Vince Wilfork ready to tangle with Nick Mangold again

Over his career, Vince Wilfork has remained among the elite group among his peers in terms of interior defensive linemen. The same can be said for New York Jets center Nick Mangold, who entered the league with the Jets in 2006.

With the two banging heads frequently over the years, it has become one of the top on-the-field matchups when these rivals meet every season.

"Yeah, we've been around for a while," Wilfork said. "He's one of the tougher guys in this league. Their offensive line as a whole, the way they play up front is the way the game needs to be played: physical, tough, smart. They don't budge. We try not to budge. It's like an old-fashioned football game when these two teams play. I'm pretty sure it's going to be the same way this week. Hopefully we're ready for them this time around and do a better job in the run game, because that's where it all starts."

Wilfork and Co. hope they do a better job against the run this time around, because even though the Patriots won the first meeting, their performance against the Jets' ground assault left a lot to be desired. New York put up 218 rushing yards and dominated time of possession, 40:54-19:06. Although the Patriots prevailed that Thursday night, 27-25, they can't allow the Jets a similar advantage if they want to avoid the upset.

"We have to do a good job of going in and out of there," Wilfork said. "If we don't, we'll be in trouble. We have our work cut out for us, but at the same time, we always look forward to a challenge, especially up front."


(bostonherald.com)