Editing Howie Long (section)

==Professional career==
Selected in the second round of the [[1981 NFL draft]] by the [[1981 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders]], Long played 13 seasons for the club, wearing the number 75. On the Raiders defensive line, Long earned eight [[Pro Bowl]] selections.

He had high aspirations early in his career. He told'' [[Football Digest]]'' in 1986 that he wanted "Financial security, and I want to be President. That's my goal. And I'd like to win a few more Super Bowls."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usd.edu/~jhenriqu/web/howie/digest.html |title=Football Digest, June, 1986 |publisher=Usd.edu |access-date=May 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909112927/http://www.usd.edu/~jhenriqu/web/howie/digest.html |archive-date=September 9, 2007}}</ref> Along the way, he was also named first-team All-Pro three times (in [[1983 All-Pro Team|1983]], [[1984 All-Pro Team|'84]], and [[1985 All-Pro Team|'85]]) and second-team All-Pro twice (in [[1986 All-Pro Team|1986]] and [[1989 All-Pro Team|1989]]). He was selected by [[John Madden]] to the [[John Madden#All-Madden|All-Madden]] teams in 1984 and 1985 and was named to the 10th Anniversary All-Madden team in 1994.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}

Long was voted the [[NFL Alumni]] Defensive Lineman of the Year and the [[NFLPA]] AFC Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1985. He capped off a stellar 1985 season earning the [[Newspaper Enterprise Association NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award|George Halas Trophy]] for having been voted the NEA's co-NFL Defensive Player of the Year (along with [[Andre Tippett]]). He was also named the Seagrams' Seven Crown NFL Defensive Player of the year. The following year, Long was voted the Miller Lite NFL Defensive Lineman of the Year. Both those awards were taken by polls of NFL players. In 1986, Long was voted to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl and was key in helping the Raiders record 63 sacks and being the number one defense in the AFC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&defensiveStatisticCategory=GAME_STATS&conference=ALL&role=OPP&season=1986&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=TOTAL_YARDS_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=1&d-447263-n=1 |title=NFL.com |website=[[NFL.com]] |access-date=May 1, 2013}}</ref> From 1983 to 1986 the Raiders defense recorded 249 sacks, which tied with the Chicago Bears for tops in the NFL over that span.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}

Long collected 91{{frac|2}} sacks during his career (7{{frac|2}} are not official, as sacks were not an official statistic during his rookie year).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=133 |title=Pro Football Hall of Fame.com |publisher=Profootballhof.com |access-date=May 1, 2013}}</ref> His career high was in 1983 with 13 sacks, including a career-high five against the Washington Redskins on October 2, 1983. He also intercepted two passes and recovered 10 fumbles during his 13-year career. At the time of his retirement, he was the last player still with the team who had been a Raider before the franchise moved to Los Angeles. He won the [[Super Bowl XVIII]] title as the left defensive end with the Raiders (1983 season), beating the [[Washington Commanders|Washington Redskins]], as he outplayed the opposing offensive tackle, [[George Starke]]; the vaunted Washington running game led by [[John Riggins]] had only 90 yards in 32 rush attempts.

Long's signature defensive move was the "rip," which employed a quick, uppercut-like motion designed to break an opposing blocker's grip.{{citation needed|date = November 2013}}

[[Pro Football Weekly]] (PFW) named Long as one of the ends on its All-time 3–4 defensive front, along with [[Lee Roy Selmon]], [[Curley Culp]], [[Lawrence Taylor]], [[Andre Tippett]], [[Randy Gradishar]], and [[Harry Carson]]. PFW based its "Ultimate 3–4" team on the vote of over 40 former NFL players, coaches, and scouts.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.profootballweekly.com/NR/rdonlyres/ewxay3cliypdlcaw755aavhd5xhtrpmjsh7j7vbw6quayxvpvziksis5yyhd6hgu2e4xnyx6rxcpckurbbvnfywxycf/V22Iss29.pdf |title=Hard-Nosed|journal=[[Pro Football Weekly]] |volume=22 |issue=29 |date=January 21, 2008|page=16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229103814/http://www.profootballweekly.com/NR/rdonlyres/ewxay3cliypdlcaw755aavhd5xhtrpmjsh7j7vbw6quayxvpvziksis5yyhd6hgu2e4xnyx6rxcpckurbbvnfywxycf/V22Iss29.pdf|archive-date=February 29, 2008|issn=0032-9053|last=Borges|first=Ron|author-link=Ron Borges}}</ref>