Chris Long may no longer be on the Eagles’ roster, but that hasn’t stopped him from defending his Super Bowl teammates. Long, who announced his retirement earlier this offseason, clapped back at Sports Illustrated‘s MMQB and their rankings of the best offensive linemen in football.
MMQB writers Andy Benoit and Gary Gramling compiled a list of the Top 10 Offensive Linemen For 2019 and conveniently omitted Johnson. The Eagles right tackle took to Twitter to express his displeasure by simply posting the “thinking face emoji” and saying: “Noted.” Long immediately came to Johnson’s defense by replying: “Ppl don’t know shit son.”
@LaneJohnson65 Ppl don’t know shit son
Most of the players that did rate high among Benoit and Gramling seemed to share a certain shade of blue and silver. The duo had three Cowboys in their top 10, including guard Zack Martin, tackle Tyron Smith and center Travis Frederick. They did make sure to get one undeniably deserving Eagle on there: Jason Kelce, arguably the best center in the NFL, with the hard stats to prove it.
Jason Kelce finished as the NFL’s highest-graded center in 2018
The voting was tabulated in the following manner, per MMQB.
“Others receiving votes” is included if you listen to the show, along with more offensive line discussions including whether or not to spend big on the O-line, the value of the center position, and a Q&A with Tampa Bay Bucs left tackle Donovan Smith. Position ranking voting is AP Poll-style among three panelists, with Andy’s votes counting double.”
Long wasn’t the only one taking issue with the MMQB list. Tons of Eagles fans aggressively piled on in the comments section, too. As one Eagles apologist pointed out, Benoit has been known for “idiotic” takes and once claimed that Jacoby Brissett was a better quarterback than Russell Wilson.
@LaneJohnson65 You should be there along with Brandon Brooks and Jason Peters.
@LaneJohnson65 You must of pissed someone off…..but your Philly family and everyone who watches the eagles knows what it is!
@LaneJohnson65 Tell em lane! Nobody complimented Runyan, either! Haha. #haters they scared of you, @LaneJohnson65 #bootstoasses
Johnson may have had an “off year” by his standards in 2018, but the 29-year-old was still a force to be reckoned with and stabilizing force for the Eagles. He graded out nicely in Pro Football Focus’ end-of-year rankings, cracking the Top 25 after not allowing a single pressure in two of his last four games. He battled a Grade 2 MCL tear and high ankle sprain in his left leg for a good chunk of the season and was just trying to get to the finish line. Johnson wouldn’t blame the injuries for his performance, but it certainly put him at less than 100 percent.
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“That’s the game,” Johnson told reporters, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “The only thing that counts is I just wanted to be there for my team. Sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose. Obviously, there are some plays you’d like to have back, but moving forward is the best you can do.”
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Chris Long Rips Sports Illustrated After Lane Johnson Snub