Candid Kyle Long talks about first game at RT, bears blame in defeat
Chicago Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long is one of the team's true leaders. After losing to the Green Bay Packers in his first game at right tackle, Long admitted that his performance was far from perfect, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune.
After making the Pro Bowl at right guard in each of his first two NFL seasons, Long has taken over as the team's starting right tackle. The transition wasn't a perfectly smooth one, and the third-year pro took responsibility for coming up short in a particularly big spot.
In the fourth quarter of the Packers game, the Bears faced a fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line, and Jay Cutler threw an incomplete pass intended for Eddie Royal. Long shouldered the blame for the way he handled the blitz Green Bay sent on the play, per the Chicago Tribune.
New Bears RT Kyle Long took responsibility for the free blitzer on the 4th-and-goal bust in the 4th quarter, saying: pic.twitter.com/hVE7VLhYxA
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) September 13, 2015
Long's professionalism is on display here. He does not blame his personal shortcomings, which led to a difficult defeat, on the adverse conditions created by a position shift to tackle. Instead, he shoulders it all himself.
(h/t @Rich_Campbell)