and praised by his coaches. You see, what they say matters. And Long is 11th in the NFL in hurries, though he plays about 65% of the downs and about 40 of those downs he was in coverage.

Good thing he's playing on the top defense in the NFL this year, with chance to go to Super Bowl and not with Rams being crapped on by "fans".


Long has been one of the Patriots most effective pass rushers this season, often forcing the quarterback to move around in the pocket, Belichick stating "I followed Chris [Long] since he came out of Virginia," Belichick said in November of the man who went second overall in the 2008 draft. "We did our scouting on him, followed his career, and when he was released last spring and available, like we do with a lot of free agents, whether they're free agents or players who were released, followed up on him, and we were able to work things out.

"He's good to have on our team, and I'm glad he's here. I think he enjoys coming to work, working on football and competing every day. I really respect that about him. He gives a great effort every day."


Matt Patricia expresses great satisfaction with what veteran Chris Long has given the team this season.


"Chris [he's] extremely hard working, loves the game of football, very dedicated to his craft, true professional as far as his approach and his attack every day. He's been great to be around and really just a - I think he has enjoyed the process and just really as far as that is concerned has been a guy that's out there working really hard every day to get better and play hard for his teammates, and that's all you can really ask for."