Chris Long Brings It

[Molotov]

Did anyone notice that Chris Long caused the fumble (the one Clifton Ryan won't soon forget) and had a few other solid pressures? Too bad he doesn't get credit for any sacks. He had a great game.

[TheBritishRam]

CJ Ah You got the sack that caused the fumble but you're right Chris Long had a great game.

[Scidog68]

All I'm sayin is that Chris has had a slow start.. My faith has never wavered. He will be our D-line Anchor. I feel it in me bones...

[Guam rammer]

Dude was non-stop throughout the game. Good stuff man!!

[01d 0rd3r]

A lot of us said it at the end of last season. About week 13 last year everything seemed to click for him. He was a complete monster last game.

[UK Ramfan 83]

Grant Wistrom is/was better....

But that said, Long has the pressure of the old chap to live up to....irrespective of what we all may think football wise.

I wish him the best.

Keep working CL!!!!!

[Curly Horns]

Grant Wistrom is/was better....

But that said, Long has the pressure of the old chap to live up to....irrespective of what we all may think football wise.

I wish him the best.

Keep working CL!!!!!

Wistrom certainly was a good player. I remember in his early years how he used to sniff out those screen passes really well.

However, looking at the stats, Long & Wistrom are very close to even at this point in their careers. I don't think the case can be made that Wistrom was any better after two seasons than Long.

Wistrom has Long by a 1/2 sack but Long leads Wistrom in tackles 65-47. Wistrom did have 2 picks for six in his second season, but I'd consider that as fortunate opportunity.

Wistrom also played on much better defenses (surrounding cast) his first 4 seasons.

Hopefully Chris Long ends up having a better and longer career with the Rams than Wistrom had.

Now if Long could become as good as Jack Youngblood.......well it's ok to dream.

[Dwight Frye]

Even if Chris exceeds everyones expectations, and I LOVE Chris Long, he'll still have a ways to go to reach the God-like status of Sir Youngblood. (Sorry, I can't see Jack's name in print without posting!)

If a team won their division seven straight times, that would be a NFL record. Now add on that team did it with seven different QB's in seven straight years,that record is unbeatable. To do that feat, you must of had a great Defense. Jack Youngblood was the captain of that defense.

My favorite player EVER!

[iStillBelieve]

After seeing Mario Williams absolutely dominate throughout the entire Colts game, I really wanna see the same from Long. And even though he is not on the same level athletically at Mario I think he can.

[UK Ramfan 83]

Would Youngblood be able to compete at this athletic level, and to the same standards these days?!?! (Speed = Distance over time...etc...etc..equipment variations...etc...etc..)

Devils advocate and all that.... ;O)

[Dwight Frye]

Well, if he played in today's NFL he would have grown up in the nineties as opposed to the fifties and had access to all the advances in health and training .... so I say YES!

Sorry for derailing this thread.

[Curly Horns]

Would Youngblood be able to compete at this athletic level, and to the same standards these days?!?! (Speed = Distance over time...etc...etc..equipment variations...etc...etc..)

Devils advocate and all that.... ;O)

From: bleacherreport.com

The Rams' Top 10 draft boomers

By David Leon (Correspondent) on June 9, 2010

Jack Youngblood was a classic tweener in an era before there were tweeners. At 6-4 and 247 pounds, Jack was smaller than a lot of defensive ends in his day. He was bigger than a lot of linebackers, even in our era. He was also stronger than most defensive ends, and faster than most linebackers. This made him a classic strength/speed/size nightmare mismatch opponent for most offensive tackles. His speed and his motor were what gave his opponents fits. This was true in both the passing game and the running game.

Although Jack had a stellar reputation as a pass rusher, he was equally stout against the run. That's saying an awful lot. Jack scored 151 sacks in his career. This would place him in 4th place on the all-time leader board, behind fellow Ram Kevin Greene... but... Deacon Jones would probably be first on that list bumping them both down. Suffering the same problem as Deacon Jones, sacks were not an officially kept statistic throughout much of Jack Youngblood's career. This is why he does not show up on the all-time sack leader board.

When you see footage of Jack sprinting around the corner sacking QBs like Roger Staubach, Jim Hart, Jim Plunkett, and Ken Stabler, you can't help but be impressed by his amazing speed. Today, you rarely see a defensive end come off the edge that fast and that clean. In many bits of footage, Jack Youngblood almost looks like Lawrence Taylor, sprinting into the backfield as an unblocked free runner. The difference is that Jack Youngblood always had a tackle in his face.

The only player I've ever seen who was similar to Jack was the one and only Charles Haley. As good as Charles was, and he should be in the Hall of Fame, he could not compare to Jack in the leadership department.

I still have hopes that young Chris Long will be our new Jack Youngblood. I am sure the organization does also.

When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, the great Dan Dierdorf was asked, several times, to ID the toughest end he ever had to block. Without hesitating, he answered "Jack Youngblood". He said Youngblood gave him fits because of his strength, speed and elusiveness. Jack was also a practitioner of psychological warfare. Dierdorf recounted many times how Jack would go into a falsetto voice and start screaming at Cardinal QB Jim Hart "JIMMIE! JIMME! I'M COMMING TO GET YOU JIMME!" The real target was Dierdorf. Jack had one of his greatest days in a 1975 playoff win versus the Cardinals, playing against this fellow Hall of Famer.

Of course, Jack is best known for playing on fractured left fibula during the 1979 playoffs. His leg was fractured during the course of a playoff victory over the Cowboys in Dallas. They taped up his leg in the locker room and returned to action. He was instrumental in both that victory and the NFC Championship the next week. He played at a high level in Super Bowl XIV against the Steelers. He even played in the Pro-Bowl a week later. For this, NFL Films recently elected his 1979-80 playoff-run as the #1 gutsiest performance in NFL history. You can see the video here:


YouTube - Jack Youngblood

The Gator Ring of Honor is a pretty exclusive club. Only Danny Wueffle, Emmitt Smith, Jack Youngblood, Steve Spurrier and Wilber Marshall have been inducted. Soon, a fellow Jacksonville kid named Tim Tebow will be joining him in the Gator ring of honor. A great Ram defensive end named Kevin Carter was never elected to this club. Alas, would it were that Tebow might have joined Jack Youngblood in the Rams' ring of honor also.

[harrydog]

Jack Youngblood is probably the main reason why I loved the LA Rams back in those days. Watching him play cemented the Rams as my favorite team and that has not changed to this day.
I've been waiting for another Jack Youngbleed to come along ever since he retired and I'd like nothing better than to see Chris Long have a career as good as Youngblood's but I doubt that will be the case. One can hope though. Kevin Greene came close in my opinion.
The Rams had a great offensive line back in those days too, but that's a discussion for another thread.

[TerminusEst]

Jack Youngblood, Deacon Jones, and Merlin Olsen are my favorite players of all time, actually. After those three, it fast forwards to the Greatest Show on Turf, to Bruce and Holt. I admit I have a soft spot for London Fletcher as well, though. We never should have gotten rid of him.

If Long can be half the DE Youngblood or Jones (Minus the headslaps, of course) was, I'd say he was a successful pick. Here's to hoping.

[Trevor]

Hopefully this year will be his breakout year.