Could Vince Wilfork’s message help the Patriots win?
A lot was going on at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, as former Patriots nose tackle, Vince Wilfork was in the building to be officially fitted for his Hall of Fame red jacket. He will be inducted into the Hall on Saturday and will be honored at halftime during the Patriots’ home opener on Sunday afternoon.
Ahead of all the festivities this weekend, Wilfork spoke to the media about the team’s big upcoming game with a well-known opponent in the Ravens.
During his 11 seasons spent in New England, Baltimore had become a heated rival in the AFC and the two teams would face off nearly every year. As a familiar foe for the soon-to-be Patriots Hall of Famer, Wilfork plans to meet with the team on Friday before their big week three showdown.
"“Hopefully (Friday) I can have some time where I can go because I would love to see the team. I would love to go see Bill (Belichick) and the staff and everybody. Every time I’m in town, I want to. That’s what I want to do because I think it’s important not only for me but for the players to understand. Even though I’ve been gone from the game for a while, sometimes it’s good to hear somebody else say something other than a coach always saying it.”"
As a former member of a Belichick-led Patriots team, Wilfork’s words may be just what this team needs to hear as they continue overcoming the obstacles they’ve faced all preseason. With his familiarity with the Ravens, his insight and advice could come at the perfect time as the rest of the team’s schedule
Wilfork acknowledged that it often helps to hear something from someone new, someone different outside of what the coaches continuously preach at every practice. He hopes that he can be that voice for the team this week.
"“Anytime Bill can have somebody who played under him come back and kind of give some knowledge and speak some wisdom, I think players take it differently. So it might click on them like, ‘Dang, Bill just told me that last week, and here’s Vince telling me the same thing.’ It kind of puts you in a different mindset.”"
The Patriots have dealt with several changes in the offseason which led to a predominately undesirable preseason as they worked through implementing a new scheme and system. Through two weeks of the regular season, they’ve struggled offensively but shined with a young and aggressive defense and tallied a 1-1 record heading into this game.
Seeing how the season has gone so far, Wilfork hopes speaking with the team will provide not just encouragement, but also wisdom for the rest of the season.
"“It would make me happy, especially going against a team in the Ravens where we have a little rivalry there. I have a few things I would love to tell the team to get ready for Sunday. So we’re going to see if we can make that happen.”"