vince wilfork

Yes please. Seems like there’s a number of talented defensive tackles that should be available at the bottom of the first round, early in the second.

Exhibit #232 in my “Pats Need D-lineman” thesis…

Brandon Lloyd – When New England and Baltimore squared off in Week 3 of the regular season, Lloyd racked up nine receptions for 108 yards on a team-high 12 targets. Most frequently working in Ravens right cornerback Cary Williams’ coverage, Lloyd dominated on pass patterns down the sideline. While the rest of Baltimore’s defense has improved since that early-season meeting, Williams has remained the Ravens’ primary weakness in the secondary. Expect quarterback Tom Brady to once again attack Williams with Lloyd in Sunday night’s AFC Championship Game.

Vince Wilfork – Wilfork was every bit deserving of his All-Pro selection this season, but Week 3 against Baltimore wasn’t among his shining 2012 moments. Wilfork got pushed around by Ravens right guard Marshal Yanda as tailback Ray Rice totaled 150 yards and a touchdown in Baltimore’s thrilling 31-30 win. In order to contain Rice in the rematch, the Patriots are going to need a better performance from their decorated nose tackle. Wilfork is New England’s anchor in run defense.

Dead on stuff in this one…

Midway through November we were asking ourselves What’s wrong with Vince Wilfork?, but the anchor in the middle of New England’s line has since upped his game. He ranks fourth among all defensive tackles this season with an 8.7 Run Stop Percentage. On the second level, Brandon Spikes leads all inside linebackers with a 14.0 run defense grade, and Jerod Mayo has the second-highest Run Stop rate of all 4-3 outside linebackers with a 10.6 mark. If Houston is looking for a weakness in the Patriots’ run defense, targeting its rookies on the outside could be a start. Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower both rank in their lower half of their positions with 5.0 and 6.8 Run Stop Percentages, respectively.

Great read on Wilfork’s dominance against the Texans. Need another big day from big Vince.

The key to an improved day for Foster: blocking Vince Wilfork. It is much easier said than done. The massive defensive tackle was pegged as a Pro Bowl starter this season, and he has the ability to disrupt completely a team’s run game. Houston found that out first-hand earlier in the year. Wilfork’s interior presence is a major problem for the Texans, because their ground game relies on stretching the field wide and cutting back to space. Wilfork eliminates a lot of those openings.

Great piece from Chris Price, and he really nails it on the head with the quote below.

This is where Wilfork will likely suffer with Hall of Fame voters. The bottom line? The Hall likes big men, but doesn’t necessarily tend to reward big men in the middle who don’t pile up big sack numbers. Those who didn’t watch Wilfork over the course of his career will instead look at his statistical line and see a handful of sacks – he had just the 15th of his career Monday night against Houston – particularly when compared to some of the other defensive tackles of his era. Of course, Wilfork has played the majority of his career in a defense that didn’t call for a penetrating defensive tackle, but that won’t matter to voters who didn’t see him play on a regular basis and only look at his final numbers.

It’s really too bad because anyone who has watched the games know that Wilfork was the single most valuable piece for a team that won more games than anyone else over his career.