vince wilfork

There has to be something going on injury-wise with Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. He’s never going to wow with quarterback pressure, but he has been elite at taking on double teams and holding his gap against the run. Wilfork struggled mightily with that in the first two games, to the point that Jets guard Vlad Ducasse completely handled him on Thursday night. This is something to watch because the Patriots are basically playing a three-man tackle rotation with Wilfork, Tommy Kelly (who also tired against the Bills) and undrafted free agent Joe Vellano. That’s all the Patriots have.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/there-has-to-be-something-going-on-injury-wise/

Vince, he’s certainly anchored our defense since ’05 really. In ’04 he was kind of a rotational player. He’s been a solid guy there for us. He’s played wherever we’ve needed him to play. He’s played nose, he’s played defensive tackle, he’s played defensive end. Yeah, as well as being a great player, he’s been a great leader. He does a great job with the younger players. He’s certainly one of the most respected players on the team, particularly along with [Jerod] Mayo – two of our most experienced defensive players – they provide a lot of leadership to the entire unit, as does Devin [McCourty] but Devin is a little younger and it’s more in the backend. As far as the front goes, Vince and Jerod, they both do a great job of that.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/vince-hes-certainly-anchored-our-defense-since/

3. Vince Wilfork, New England (9): Wilfork has built up his stamina over the past few years and now plays in many pass situations that years ago he would have been subbed out for. Wilfork has outstanding range along the line of scrimmage and that’s the reason New England plays him at DE more often than he lines up in his original NT position.

https://www.patspropaganda.com/3-vince-wilfork-new-england-9-wilfork-has/

“Any time you can add veteran guys on your club that want to win, and know how to win, it’s always a plus,” Wilfork said. “Tommy coming from Oakland, you could just tell he loved to compete. He wanted to win. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen a lot out there in Oakland. But as an athlete, looking at another athlete, with the type of motor he has, the way he played, how he go about his business, you can tell he’s hungry still. “It puts us in a better situation. It’s going to be a privilege to play alongside him. It’s going to give us a good rotation and good depth on our defensive line . . . as long as we stay healthy, we have a good chance of being competitive.”

https://www.patspropaganda.com/any-time-you-can-add-veteran-guys-on-your-club/