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Cornerback Brandon Browner also is returning to the playoffs after being suspended for them last season when his Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl.
Not exactly where the five-time Pro Bowler wanted to be, but a torn right Achilles tendon kept him from clogging the middle for the New England Patriots.
"I've talked about the Super Bowl all offseason," Browner said. "That's been my goal. I want it bad. I don't know if it's sweeter, but I want it bad because I didn't get to play in it."
That led safety Devin McCourty, who worked out with him in the offseason, to dub him "Air Wilfork."
Revis also came back from a serious injury. He missed most of the 2012 season with the Jets with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and wasn't at full strength in 2013 with Tampa Bay, which missed the playoffs. But this year he was chosen for the Pro Bowl.
Of course, Wilfork would much rather be on the field tackling runners.
"I worked my tail off just to get back and play football like I know how to play, and I never take anything for granted," Wilfork said. "It's fun to come to work with the group of guys that I have in this locker room."
"He's held up well this year," coach Bill Belichick said. "He's a powerful guy. He's very smart and instinctive. It's hard to fool him on those type of plays,Cheap Air Max 90, screens or traps or misdirection plays, those kind of things. He's a hard guy to block."
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Vince Wilfork advised and encouraged teammates on the sideline during last year's playoffs.
With just over five minutes left in a 17-16 win over the New York Jets, Wilfork tipped a 52-yard field goal attempt by Nick Folk in the 15th game of the season.
As a rookie in 2004, he played every game and was part of a team that won the Patriots' third NFL championship in four years. But since, they've lost the two Super Bowls they've reached.
He missed just six games in his first nine seasons and often occupied two blockers, opening space for teammates to stop ball carriers. But he played in only four last season.
That's where he'll be Jan. 10 when the Patriots host Indianapolis,Nike Air Vapor Max Flyknit, Cincinnati or Baltimore in an AFC divisional playoff game.
They might have reached a third if Wilfork had been healthy for the Patriots' 26-16 loss to the Denver Broncos in last year's AFC championship game. He still tried to contribute while watching.
"I just look at it as capitalizing on opportunities," he said. "Throughout the course of the season,Nike Air Max 2018 Shoes, you're going to have a couple of opportunities where you can make a game-changing play and I've been able to make a couple of them in my career."
In this year's playoffs, that's what offensive linemen must face.
Does that make his return sweeter?
Darrelle Revis, the other free agent cornerback signed by the Patriots before the season, was in the playoffs just twice in his previous seven seasons and none in the last three.
His presence was critical this season in victories against two of the worst teams when he made plays rare for defensive tackles.
"Every season means a lot to me," Wilfork said. "The passion I have for the game,Jordan Sneakers Wholesale, it means a lot just being where I came from,Air Max 98 Gundam For Sale, especially last year."
And in a 16-9 victory in the third game, Oakland had the ball at the Patriots 12 with 59 seconds left. That's when Wilfork intercepted Derek Carr's pass.
"You talk to guys who have playoff experience and guys who never, who've played 12-13 years and have never even touched the playoffs," he said. "It's great."
"There's a lot of appreciation just for (Wilfork) to get back to playing at a high level," Revis said. "He's been one of the top players in the league at his position."
Revis and Browner are two big reasons for the Patriots' defensive improvement this season. Wilfork is a third.
"He didn't sulk last year when he was injured. He did what he could to help make us a better defensive line by giving advice," Siliga said. "Now he's back, and I'm excited to go into the postseason with him."
The defensive tackle is back doing that this season, ready for the postseason after playing in all 16 games for the AFC's top-seeded team.
Wilfork, a remarkable athlete for a 325-pounder, had a more simple label.
"When I was coming off the field he would say,NCAA Football Jerseys, 'all right, they're doing this and you go back out there and do this,'" said defensive tackle Sealver Siliga, a midseason pickup last year and a backup this season. |
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