Jon Vilma, it wasn’t easy to take “big-picture” approach, but it was worth it

METAIRIE, La. — Like many who played college football at Miami, Jonathan Vilma tends to project a level of confidence that can easily be mistaken for arrogance.

This week, however, the middle linebacker and Saints defensive captain momentarily revealed his self-effacing side while talking about rejoining his teammates on the field last weekend following a three-game absence with a left knee injury.

“I don’t know how much better I make them when, again, we went 3-0 in that stretch,” Vilma said of his absence.

“But again, I’m glad to be out there, be out there with my guys,” Vilma continued, still a little bleary eyed from one of his daily afternoon power naps. “I know they all welcomed me back, they were excited that I was back. So that was probably the best thing, everyone was happy I was back, no one happier than I was, of course.”

Vilma spent most of the first half of the season playing through pain in his left knee that often caused him to miss practice. While he is not sure the injury made him noticeably slower or weaker on game days, he said the added attention he had to devote to treatment during the week, combined with his regular duties of studying opponents offenses so he could make all the defensive calls on the field, was exhausting.

“I’d say it was just tough preparing,” Vilma said. “Those Monday through Saturdays leading up to the game, those are tough. Tough physically and mentally, because I have to split my time now between taking care of my body and taking care of the opponent, getting ready for them. So that was probably the hardest thing. It wasn’t my performance.”

Vilma wanted to remain in the lineup, but was eventually persuaded that it might be better for him and the team if he took a month off in midseason to have minor arthroscopic surgery and returned in top form for the stretch drive and the postseason.

“That was everyone saying, ‘Look, let’s think big picture,’” Vilma said.

The procedure involved cleaning up loose cartilage that had been causing swelling and pain.

Vilma had a team-leading 10 tackles in his return last Sunday night against Detroit. That was a good sign for the Saints, who play this Sunday at Tennessee and will have to deal with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, whose veteran savvy and ability to throw on the run can cause fits for a heavy-pressure defense like that of the Saints.

Tennessee coach Mike Munchak said the amount of responsibility defensive coordinator Gregg Williams places on Vilma is a clear sign of how important the veteran linebacker is to his team.

“From the player’s perspective, when your leader’s there, it gives you a comfort that you wouldn’t have maybe if he’s not there,” said Munchak, a former NFL player himself. “It allows you to do more and play a little more relaxed. ... Gregg can put it on one guy to do the thinking and let the other guys just go play football. People don’t realize what a value that is.”

Outside linebacker Scott Shanle said he was impressed by Vilma’s performance in his return, but even more impressed by the patience Vilma showed before coming back.

“I’m proud of him for waiting until he was healthy enough to actually go out there and play that way because I think he probably could have pushed it and came back came back a little earlier,” Shanle said. “He looked good (Sunday night). He moved around well. He was to the point where he didn’t have any setbacks.”

Saints players teased Vilma about going undefeated in a total of four games while he’s been out this season, including a Week 3 victory over Houston, one week after Vilma was first injured.

“He hates those jokes,” linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar said. “JV is so competitive and he takes everything a little serious sometimes. ... It was fun. We’d all mess with him.”

Dunbar took over at middle linebacker in Vilma’s absence and performed well, by coaches’ accounts. While his role will be more limited with Vilma back, he said the defense is clearly stronger with its captain in the lineup, particularly now that he’s healthy again.

“He’s the heart and soul of what we do around here. He’s literally one of our best players on defense, if not the best player on defense,” Dunbar said. “He’s smart. He’s instinctive. He’s physical. I’ve learned so much from him these last four years on the field and off the field. He’s a really good person. It’s hard to put in words things he has done around here.”



(ap.com)