Go Long turns 2 years old!

And it's all thanks to you. Let's keep growing this community.

Good morning, everyone! And it’s still crazy to me that we can now say “good morning” to readers from around the globe. Love that we’ve welcomed subscribers from Western New York to Wisconsin to Israel to Scotland to… God knows where next.

We’re officially two years old at GoLongTD.com and continue to grow more than our family could’ve ever imagined, so I just wanted to extend another hearty Thank You.

Launching a sports media company in any capacity can be a daunting experience. After my time at Bleacher Report, The Buffalo News and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the bet here was that you all still wanted to carve out 15 to 20 minutes to read a story and truly learn something about pro football. A hard turn away from social media. Now, I’m more confident than ever that Go Long will continue to grow as your go-to home for longform. Your investment of time and money is something I’ll never take lightly. That’s what allows Go Long to take the sort of reporting trips needed to deliver quality journalism.

To our current subscribers, keep an eye out later this week for a new VIP-level option.

To readers thinking about subscribing, you’re always welcomed. Get all profiles, team deep dives, Q&As, podcasts and chat access by joining our community:

As a reminder, there are many ways to read our stories once you subscribe — right inside your email inbox, at GoLongTD.com and within the Substack app:

So grateful to have my pal Jim Monos as the co-host of our flagship podcast, available on Apple, Spotify and GoLongTD.com. Monos scouted for the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and served as the Buffalo Bills director of personnel. He’s now running football operations for the XFL. The man has stories to tell. My ‘ol mentor from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel days — the great Bob McGinn — will keep on supplying his top-notch reporting, too. More detail on what’s next from McGinn for subscribers is below.

To recap, here are a handful of our most-read pieces from Year 2 and, if you’d like to catch up on Year 1, you can dive into these links.

The bigger… and bigger… and bigger the NFL gets, the more true substance in its media coverage gets squeezed out. Go Long strives to bring you as close as possible to the sport as we can, be it through a humanizing profile, a penetrating deep dive, a virtual “Happy Hour” hangout with a player or even “The Isaiah McKenzie Show.”

Let’s keep this growing together.

Thank you again, everyone.

Deep Dives…

• Tua Time: Tua Tagovailoa is an MVP candidate and the Dolphins are contenders. But how? Go Long flew to South Florida to find out. It all starts with a team's genuine belief. (Two parts)

• The Detroit Lions Must Break You: Meet the maulers bringing Dan Campbell's battle cries to life. This ass-kicking offensive line is preserving what we love about football. (Two parts)

• It's a new day for the Minnesota Vikings: Can a new "culture" really trigger a Super Bowl run? It was bad before — really bad — but new head coach Kevin O'Connell is strengthening these Vikings where it matters most. (Two parts.)

• How this became a Josh Allen World: We stage a virtual roundtable with ex-quarterbacks, including the man who developed Allen (Jordan Palmer), to figure out how the Bills starter went from raw-as-hell rookie to MVP frontrunner.

• 'It was a bad, bad situation:’ Sean McDermott isn't talking about 13 Seconds. So, we reached out to players who will. Here's the inside story and what it says about the team — and head coach — into 2022.

• The Autopsy: How it all got so bad, so fast for the New York Giants (Three parts)

Profiles…

• Demario Davis has spoken to God: It is no coincidence that this linebacker — this heartbeat of the defense — only gets better with age. What a spiritual journey it’s been.

• 'I want to be the best corner to have ever played in this era:' There is only one Stephon Gilmore. The Indianapolis Colts' new cornerback is unlike any of his peers.

• T.J. Watt is the best player in football: What makes the Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker such a force? Go Long sat down with Watt to find out.

• Murder, cockroaches, belief: How Rachaad White bet on himself: Meet the rookie back who has lived it all. His big gambles kept paying off, and now Tom Brady will be a very happy man in Tampa Bay.

• What's next for the NFL Tight End? That's up to Kyle Pitts: He's the one who could take the TE position to a new level.

• The Beautiful Mind of Chase Edmonds: Everything the running back has been through created a mind unlike any. (Three parts)

• You don't know Yannick Ngakoue: An abusive father. Depression. The 27-year-old edge rusher opens up like never before.

• Wyatt Teller is why we love football: He drinks whiskey, breaks sternums, hunts gators and mauls linebackers. Here's how the "Pancake King of the Midwest" became the face of this glorious return to old-school football.

• Kenny Clark is the man of the house: Go Long heads to Wisconsin to sit down with the most important player on the Packers. This has been a journey of self-discovery for the nose tackle, from seeing his Dad locked up to this 2021 title run.

• 'Chido' is the cure for a Super Bowl hangover: Nigerian roots... kidnappings... chess... a brain that reads the play before it happens. Everything turned Chidobe Awuzie into one of the game's best corners and exactly what the Bengals need in 2022.

• 'I’m a unique dude:' How Foye Oluokun became the heartbeat of the resurgent Jags defense

• Kayvon Thibodeaux can save the day: The New York Giants fell apart in 2021... in every conceivable way. The new regime's first pick? This eclectic pass rusher out of Oregon. He may be exactly what the franchise needs, too.

Q&As…

• Why Lee Smith is the Great American Tight End Story: An abusive, alcoholic father sent the tight end to a very dark place. Yet, instead of ending up in a ditch, Lee Smith became one of the best blocking tight ends this century. How?

• 'We’re going to beat their ass:' How Jamaal Williams is pumping life into the Detroit Lions

• The tenacity of Terence Newman: We may never see an NFL cornerback quite like him.

• Alex Green escapes the abyss: Alcohol, weed, cocaine. The former Green Bay Packers running back knows his life could've ended. He hit rock bottom, got help and — now — he needs to share his story.

• How Stevie Johnson lit a flame in Buffalo: The current Buffalo Bills have roots in this wide receiver bursting with swagger. There's no denying it: He did it his way.

• ‘I want to be in the conversation with the elite of the elite:' Dawson Knox already shattered the odds to get to this point. Why stop now?

• Ahman Green was born to be a Packers running back: The team's all-time leading rusher details his rise to stardom, from a virus that could've killed him to a broken jaw to leaving defenders in the dust at Lambeau Field.

Columns…

• The lessons of Ted Thompson: Eerie similarities between 2018 and 2022 bring a different man to mind: the late, great GM.

• On the NFL’s dark side: After learning of disturbing accusations against their punter, the Buffalo Bills didn't act like a team valuing "culture" above "winning." Sadly, they are not alone.

• When going rogue goes wrong: No, it wasn't The Onion or The Babylon Bee. Colts owner Jim Irsay really did hire Jeff Saturday as his interim head coach this week.

• Monos' Draft Memories: Why did Stefon Diggs fall to the fifth round?

• Don't forget about the voyeurism scandal in 'Jerry's World:’ The NFL wants bad news to simply fade away. It shouldn't.

Bob McGinn’s NFL Coverage…

We have Hall-of-Fame sports writer — and Green Bay Packers expert — Bob McGinn on staff. This week, McGinn completes his exceptional look back at his 43 years covering the Packers. You can get all parts right in the Columns tab. Here’s Part 10 with all links included. (Part 11 will be up soon.)

Next up, “The McGinn Files.” These longform pieces trace some of the sport’s biggest names back to their roots. Like Brett Favre, Aaron Donald and Mike Vrabel. You won’t want to miss this year’s lineup.

And then, of course, it’ll be draft season before we know it. Nobody in the country covers the draft quite like McGinn, who’s connected to scouts, execs and coaches across the NFL. Be sure to sift through the archives for last spring’s entire position-by-position series.

Happy Hours…

• Richie Incognito on his unparalleled football life: The hell-raising NFL guard dishes on everything: the bullying scandal, the Bills days, his best war stories, Aaron Kromer, Mario Williams, Derek Carr and finding purpose in life today for 85 minutes.

• Live from Wyatt Teller's whiskey bar: The Cleveland Browns' old-school guard goes long on all things Baker Mayfield, the Bills, becoming a Dad and... hunting gators.

• Doug Whaley dishes on... everything: Working with Rex Ryan. The XFL. Interviewing for the Steelers GM job. And, hey, remember the time the Bills thought they'd land Russell Wilson? Whaley has stories to share with subscribers.

• Isaiah Likely takes you inside a predraft speed date: The Coastal Carolina TE hung out with Go Long subscribers. Here's the video.

• How Stevie Johnson changed the game: He was a fan favorite who brought a buzz to a team in need. Stevie Johnson explains how he created his unique style and relives countless stories from the gridiron, T.O. to Marshawn to Marrone.

• Eric Wood on the Buffalo Bills' past, present and future: The Pro Bowl center spends an hour to talk Bills-Patriots, Rex Ryan, today's NFL and he also explains that strange press conference to end his career.