Cavs Could Celebrate Son's Day
C. Long Is Poised To Make Own Mark

By Marc Carig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Following a moment of thought, the NFL analyst starts into his dissection of the promising college kid he has seen play a few times before. Just as he does on television for millions of fans every Sunday, the analyst slides smoothly into the mechanical vernacular that pundits prefer to use when describing players.

"He is a very explosive guy," the analyst explains before matter-of-factly listing off some of the player's attributes. "He has a great burst, great explosion, real good quickness, pretty good top-end speed, great change of direction."

Then, suddenly, the analyst pulls a misdirection play, a verbal reverse.

He quickly replaces the cold assessments with words filled with closeness and warmth. He's almost gushing. When the subject of conversation is Virginia defensive lineman Chris Long, the analyst can't help but get a little sentimental.

"He's a good kid," NFL great Howie Long says of his son. "Above and beyond football, I'm most proud of the person he is."

These days, there's plenty to be proud of.

Chris Long is poised for a breakout campaign: He closed last year, his first full season, with a flourish. After missing five games of his freshman year because of illness, Long bounced back during his sophomore year, finishing third on the Virginia defense with 10 tackles for a loss last season.

He enters his junior year as a team captain after what Cavaliers Coach Al Groh called a two-year "orientation to college football."

"Last year was the first time he really got into mix and did all the things on a weekly basis," Groh said. "He's made really good strides. I certainly wouldn't put any limits on him."

Quarterback Christian Olsen goes a step further.

"If you asked 'Who was the Virginia defense?', I would say Chris Long," Olsen said. "It's made the team, especially the defense, a lot stronger."

With the loss of a senior-laden class, Virginia football enters a time of transition. Long, a 6-foot-4, 284-pound defensive end, wants to be one of the architects of a new identity.

"I hope it becomes a blue-collar mentality," Long said. "It's an attitude we're trying to assume."

Carving out a unique identity is nothing new to Long, who grew up surrounded by signs of his father's fame.

"I've always wanted to be my own person," he said. "When people are coming up in a profession or a field that maybe someone in their family excelled in, they hope to break away from the image of being viewed as whoever's son or whoever's brother."

Even as a child, Long knew that something was different about his father, though he didn't quite understand it all.

"Why are they bothering you, Dad?" the son would ask when his family dined in restaurants. Chris shied from the spotlight, a trait he maintains to this day.

"I haven't always seen it as a blessing," Long said of his Hall of Fame heritage. "At first, I saw it more as a negative because of all that attention. From a very early age, I was exposed to that. As I got older, I wised up a bit."

Howie Long responded by backing off whenever he could. When Chris took an interest in athletics, Howie made sure not to influence his son's choice of which sports to play.

During youth baseball games, Chris said his father often stayed out of the way, sitting away from the other parents. In high school, when Chris decided to take football seriously, he had to pry advice from his father, who was afraid of interfering too much.

"He's not going to offer help," Chris Long said. "I have to ask for help with the game. And it was the same way growing up. He never pushed me to do this."

In high school, Long developed into a Division I-caliber football player. Chris credits some of his success to his dad.

"He's just a wealth of information," he said. "He taught me to work hard."

Howie plays down the help.

"He really is a self-made kid," he said.

Nevertheless, Diane Long is starting to see similarities between her husband and son.

"She can spot little things," Howie said.

Chris wants to play in the NFL, a goal he may reach if he continues his work at Virginia.

"One of the most valuable commodities is his tremendous passion for football," Groh said. "He helps infuse everybody around him with that. He's a very high-motor player at a very high level of conditioning."

In his playing days, the NFL analyst was known for the same thing.