Vince Wilfork interested in results, not stats

VinceWilforkCanes
FOXBORO — His presence on the stat sheet wasn’t big.

Vince Wilfork did come up big on NFL highlight reels from coast to coast for one play in the Patriots’ most recent game, their 49-19 rout of the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Thanksgiving night, however.

Fact is, Wilfork transformed Mark Sanchez into the poster child for the Jets’ humiliating loss.

In one fell swoop, the 325-pound defensive tackle overpowered guard Brandon Moore, literally driving his backside into Sanchez, with the force of the hit causing the Jets quarterback to cough up the football. Safety Steve Gregory scooped up the fumble and returned it 32 yards for a second-quarter touchdown.

Come night’s end, though, Wilfork had been credited with a modest three tackles and wasn’t even given a forced fumble.

Then again, it was Moore who actually forced the fumble.

Such is the nature of the beast, though, when one is manning the position Wilfork plays in the Patriots’ defensive scheme.

“Winning is everything to me,” Wilfork shrugged on Thursday. “I couldn’t care less about individual stats. I don’t care about the accolades. I couldn’t care less about that.

“My main goal is to win, and if we’re winning and I’m playing well with zero stats I’m fine with that. I’m not a selfish player. I love guys making plays. I love making plays, but sometimes it doesn’t happen like that so it is what it is when it comes to that. As long as we win, I’m happy.”

Far more often than not, Wilfork has been both, productive and an integral part of winning.

Should the Patriots win at Miami on Sunday, the four-time Pro Bowler will become a member of the AFC East division champions for the eighth time in his career.

“You always want to win your division,” said Wilfork. “Most of the time, that’s your toughest games because you have teams that you play each other twice a year, sometimes three times (including) the postseason.

“You know each other’s schemes. You might have a few wrinkles here and there, but mainly, the team does what they do. It’s a prime case right now. The Dolphins know us. We know them.”

The Dolphins know what they’re up against in Wilfork.

“Well, when you talk about the structure of their defense, you want to be strong through the middle, and they are,” Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman said. “He’s at the center point of just about everything that happens.

“You have to be able to block him to have any success around the football. I mean, he is a man amongst boys out there a lot of times and really controls that line of scrimmage for them.”

Even if the numbers don’t always reflect it.

With 39 tackles through 11 games, Wilfork is on pace to finish with a career-low 57 tackles, which was addressed by the web site profootballfocus.com in a recent article that his wife, Bianca, pointed out to him.

“My whole career, high school (at Santaluces in Lantana, Fla.) and college (at the University of Miami), it seems the longer the season goes, the better I play,” shrugged Wilfork. “Nine years now (in the NFL), the same thing. Just prepare well.

“Sometimes I make some adjustments in games and weeks. Sometimes I don’t make plays. Sometimes I make a lot of plays. But my thing is to be the best I can be for my teammates.

“If that’s making one tackle or making 10 tackles, I really don’t care about that,” said Wilfork. “My goal is to always do what I do best, do what I can do to help this ballclub win.”


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(enterprisenews.com)
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