Q: It seemed like an intense practice today, some tempers were flaring.
CL: You know, it's football. Sometimes stuff happens, but it's our job out here to make the most of our reps, be professional, and hopefully we just continue to try to do that.
Q: How much do you enjoy hitting your brother, Bears OL Kyle Long?
CL: Hitting my brother? Not a lot. He's like a big tree stump, so luckily I'm out there on the edge and we didn't have to deal with each other much today.
Q: What strikes you about your bother Kyle Long's development, given the route he took to get here?
CL: He's a really good kid and I just enjoy kind of watching him grow into being a man in this league. I know the work that it takes and I just think, more than anything, just seeing the way he's plugged away, he grows up every year. It's just fun to see him, each and every year, get better.
Q: What's different about him knowledge - wise compared to three years ago?
CL: You'd have to ask him. He's a talented player, and when you combine that with knowledge of the game, which you do every year, everybody is trying to gain that edge every year. You can only get better and better. What he's been able to do on the field has been tremendous in three years.
Q: Prior to the NFL, had you and your brother played against each other before?
CL: We played backyard ball, like all those cliché football games, baseball games, whiffle ball, all that stuff. We never really played against each other, or even on the same team in organized sports. It's definitely new when we practice against each other or play against each other, but it's just fun to see your brother at the end of the day. I hadn't seen him since the beginning of July, and I might not see him for a long time.
Q: How different has this camp been for you than it was in St. Louis?
CL: They're all a little bit different. This is my ninth year. I've been through nine camps, and they're all a little bit different, but at the end of the day, it's just football. Especially with the new CBA, every day trying to work on your craft, make the most of your reps and your opportunities because you just don't get as many as you used to, and that's the important thing.
Q: Is there anything about the Patriot way that you've observed so far?
CL: I honestly don't think big picture like that. I just try to show up every day and figure out what it is that I need to do to contribute to this team. I think being a team player, if I'm learning from my teammates around here, is to put the team first and focus on your job. If that's what it is, it is.
Q: Is there a progression after you have a game on film, can you go from the first game to the second game and know what you have to improve on?
CL: Sure, there's always stuff to improve on. You could have a practice with a lot of reps out here against your own teammates and see some things you need to identify and work on, and you just try to stack those days up and improve day - to - day, week - to - week, and hopefully at the end of the preseason you have a good body of work and you've improved.
Q: How much did it help your development growing up having another future professional as a brother to work with?
CL: I guess, being half a foot shorter and 60 pounds lighter, it keeps things in perspective. I always felt like I knew a bigger person. Hanging around him and my dad [former NFL DE Howie Long], I'm the smallest one out of the three of us. Then there's my youngest brother, Howie who is more normal - sized like I am. It's never intimidating seeing big people. It's helped.
Q: What was the pull to the sport for you and your brother?
CL: There was no, 'Because my dad did it.' Actually, I wanted to play baseball. Honestly, I just think with a kid developing, playing a lot of sports, it's just kind of whatever you're good at. It feels good to do things that you're actually good at it. It's just real simple. Whatever you're best at, you kind of gravitate to, and eventually that's what happened with me and Kyle. I mean, you look at him. He has no choice.
Q: Did the age difference between you and your brother prevent you from having a big physical football relationship?
CL: Yeah, that's a good thing. Us being four to five years apart certainly keeps enough distance where I don't have to be tussling with him on a regular basis, which was nice growing up. By the time I was 16, he was my size and then by the time I was 18, I was looking up at him.
Q: Is it hard not to act like the older brother and be looking out for him?
CL: I mean, certainly. That's what it is. You talk about Devin [McCourty] on our team has a brother in the league and they say football is family. Well I mean, I don't know. I don't know if it is, but for us, it kind of is. He's going through a lot of the same things that you're going through. You watch him on film and you're rooting for him, except when you're playing against him. You just know what he's going through, he knows what you're going through, and it's nice to have a sibling that's in the business. My youngest brother works for the Raiders, so it kind of just worked out that way and everybody understands each other.
