Howie Long gets the day off

If you're tuning in to the Fox pregame show, break-in segments and post-game expecting to see Howie Long's reasonable insights balancing out Terry Bradshaw's confused yelling, you'll be disappointed. Long's getting the day off from sitting in front of the cameras. Instead, he's going to be sitting in the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, watching his two sons play a football game against each other.

Fox Sports has given Howie Long a Sunday off for the first time in 20 years so he can attend Sunday's #Bears #Rams game and watch his sons.

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) November 20, 2013

20 years!!!

For what it's worth, Howie always watches their games, even when he's on the air. From Biggs:

"Even when I am on the air and we're doing halftime and the Bears or Rams are on, my monitor is on the game live. I'll be looking down at the TV and I'll come up and make a point and I'll go back down to the TV."

Chris Long, the Rams defensive end, and his brother Kyle, the Bears rookie guard, could end up seeing plenty of each other in this week's game. It won't be a constant battle, but there should be some occasion for the interior offensive lineman to bump up against the outside pass rusher.

The brothers are looking forward to it as well. Here's what Kyle told the Chicago Tribune:

"Chris was my hero. The closest I have gotten to him on a football field was watching his open practices at the University of Virginia. I was just glued to his every step. He still is, in my mind, almost a folk character. He's a legend in our hometown, and to his younger brothers he is an inspiration."

Still, the battle won't be without some intensity.

Howie Long Jr. on his brothers: "I just hope the two of them don't lose their cool toward each other because it is going to be very heated."

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) November 20, 2013

Very heated, and very cool to see, for fans of whichever Long.