Long said. "Going to try to do different things we possibly missed out on this week. We're going to take a look at the film and move forward. Get ready for a big one."

The next one is in Seattle, where the two-time NFC champs are also 0-2 and looking to take out their frustrations on a Bears team with the worst point differential (-33) in the NFL.

It didn't help that the offense had chances - after 2 turnovers near the end of the first half - to get back in the game but settled for field goals twice after Jimmy Clausen couldn't move the offense.

"We were saying we needed two big plays and we got them," Long said. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to put the ball in the end zone. We want to end every drive with a kick, so it was nice to get some points on the board. But as an offense, we know we need to score."

Not surprisingly, Long also defended Clausen.

"Jimmy is a guy we have the utmost confidence in. He came in against Detroit last year and played his butt off," Long said. "He's a guy who's as prepared as anybody in this offense.

"It's not that difficult when you see Jimmy in the huddle. If it was some other random guy, we'd be like, 'Who the heck is this?' But when Jimmy comes in we have confidence in him."

Meanwhile, Long continues to learn a new position - right tackle - after two Pro Bowl seasons at guard. He's destined for left tackle, which makes you wonder why this switch didn't occur late last season, when it was clear the Bears were done.

At the very least, it could have happened over the summer to make life a little simpler for Long, but the Bears threw him in a few days before this season started, not exactly the easiest transition even for someone as talented as Long.

Nevertheless, his future is quite bright and he's in for very big payday. That takes a back seat right now to another losing season and making the most of a chance to learn a new spot on the line.

"There will be better days," Long said. "I know that in my heart."

Yes, Kyle Long believes there are better days ahead.

He simply has to.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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