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.”
ifferent 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.
e, 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.”
Add A Comment