Little has started Carolina's past two games at left tackle, as Russell Okung deals with a groin injury. Little has rotated with Trent Scott at the position in both contests. But after Scott took the majority of snaps against the Chargers, Little played 61 percent of the time against the Cardinals.
Rhule liked what he saw.
"His team needed him, and he stepped up and played well," Rhule said Monday. "Is he perfect? No. Does he have to improve on things? Yes. But he's way better this week than he was last week."
And the credit for that improvement, according to Little, goes to coaches and Okung.
"He and (offensive line coach Pat) Meyer have really helped me with my hands," Little said. "That's one thing I feel like I've gotten better at, and I needed to get better at. They've been a big help, supporting me the whole time."
A 2019 second-round pick, Little started three games as a rookie but battled through injuries most of the season. He was placed on injured reserve in December.
But Rhule has consistently praised Little since the start of training camp, highlighting his progress throughout. Now Little has displayed that in the last two weeks against some of the league's best pass rushers in Los Angeles' Joey Bosa and Arizona's Chandler Jones.
"It was kinda funny, seeing Chandler Jones line across the ball and hearing I had a one-on-one call, I was like, 'OK, that means they have a lot of confidence in me to get the job done, so I can't let them down,'" Little said.
Though Bosa had a sack against the Panthers, he recorded it when Little wasn't in the game. Carolina shut out Jones on Sunday, and he had only one quarterback hit.
"The last two weeks, we're talking about some All-Pro, all-NFL, Pro Bowl type-players, and Greg was really, really good," Rhule said.
As for Okung, Rhule said the 32-year-old starter is close to returning.
"If we didn't have so much confidence in Greg, (Okung) probably would've pushed himself to go," Rhule said. "But that's one of those injuries that if it's not 100 percent and he re-injures it, it could be a couple weeks."
If there's a silver lining, the Panthers have now created some depth along the line by getting Little and Scott experience. That's valuable for every offensive line, as it's a group with a high injury rate.
"We're a much deeper football team than we were a couple weeks ago," Rhule said.
October 06, 2020 at 04:55AM
https://www.panthers.com/news/the-day-after-greg-little-gaining-confidence
The Day After: Greg Little gaining confidence with strong play - Panthers.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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