Ex-Patriot clears the air on “No Fun New England”
A lot has been said about the Patriots and Bill Belichick over the years, especially about the intense routines they implement in practice and game preparation. Most of the chatter has come from the mouths of players who have never played for the team, making their assumptions a little less credible. But a handful of former Patriots have expressed their dislike of their experience in New England.
Because the Belichick-run team over the last twenty-plus years has been so successful, and fans of the other 31 teams were sick of seeing it, more people are inclined to believe the negative assessments of the team. Those who have spoken in favor of the coach and the group tend not to make as many headlines in today’s media, with more negativity being favored.
But this week, another former Patriot came to the team’s defense again, citing his one Super Bowl-winning year spent in New England for reference. During an appearance on Tom Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast, Chris Long, who spent the 2016 season in Foxboro, shared that he enjoyed his time with the team and referred to Belichick’s teachings and coaching as a “blessing.”
"“(It was) impactful. I mean, it was so impactful to me. First thing is (I had) great teammates, lifelong friends. Learning football from Bill Belichick was such a blessing. And he was so cool about the way it ended, too. Not that he cared that I was leaving, but he didn’t hold a grudge or nothing like that. We still text from time to time… Everything worked out. It just worked out.”"
A lot of the conversation heightened after the Eagles beat the Patriots in Super Bowl 52. Lane Johnson went on for months after the win, continuously asserting New England was “not a fun place” to play. Because Long had won the Super Bowl with the team just the year before, many felt he was the root of his teammates’ proclamation, despite his constant praise of the franchise.
However, Long cleared the air with Curran and reiterated his enjoyment of playing with the Patriots.
"Lane opened his mouth. …Lane got walked into that and it just stuck. And of course, everybody was like, ‘Oh, Lane is best buddies with Chris. Chris is the one who said it.’ 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. 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.”"