DT Vince Wilfork: There was a time when it looked like this longtime defensive fulcrum – the man whose heft, dexterity and superiority in the biggest games defined this defense – would be gone. Ultimately he returned, but after missing much of last season and the Patriots still reaching another championship game, some might consider that Wilfork is less important. I disagree. This defense is still hardly loaded with individual brilliance, and if Wilfork can cull something and give Bill Belichick one more excellent season, then I really like the odds of the Pats being a top seed and being able to show that 3-4 front they prefer more times than not opens things up for guys like Chandler Jones and Don’t’a Hightower off the edge.