Mario Addison should thrive in new Carolina Panthers defense

The Carolina Panthers’ new defense suits Addison well.

In case you haven’t heard, the Carolina Panthers are changing their defense just a little bit. Instead of the 4-3 base defense, they will be employing a 3-4 defense that is more of a hybrid type of formation.

For starters, I like it, as it allows defensive players to move around a little bit more rather than just staying in one spot. Especially with some of the draft picks the Carolina Panthers have gotten, most notably Brian Burns and Christian Miller, that could work out very well. Those two players are athletes in every sense of the word, and their play styles mold with the new era of football really well.

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When talking about a new era of football, I mean defensive players that can be more than just their position. For instance, Miller is a linebacker with speed. With today’s game being so offense-oriented, linebackers need to be fast enough now to either cover a receiving back out of the backfield or in some cases, keep up with a slot receiver. It’s a play style that gives traditional linebackers headaches, but I can’t fault the coaches for going in the direction of hybrids, as they are simply evolving with the game.

Mario Addison’s role will change a bit as well. The defensive end was an edge-rusher last year. He was a sack machine, at least in the first half of the season. Through nine games, he recorded 7.5 sacks on the year. In Week Nine, he had three sacks to his credit and he looked to be on his way to another great year. However, he would record 1.5 sacks the rest of the way, as offensive lines began to catch on to what he was doing.

Now, Addison will have a different role in the defense. As Steve Taranto of 247Sports notes, Addison was naturally crouched down the majority of the time he was on the field, due to the nature of his position. This will not be the case moving forward. Now, he can stand up, and as he notes, this will allow him to see the play better.

"“I like the standup part, because you can see the play unfold real quick and you can check the backfield out, so you’ve got more vision,” said Addison. “That’s why I like the 3-4. … Vision on the quarterback. That’s what it’s all about.”"

There is no doubt that Addison is a tremendous athlete. This will undoubtedly showcase some of that. If he can make more of an impact around the field and not just at the end position, that would be much better for the defense. This will allow the Carolina Panthers to have one of their best players making an impact on a game in multiple ways. That would already be a big improvement from last year, when at times, it felt like defensive players were stuck in their position and thus could not perform adequately.

Head coach Ron Rivera sees the potential for Addison to thrive in this defense as well.

"“He’s quick off the edge of the defense. Obviously he’s an explosive player, and I think this can add a little bit to his repertoire,” said head coach Ron Rivera. “I’m excited for Mario.”"

I am excited for Mario as well. I think he can have an even better year than he had last year. Not only that, I think this new defense will increase his ability to be able to impact the game. If he can put up numbers like he did in the first half of the season over the course of an entire one, he would be a Pro Bowl no-brainer. That would certainly be music to the ears of the Carolina Panthers.

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