Tennessee Titans to face Carolina Panthers without top pass rusher
By Will Lomas
The crushing reality of life leaves Tennessee Titans facing a less potent defense.
Tennessee Titans fans always want to see their team in a situation where they have the best chance to win a football game, but no one is happy about this.
Carolina Panthers leading sack artist Mario Addison will miss this week following a personal tragedy in his life.
Football is a fascinating sport that seems to consume people for days at a time (if not months), but even then things like this are quick to remind you that it is just a game and whether you like it or not the athletes have a life off the field.
Since it needs to be talked about, let’s look at the difference on the field with Addison out.
As the team’s leader in TFLs and sacks, there isn’t exactly a great way to replace what Addison has given the Panthers this year. However, they are lucky enough to have several guys who can step into the mix and play a bigger role, including Brian Burns.
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The rookie star is second in the team in sacks, and while he has already played more EDGE snaps than anyone else outside of Addison himself, there is still more for him to do.
Averaging around 39 snaps per game, it may be time to make him a full blown starter much like the Titans did this year transitioning Harold Landry from rotational player (who got a lot of snaps) to full-time guy.
This loss is going to sting the Panthers, but they are one of the few teams in the NFL who could lose their most productive EDGE and still be alright.
Just like this entire week, this matchup is going to be about the trenches on both sides and with the Titans missing Ben Jones and the Panthers missing Addison, it is now a matchup of the coaching staffs responsible for keeping their guys engaged and ready even when they aren’t expecting to start.
Any time you have to lean on the Titans offensive coaches, you know that you are in a tight spot but at the very least this matchup should be closer after this lineup change and ultimately it may mean that we see more Jonnu Smith and less MyCole Pruitt which is a great thing if you have been keeping up with Smith the last few weeks.