Panthers’ Greg Little explains the crushing block on Cardinals’ safety Deionte Thompson
Panthers left tackle Greg Little remembers running the play in practice earlier in the week — a play-action fake and screen pass to wide receiver Robby Anderson, with all five offensive lineman leading the way.
As the play developed, Little saw rookie cornerback Troy Pride Jr., who is 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, in front of him. Little, who’s 6-5, 311 pounds, said he could have taken his teammate out, but he didn’t. It was only practice.
But when the Panthers ran the same play in their game against the Cardinals on Sunday, Little saw safety Deionte Thompson in space and refused to hold back.
“When I saw that same look on the field, I was like, ‘oh man, I’ve got to kill him,’ Little recalled. “I got to kill him.’ ”
Little pushed Thompson so hard, he landed at least a yard back on his side.
The block helped spring Anderson for a 23-yard gain in the first quarter. The play was one of many that helped the Panthers defeat the Cardinals, 31-21.
“It was cool, just getting a big block for Robby to get some good yards,” Little said. “It was fun to be out there and have fun with the guys.”
Little started Sunday in place of left tackle Russell Okung, who missed his second consecutive game with a groin injury. Panthers coach Matt Rhule said Okung likely could have played through the injury, but he had faith in Little.
“We knew Greg Little was going to go out and play well,” Rhule said Monday. “And Greg Little went out and played really well. He’s playing against Chandler Jones. The last two weeks, we’re talking about some All-Pro, All-NFL, Pro Bowl type players and Greg was really, really good.”
Little struggled to see the field during his rookie season in 2019. The former second-round pick suffered two concussions and finished the season on injured reserve with an ankle injury. He played in only four games. Little told The Observer in August that his goal this season was just to stay healthy.
So far, he’s done that.
With Okung out, Little has rotated with Trent Scott at left tackle. In Week 3 against the Chargers, Scott got the majority of the snaps. But against the Cardinals, Little played 71% of the team’s offensive snaps.
“His opportunity has come and he’s done really well the last two weeks,” Rhule said. “Is he perfect? No. Does he have to improve on things? Yes. But he’s way better this week than he was last week.”
Panthers injury news
Rhule said cornerback Eli Apple pulled his hamstring on a special teams play early in Sunday’s game. Apple missed the first three weeks of the season after being played on the injured reserve list with a hamstring and foot injury.
Apple was activated to the roster prior to Sunday’s game. Rhule said Monday he wasn’t sure how serious the injury was.
Other notes
The NFL sent a memo to club owners, presidents, general managers, coaches and infection control officers addressing changes made to the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
Among the changes were:
▪ A longer onboarding process for free agent tryouts
▪ Bans on gatherings outside of the club facility
▪ Limits on the number of tryouts permitted per week
▪ League-wide video monitoring system to ensure compliance with the protocols
This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Panthers’ Greg Little explains the crushing block on Cardinals’ safety Deionte Thompson."
