Greg Little (Revisited)

[MHS831]

Let's take another look at Greg Little.  Many of you wrote him off as a bust because he was overwhelmed at times during preseason.  As a former OL coach in high school, something that means little to nothing, allow me to pontificate:

1.  Little has the size, agility, and the measurables.  He is 6'5". 310, has 10 1/4 hands and his arms are 35 1/4 arms--you can't coach that.  It is the most most impressive group of numbers for any tackle in the draft.

2.  Here is the summary before the draft from NFL.com:

Little possesses the important combination of size, length and quickness as a prototypical left tackle prospect. While he wasn't asked to do it much in 2018, he has the athletic ability to handle zone-blocking duties, which could suit his skill-set more than a physical rush attack. Little is a natural bender with good feet and pepper in his punch as blind-side protector, but his average anchor and inconsistent body control create some concern. He will be an early starter at left tackle, but needs to improve his strength and eliminate his tendency to lean in order to reach the potential his physical and athletic traits offer.

MHS831:  Strength is his biggest concern.  He did not lift at the combine, and for an OL, that is a red flag.  He leans forward to gain leverage as you would if trying to stop a rolling car.  The stronger he gets, the less he will have the need to bend at the waist.  Imagine that car zigging or swimming over you once you lunged forward to stop it.  Little has not seen the speed he is facing, but I assure you, going against Addison, Burns, Haynes, and Miller in practice, will help.  He will still struggle at times, so temper expectations this year. I think his technique will be improved with reps and strength.  Watch him at the end of game--when he is tired, and you will see this issue more clearly.

Honestly, by year three, he should be a solid starting LT if he continues to develop.  There is one more thing:  He needs a stud LG beside him; at the moment, he does not.

Be patient with Little; he is a project.  If he were not, he would have been a top 10 pick for sure.  However, it was a solid pick, and we had little choice at that time.  Support him.  He will suck at times.  He will surrender sacks.  He will get burned.  And gradually, he won't. 

[MHS831]

3 minutes ago, thebigcat said:

He already has surpassed D. Williams

D. Williams is the LG we need--Just waiting for RR to think of it.  He filled in for Turner fairly well Sunday.

The pieces are there--we will just have no depth.

[joemac]

They need to go ahead and end this Williams at LT experiment and slide him over to LG and let Little take over at LT.

[Khyber53]

Honestly, I think Van Roten isn't getting the credit he deserves. The guy's game is improving and the longer the line unit stays together as a group, the better they will work together. And Van Roten's ability to pull is really important.

[Car123]

13 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Honestly, I think Van Roten isn't getting the credit he deserves. The guy's game is improving and the longer the line unit stays together as a group, the better they will work together. And Van Roten's ability to pull is really important.

Yeahh, Van Roten has been real solid. I'm not so sure Williams would be  a better choice. We'll see how Williams does at RG on Sunday.

[MHS831]

18 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Honestly, I think Van Roten isn't getting the credit he deserves. The guy's game is improving and the longer the line unit stays together as a group, the better they will work together. And Van Roten's ability to pull is really important.

You are right--he reaches LBs well too.  We don't get much push from him in the run game on the left side, and he is a bit of a liability in pass protection.

[Black&BlueBubba]

Just now, Car123 said:

Yeahh, Van Roten has been real solid. I'm not so sure Williams would be  a better choice. We'll see how Williams does at RG on Sunday.

Agreed.  I’m not sure if Trai is gonna play Sunday.  Little at LT and Williams a RG.  

If Williams performs well at RG we could slide him to LG for GVR.  But with that said I don’t think GVR is playing poorly.  

Larsen is the one that looked bad when replacing Trai.  He really has fallen off over the last year. 

[Toomers]

4 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

You are right--he reaches LBs well too.  We don't get much push from him in the run game on the left side, and he is a bit of a liability in pass protection.

Which is the problem. Doing well at something that is only called for about 20% of the time doesn’t make up for being poor at the rest. 

[Khyber53]

1 hour ago, Car123 said:

Yeahh, Van Roten has been real solid. I'm not so sure Williams would be  a better choice. We'll see how Williams does at RG on Sunday.

Let's see if Little and Van Roten work better together for a game or two, just to make sure that Van Roten wasn't be covered up for by Williams or taking the blame for him. 

Not saying Williams is a bad O-lineman, but he's out of place at LT and I'm not sure that he hasn't lost a step or two since the injury. 

[mc52beast]

People who continue to bash Little should remember that we had a literal SpeedBump at LT not to long ago

[jb2288]

2 hours ago, MHS831 said:

He needs a stud LG beside him; at the moment, he does not.

This one hurts.. I know RR loves doing the ease rookies into it thing but I believe it's time. When Trai is back we need Darryl at LG. 

[panther252]

1 hour ago, mc52beast said:

People who continue to bash Little should remember that we had a literal SpeedBump at LT not to long ago

So two weeks ago? 

[iamhubby1]

    I am sorry. But, if Trai comes back this week, I am not sure Daryl sees the field. Unless they do that stupid trade series move again with him, and Little. Daryl still has a lot of trouble moving laterally. Hellz, he has a hard time moving at all. That knee is still bothering him. 

 

    Also, get off Van Rotens butt. He has been playing very well as of late. Stop parroting what others say. Use your own eyes. Then get back with me. I'll set ya straight I tell ya what.

[Snake]

This is why I don't put much into preseason and TC. Williams looked like a beast and Little trash. Now it's changed. Kyle Allen's and Cams for that matter success rests on Greg Little because Williams isn't a LT.