FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Patriots list Vince Wilfork at 325 pounds, which might be accurate if this was 2004.
They also list Wilfork as strictly a nose tackle, which would be spot-on if this was still September.
No, what you see on paper from New England about the big man from Miami isn’t what the Jets will get in real life here Sunday when they square off with their bitter rival in the AFC playoffs.
Not only is Wilfork a lot closer to 400 pounds than he is 325, but the three-time Pro Bowl pick also is a man of many roles and positions on a young New England defense with three rookie starters.
As well as asking Wilfork to clog the middle in their 3-4 scheme as one of the NFL’s top nose tackles, the Patriots like to move him around in the defense when he isn’t guiding the talented newcomers.
“I’m a player, I’m a coach, I’m a mentor — you name it,” Wilfork said yesterday as the 14-2 Patriots continued their preparation for Gang Green’s weekend assault.
While Wilfork is getting kudos for his leadership, what he continues to do on the field — especially this season — can’t be overlooked. An ideal nose tackle occupies multiple blockers and keeps them out of the way of his team’s inside linebackers, allowing those linebackers as much unfettered access as possible to make plays.
Wilfork does that job as well as the Patriots could hope, but with the added bonus of making plays, too — lots of them. The former first-round pick was third on the team this year with 87 tackles, an almost absurdly high number for an interior lineman in today’s pass-happy NFL.
“He’s having an incredible year,” an AFC GM told The Post this week. “If you want to know why they’re [14-2], I’m only exaggerating a little bit when I say Wilfork’s been about as important as [Tom] Brady’s been.”
Indeed, the dramatic turn-around in the Patriots’ defensive fortunes can be traced to coach Bill Belichick deciding to move Wilfork around the line starting with a Week 4 win over the Dolphins. Wilfork has since made starts at both defensive end positions, defensive tackle when Belichick opened a Thanksgiving rout of the Lions in a 4-3 and now back to nose tackle.
It was no coincidence that a Patriots defense that was scraping the bottom of the league in many statistical categories finished the year 11th against the run and improved to 25th overall by the postseason. If the Jets hope to control the clock and keep Brady off the field on the strength of their running game Sunday, neutralizing Wilfork will be a formidable task.
The Patriots also have been awed by Wilfork’s influence with the younger defensive players and his ability to keep the unit cohesive despite a revolving door of fresh faces and fill-ins due to injury.
“Certainly Vince has a lot of respect on this team,” Belichick said in describing Wilfork, who was voted a team captain. “He’s played a long time here. He’s played in a lot of big games. He’s an outstanding player, so I think he’s looked up to by everyone.”
Wilfork savors the newfound leadership aspect of the job almost as much as he does chasing ball-carriers.
“I’m always talking, teaching, coaching and mentoring,” he said yesterday. “I’m proud to be someone like that, that they can actually look up and ask me for questions and I can give them the right advice. It’s been kind of fun.”