"First of all, because of his background and the kind of kid he is, and coming from a football family, he understands what he’s getting into. He’s got an outstanding work ethic, on and off the field. He can do a number of different things. He can play right end, left end, he can play inside, he does a great job slanting, you can drop into coverage. He does a little of everything and he does them well."
Plans?
"To start off, we’re going to make him a right end. He does have a learning curve. He’s been a 3-4 his whole career, and lined up over a tackle. Now we’re going to have to move him outside and line him up over a tight end, in space. There’s a learning curve. But what I know of him, and how smart he is, and we interviewed him three times, I don’t think there will be a big transition going from a 3-4 to a 4-3."
Versatility:
"He does a good job moving from outside to inside. He does a good job rushing from inside. He’s dropped into coverage. He can do a lot of things for you.
"The times we saw him in space, we thought he was really good at it. As the third guy in passing situations lined up wide, he was exceptional at it.
Dorsey or Long?
"Two good football players is what it comes down to. I guess there was a preference and need. I’d have been happy with either one.
"I love Dorsey. I think he’s a monster inside. I think he’s one of those guys who comes along every 10 years. But to find defensive ends in this league that are effective and who can do a lot of different things, they’re hard to find. And Chris kind of falls into that category.
"I was happy we got either one. If we had gotten an offensive lineman I would have been happy because we could run the ball, too. Our choices that we had in Jake Long, Chris Long and Dorsey, you can’t go wrong."
Playing the run:
"I think he’s very good in the run defense. He does a very good job in hand placement and getting off blocks. He looks a lot like his father from that standpoint. You can tell that his father coached him, early. He’s got the ‘Howie move.’ I coached Howie with the Raiders when I first got into the league (as a coach) and now I’m coaching his son.
"Howie was just like Chris. Practices hard, very intelligent, understand the game, goes 100 miles per hour. Just a heck of a player. That’s what you see in Chris. Just not as big or tall as Howie."
As pass rusher?
"He’s a slip and slide guy, he can turn the corner. He has good vision on the quatrterback. He has good moves. Good moves coming inside and slanting. He probably turns the corner better on the left side than the right side right now. That’s something we need to work on. But I think he has upside on that and he can get better in that area. But he’s the kind of guy you can put him inside. If there’s a guard that you want to mash him up on, you put him inside. If there’s a tackle on either side you want to match up with, you can match him up. You can flip flop him with Leonard Little. To start he’ll be a right end. But he’ll do a lot of different things."
In the 3-4:
"You can stand him up. Walk him around. Rush him. Drop him into coverage. You can do that with him and Will Witherspoon and Leonard. I think he’s a better fit with teams like us that do a lot of different things instead of playing a straight 4-3 where you’re going to sit there and rush him all day. He’ll be more productive in our system because of all the things he can do. Because he’s really good at everything he does. And he’s smart."
The person:
"I give the kid a lot of credit for growing up in that family, and in that environment, with his father nationally known, and this kid does his own thing, and he doesn’t live in his dad’s shadow. He understands that his dad had his time, and now he has his time. The parents did a great job of raising this kid."
--B
Plans?
"To start off, we’re going to make him a right end. He does have a learning curve. He’s been a 3-4 his whole career, and lined up over a tackle. Now we’re going to have to move him outside and line him up over a tight end, in space. There’s a learning curve. But what I know of him, and how smart he is, and we interviewed him three times, I don’t think there will be a big transition going from a 3-4 to a 4-3."
Versatility:
"He does a good job moving from outside to inside. He does a good job rushing from inside. He’s dropped into coverage. He can do a lot of things for you.
"The times we saw him in space, we thought he was really good at it. As the third guy in passing situations lined up wide, he was exceptional at it.
Dorsey or Long?
"Two good football players is what it comes down to. I guess there was a preference and need. I’d have been happy with either one.
"I love Dorsey. I think he’s a monster inside. I think he’s one of those guys who comes along every 10 years. But to find defensive ends in this league that are effective and who can do a lot of different things, they’re hard to find. And Chris kind of falls into that category.
"I was happy we got either one. If we had gotten an offensive lineman I would have been happy because we could run the ball, too. Our choices that we had in Jake Long, Chris Long and Dorsey, you can’t go wrong."
Playing the run:
"I think he’s very good in the run defense. He does a very good job in hand placement and getting off blocks. He looks a lot like his father from that standpoint. You can tell that his father coached him, early. He’s got the ‘Howie move.’ I coached Howie with the Raiders when I first got into the league (as a coach) and now I’m coaching his son.
"Howie was just like Chris. Practices hard, very intelligent, understand the game, goes 100 miles per hour. Just a heck of a player. That’s what you see in Chris. Just not as big or tall as Howie."
As pass rusher?
"He’s a slip and slide guy, he can turn the corner. He has good vision on the quatrterback. He has good moves. Good moves coming inside and slanting. He probably turns the corner better on the left side than the right side right now. That’s something we need to work on. But I think he has upside on that and he can get better in that area. But he’s the kind of guy you can put him inside. If there’s a guard that you want to mash him up on, you put him inside. If there’s a tackle on either side you want to match up with, you can match him up. You can flip flop him with Leonard Little. To start he’ll be a right end. But he’ll do a lot of different things."
In the 3-4:
"You can stand him up. Walk him around. Rush him. Drop him into coverage. You can do that with him and Will Witherspoon and Leonard. I think he’s a better fit with teams like us that do a lot of different things instead of playing a straight 4-3 where you’re going to sit there and rush him all day. He’ll be more productive in our system because of all the things he can do. Because he’s really good at everything he does. And he’s smart."
The person:
"I give the kid a lot of credit for growing up in that family, and in that environment, with his father nationally known, and this kid does his own thing, and he doesn’t live in his dad’s shadow. He understands that his dad had his time, and now he has his time. The parents did a great job of raising this kid."
--B