A year after helping the New England Patriots complete the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, former NFL defensive end Chris Long was beating them as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LII.
That Super Bowl in particular tends to rub Patriots fans the wrong way due to the pre-game trash talk from Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson, who went full scorched Earth mode on the Patriots’ organization.
“I just think that ‘The Patriot Way’ is a fear-based organization,” Johnson said, per NESN’s Zack Cox. “Obviously, do they win? Hell yes, they win. They’ve won for a long time. Do I think people enjoy and can say, ‘I had a lot of fun playing there’? No, I don’t. That’s just the God’s honest truth.
“They’re successful, but when they go to interviews, they act like [expletive] robots. Hey, stop being a [expletive] head. We can be cordial for a little bit. You only get to do this job one time, so let’s have fun while we’re doing it. Not to be reckless, but I’d much rather have fun and win a Super Bowl than be miserable and win five Super Bowls. But hey, it is what it is.”
Long has always been bothered by the fact that he was linked to those comments as a member of the Eagles team that went on to beat the Patriots and win the Super Bowl.
During an appearance on Tom Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast, he set the record straight and cleared the air about what life was really like for him in New England.
“Lane opened his mouth,” said Long. “…Lane kind of got walked into that, I feel like, and it just stuck. And of course, everybody was like, ‘Oh, Lane is best buddies with Chris. Chris is the one who said it.’ And that always bothered the hell out of me, because all I’ve ever said is positives about New England and my teammates there. We were drunk as hell at the parade. We had a tight-knit group, and it was awesome, man. The locker room was great. So I hated being misrepresented by association with that thing, because I did have fun up there.”
"I hated being misrepresented by association with that"@JOEL9ONE joins @tomecurran to discuss his charity, "Waterboys", and to set the record straight about it being 'no fun' to play for the #Patriots 🏈
🎧: https://t.co/Eqg5USPcZS
📺: https://t.co/Eqg5USPcZS pic.twitter.com/7AvjM2ZcFn— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) November 3, 2022
Long called playing for the Patriots “impactful” in his life, and he even claimed he still texts coach Bill Belichick from time to time.
If anything, his comments further drive home the fact that not everyone’s experience within an organization is the same. Johnson pegged the Patriots as a “fear-based organization,” when there are so many players, including Long, that would vehemently disagree.
