Bud Dupree’s return would be huge for the Tennessee Titans

Whatever you think about Bud Dupree’s contract, anyone who watches football will tell you that he is a valuable addition to the Tennessee Titans’ pass rush.

Bud Dupree started the season strong with a sack against the New York Giants, before getting injured early in the game against the Buffalo Bills.

In Week 3 the Titans missed his presence and despite numerous hurries, Tennessee only finished that game with one sack.

While Dupree missed the Week 3 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders, he is going to practice this week and see where his health is at on Sunday. It would be a big deal for the Titans to have their best EDGE back as they head to face the Indianapolis Colts.

Bud Dupree is the Tennessee Titans’ secret game changer

Going back to last season, Dupree has been in and out of the lineup with injuries and it has hurt the defense when he hasn’t been out there. How much? Well, in the 8 games Dupree has missed, the Titans average less than 2 sacks per game.

In the 13 games where Dupree has played, the Tennessee Titans average 3.5 sacks per game.

That is a massive difference and that isn’t a small sample size, so take this seriously.

Now, having that sort of impact would be big any week, but it will be particularly helpful against the Indianapolis Colts.

Through three games, Matt Ryan has been sacked 14 times and the offensive tackles that the Colts are putting out there right now are getting blown by in pass protection. Whether or not the Titans choose to blitz Matt Ryan often, a pass rush with Bud Dupree should be very difficult for this Colts line to deal with.

Some veteran quarterbacks can still make their offense work when they are under pressure. Take Ryan Tannehill for example, under pressure he is still completing more than 50% of his passes with nearly 7 yards per attempt.

Meanwhile, Matt Ryan is completing less than 30% of his passes and he is averaging 3.8 yards per attempt.

Pressuring Matt Ryan is easy and he is more than happy to take a sack (and potentially fumble the ball as well), and Bud Dupree makes that an even easier task.

Jeffery Simmons is a superstar and he is going to wreak havoc against the interior offensive line of the Colts along with Denico Autry. Rashad Weaver has a team-leading 3 sacks and is improving every game, so Dupree is the missing piece to this puzzle.

Every Tennessee Titans fan should be monitoring Dupree’s health closely as the week goes on.