By Jim Thomas
June 11, 2008

ST. LOUIS — It basically was love at first sight when St. Louis management and Rams head coach Scott Linehan met Virginia DE Chris Long at the NFL Scouting Combine, and then at Long’s pro day shortly thereafter.

Funny, the Rams’ scouting department felt the same way about LSU DT Glenn Dorsey.

Near the end of a long, meticulous and expensive player evaluation process, the Rams had Dorsey clearly rated as the top player on their board.

Then, less than 48 hours before the draft, some mysterious “tweaking” occurred on the draft board. Depending on whom you talk to, Dorsey ended up rated either slightly ahead of Long or dead even with Long, once the “tweaking” had taken place.

Perhaps this was done to help justify the pick, because the Rams ended up selecting Long at the No. 2 overall slot in the draft, passing on Dorsey.

Rams DE Chris Long

But the team hardly is swimming in defensive tackles, either. Adam Carriker and Clifton Ryan are coming off promising rookie years, but La’Roi Glover is nearing the end of his career and 2006 draft pick Claude Wroten is shaping up as a bust.

So time will tell if the Rams made the right move in selecting Long, or goofed in passing on a potential great one in Dorsey.

It won’t be tough for Rams fans to keep track of Dorsey, because he’ll be playing right down Interstate 70 for the Show-Me State’s western NFL outpost, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Straight-shooting Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett knows Long will improve a St. Louis defense that finished 20th in run defense and 21st against the pass. But he also concedes that Dorsey just might be the next Warren Sapp.

“I love Dorsey,” Haslett said. “I think he’s a monster inside. He’s one of those guys that come along about once every 10 years. But to find defensive ends in this league that are effective and can do a lot of things — they’re hard to find. Chris kind of falls into that category.”

Long steps in immediately as the Rams’ starting right end in their 4-3 base defense. But Haslett’s complex scheme uses multiple fronts, and Long has the versatility to be used in a variety of ways once he settles in.

“Remember, he was in a 3-4 his whole career (at Virginia), and he’s lining up over a tackle,” Haslett said. “Now we’re going to have to move him outside and line him up over a tight end and in space. So it’s a little bit of a learning curve. But from what I know of him, and how smart he is … I don’t think it’ll be a big transition going from a 3-4 to a 4-3.”

Long’s sack total last season (14) at Virginia is impressive considering he played mainly over offensive tackles in the 3-4. Although not what you would call a natural pass rusher, the Rams are hopeful he can be just as effective playing more on the edge in a 4-3 scheme.

As a pass rusher, Haslett described Long as “a slip-and-slide guy. A guy that can turn the corner. He has great vision on the quarterback and can come back inside. He has great moves turning the corner.”

But Haslett still runs a lot of 3-4 fronts in passing situations, which should be a natural for Long. Long also dropped into coverage occasionally at Virginia. And he might flip sides with Little from time to time or be used as a stand-up end (almost like a rush linebacker).

“He can do a lot of different things for you,” Haslett said. “He’s a better fit for teams like us, Baltimore, Pittsburgh. Teams that do a lot of different things than just a straight 4-3 where you’re going to sit there and rush him all day.”

Around Rams Park, Long has been called a more athletic Grant Wistrom. The now-retired Wistrom, a No. 6 overall pick in 1998, was a starter for two Super Bowl teams in St. Louis. Long also has been compared to Seattle’s Patrick Kerney — a fellow Virginia product — because of his relentless, nonstop style of play.

An underrated part of Long’s game, probably because of his average size for the position (6-3, 279), is his run defense.

“I think he’s very good in run defense,” Haslett said. “He does a great job in hand placement and getting off blocks. He looks like his father from that standpoint. You can tell his dad coached him when he was young because he’s got the Howie moves.”

Long’s father, of course, is Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long, who also was coached by Haslett at the end of his NFL career.

While respectful of his father’s accomplishments as a player and grateful for his help over the years, Chris Long is trying to make his own name as he embarks on his pro career.

Jersey No. 75, which was Howie’s number with the Oakland Raiders, was available for Long in St. Louis. In fact, the Rams had just such a jersey ready for Long at his introductory press conference in St. Louis the day after he was drafted.

But Long figures it’s tough enough to try to follow in his father’s footsteps without the added pressure of wearing his jersey number.

“I think that I’m cool with the pressure,” Long said. “But there’s no need to shovel it on myself.”

Then again, he selected jersey No. 72, which was Dorsey’s number at LSU. But that’s an entirely different kind of pressure — one that Long won’t be able to avoid in St. Louis, either.

Take it from Billy Devaney, the Rams’ executive vice president of player personnel: “We really expect big things of him as a pass rusher.”

Jim Thomas covers the Rams for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.