NTs Jenkins, Wilfork
play big roles for Jets, Pats
By HOWARD ULMAN, AP Sports Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—They are 675 pounds of men in the
middle, two massive human detour signs that force running backs in another
direction.
Nose tackles Kris Jenkins of the New York Jets and Vince
Wilfork of the New England Patriots are there to make sure much smaller
players get stopped soon after they take a handoff.
Two huge men—the relatively svelte Wilfork is about 25
pounds lighter— with a big job.
With rain expected for most of the night, both teams go
into Thursday’s matchup tied for the AFC East lead at 6-3 after winning
their last game with outstanding rushing performances.
Thomas Jones led a 206-yard ground attack with 149 yards
and three touchdowns in the Jets’ 47-3 rout of the St. Louis Rams. BenJarvus
Green-Ellis picked up 105 of the Patriots’ 144 yards rushing in their 20-10
win over the Buffalo Bills.
Wilfork made a speedy transition from a hard-rushing tackle
in college at Miami to a 3-4 defense, where he had to hold his ground as
a rookie after the Patriots drafted him in the first round in 2004.
Jenkins was traded to the Jets last February after seven seasons with Carolina,
where he played in a 4-3 alignment every year.
“Being a nose tackle, I study a lot of guys that play
that position,” Wilfork said, “and, right now, he’s one of the best, it
being his first year playing there. He’s up there.”
It hasn’t been easy.
“I didn’t think it was something that was impossible,”
Jenkins said. “I just thought that it was going to take some time and some
hard work and extra dedication.”
The Jets have the fifth stingiest run defense in the league,
allowing 76.4 yards per game. Jenkins has 2 1/2 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss
and plenty of plays when he simply clogs the middle and forces runners into
the arms of his teammates.
“What has been outstanding is his commitment to playing
the technique and never having any exposure to a 3-4 defense, whether it
be in college or pro football,” New York coach Eric Mangini said. “He has
really tried to understand how the blocking schemes are going to work and
I think he has done a good job with that.”
Wilfork has developed into one of the best nose tackles
in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl for the first time last season. He was
fined four different times last season for a total of $35,000—some of the
transgressions coming after the whistle—and was fined again for a hit on
Denver quarterback Jay Cutler on Oct. 20.
“I’m very passionate about the game. I play hard. Sometimes
it might be too hard,” Wilfork said after meeting with commissioner Roger
Goodell the week after the game. “I told him I’ll try to change my style
up a little bit and hopefully get a better slate. But, as of right now,
I’ve got a pretty bad one out there.”
Jenkins has learned from Wilfork, watching him on tape
in the offseason while adjusting to his new role with the Jets. One of the
main lessons is to hold your ground and resist the temptation to charge
ahead.
“One of the first challenges that I had was to sit back
and be patient because when you are in a 4-3 you just want to take off and
disrupt, but you can’t do that anymore,” Jenkins said. “He’s very stout
when he gets in there and, if you notice that about the way he plays, it’s
very hard for offensive linemen to move him. He stays very low to the ground.”
New York is the AFC’s highest scoring team and has four
defensive touchdowns. New England outgained Buffalo by more than 2-to-1
Sunday when the Bills’ only touchdown came with 1:42 left.
In the second week of the season, Jones rushed for 70
yards in a 19-10 loss to the Patriots but leads all AFC rushers with 750.
Green-Ellis, an undrafted rookie, quickly climbed the depth chart when Laurence
Maroney, LaMont Jordan and Sammy Morris all were injured. Maroney is out
for the season and Jordan is listed as doubtful for Thursday’s game. But
Morris is questionable, meaning there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll play.
“We’ve definitely had some injuries at that position,
but guys are stepping up,” Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel said.
He started for the first time in his four pro seasons
this year against the Jets after Tom Brady suffered a season-ending knee
injury. That debut came in the same game in which Brett Favre made his 255th
straight career regular season start and second with New York.
Now—with two very large men trying to stop their offenses—the
quarterbacks are playing for a big prize: first place in a division with
two teams at 6-3 and the other two at 5-4.
“No one likes losing. I came in here to do one thing,
to help this team win. I’ve said that from Day 1,” Favre said. “I hoped
we would be in this position, and we are.”
