Countdown to Kickoff… 75 Days Until Chicago Bears Season Opener

May 10, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears guard Kyle Long (75) walks off the field after the rookie minicamp on Friday. Mandatory Credit: Reid Compton-USA TODAY Sports

I decided to do a countdown to the Chicago Bears season opener on September 8th versus the Cincinnati Bengals.  Thanks to one of my Twitter followers, I decided to combine the countdown with a roster preview of sorts.

We’re Kyle Long days away from the start of the Chicago Bears 2013 season.  Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you know who Kyle Long is, but let’s take a closer look at the expectations of Phil Emery’s latest first round draft pick.

Phil Emery surprised most people, including Long himself, by drafting the Oregon offensive line prospect with the 20th selection in the 2013 NFL draft.  Long has the pedigree, as dad Howie and brother Chris have NFL resumes.  Long was called a “rare” talent by Phil Emery in his post-draft presser and there’s no denying his athleticism based on the numbers he put up at the Combine.

The big challenge for Long will be catching onto the moving train.  With Marc Trestman’s new high volume offense and Long being forced to miss most of the offseason program, Long has a lot of catching up to do to catch up with his teammates.  The Bears expect to plug Long in at guard, but he’ll have to beat out James Brown in order to earn a starting spot.  Look for that to be one of the highlight positional battles in training camp.

While Long is long on potential, he has limited playing experience, only having started a handful of games for the Ducks.  Emery and the Bears are banking on his ability to overcome the lack of experience and become an immediate contributor.  Long could become a right tackle, so his time at guard could be short term.

We’re 75 days away from kickoff.  Are you ready???