Vince Wilfork is Pats' marked man in the middle

Though his aching body and the temperature outside are undoubtedly telling him it's the playoffs, it must feel like the beginning of training camp for New England Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork. When he scans the locker room, and sees the less-than-household likes of Landon Cohen, Eric Moore and Kyle Love, you'd forgive Wilfork for flashing back to the dog days of August.

While the serving of youth has worked out for the top-seeded Patriots, it has forced Wilfork into an unquestioned role as both leader and workhorse.

Wilfork, a quiet player who prefers to lead by example, was first forced in the direction of that role last year with the departure of Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel. But the situation was a tricky one for both player and team because the former first-rounder was in the final year of his six-year rookie deal and in a contentious dispute with management over his desire to be paid like a top defensive lineman.

Some speculated that Wilfork would hold out. He instead chose to play the season, and would be rewarded with a five-year $40 million deal this past March, a contract that included an $18 million signing bonus.

With his future secure, Wilfork's role as a team leader has felt more natural to all parties involved. It has also been borne of necessity. The Pats have lost Ty Warren, Mike Wright and Ron Brace for the season, meaning Wilfork has filled the dual role of playmaker and teacher for the perennial AFC East champs.

Playing defensive line for the Pats requires a unique combination of size, unselfishness and discipline. During his seventh year in the league, Wilfork has worked to instill that discipline into the younger defensive linemen.

"It's very tough coming into a system like this and being successful right away," said Wilfork. "It's very tough. At times it's not perfect. At times I go out and do some things that I look at [on] film and think, 'What was I thinking?'

"It's very tough in a scheme like this. But these guys, they get it. Me being a pretty accountable guy, I want to make sure that these guys coming in that are going to help [us] know how we do things."

The situation has also spelled more snaps for Wilfork.

The only defensive player on the postseason roster to win a Super Bowl, Wilfork was forced to play a season-high 75 snaps in a 31-27 win over the Green Bay Packers back in December, and that included playing on third down, something the 325-pound nose tackle had rarely done.

Quantifying Wilfork's performance can be difficult, because his excellence won't show up on the stat sheet in tackles or sacks. The 325-pounder (according to the team) posted two sacks in the regular season finale against the Dolphins, his first QB takedowns since 2008.

What the Miami (FL) product does more consistently is to occupy two offensive linemen, freeing up the linebackers playing behind him. Perhaps the best reflection of Wilfork's play this year was LB Jerod Mayo leading the league with 175 tackles. The effort helped both players earn Pro Bowl citations, including Wilfork's third in the past four years.

Bill Belichick said no one appreciates a good nose tackle like a middle linebacker, calling a good nose tackle a linebacker's best friend and comparing the Wilfork-Mayo duo to Hall of Famers Joe Greene and Jack Lambert with the 1970s Steelers. If you single-blocked Greene he made the play, and if you double-teamed him it would be Lambert on the tackle. Belichick notes the dilemma for opposing offenses.

"It's always hard when you have a guy on the line of scrimmage that's tough to block," Belichick said. "It makes it really tough to get up and get the linebacker behind him. The quicker you leave that defensive linemen to get the linebacker, then the harder it is for whoever is blocking him to keep him out of the play so the runner can get up to that second level."

Wilfork figures to make life exceedingly difficult for the Jets on Sunday, as the team's line attempts to create holes for RBs Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson. Part of the challenge will be in simply locating the 29-year-old behemoth Wilfork, who has lined up everywhere from outside the shoulder of the offensive tackle to over the head of the center this season. It is that versatility that helped earn Wilfork his third Pro Bowl selection in 2010.

The Jets do have some positive history to point to against the Pats, however.

New York's 28-14 victory over New England way back in Week 2 saw New England gutted for 136 rushing yards on 32 carries. Tomlinson averaged 6.9 yards per carry (11 carries, 76 yards) that day, and when the Pats blew out the Jets 45-3 in the second matchup, Rex Ryan's team still gained 152 yards on the ground.

The Pats run defense in the season's second half was similar to a punter on a team with a top offense -- it was rarely tested because of big leads. Overall, it allowed 4.2 yards per carry, a middle-of-the-pack 16th in the NFL. If the Jets have their way, Wilfork and his New England cohorts will have life much tougher than usual.

With struggling quarterback Mark Sanchez not proving much of a threat, the team will undoubtedly come out playing what Ryan refers to as Jets football -- get a lead, play great defense, run the ball and don't let the other team get it back.

Tomlinson, nearing the end of his career, would love nothing more than a playoff victory against the Pats after losing to them twice in consecutive playoff runs, including 2006 when the Chargers were 14-2 and the No. 1 seed.

Tomlinson had 23 carries for 123 yards in that game, but Patriots receiver Troy Brown stripped Chargers safety Marlon McCree in the closing minutes after McCree made an interception that would have probably sealed the game. San Diego lost 24-21 when Nate Kaeding missed a game-tying field goal in the final seconds.

Wilfork could be seen dancing and waving goodbye to Chargers fans after the win. The Pats hope for a repeat celebration Sunday from their largest leader on Sunday.

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(cbssports.com)