Basketball Jesus wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
The fact that he does neither. Wilfork's good, but he's not that good.
i hate to tell anybody named jesus theyre wrong (nobody f's with the jesus) but if bill belichick calls him the best tackle hes coached and the most complete, thats good enough for me. oh, and miami coaches saidthey felt wilfork was better than sapp. sapp doesnt stuff the run, all he does is rush. wilfork plays a gap control scheme. thats why our d-line os the best. because they put up comparable numbers to players who play for the numbers while all they do is gap control. thats ridiculous.
-castillo and williams of the chargers are good but clearly augmented by their sack happy linebackers, castillo ispretty much an end now (and is a 'roid user anyway)
-casey hampton has struggled with injuries, but was better whne fully healthy, may never be quite the same player again
- haloti ngata is talented but young. the only player with a size/strength/athleticism package that really rivals wilforks
-shaun rogers, the former bust has revamped his career but is really more of a bulked up d-end who doesnt run stuff a lot
-haynesworth/stroud/henderson- inconsistent performers, semi underachievers
-mike patterson/tommie harris, theyve got the nice skill sets but are too small to be truly effective run stoppers.
in terms of fitting the bill all around, 3-4 or 4-3, without requiring rush help or stuff help, it seems to me wilfork is really a cut above. guys who are equivalent pass rushers need help stuffing the run, guys who are equivalent run stuffers can rush like he does. he doesnt weaken other aspects of your defense by being out there.
people talk a lot about corners you can leave on an island. even more rare in todays nfl is the DT who can man the middle by himself through all situations andthree downs. meet vince wilfork. quite possibly mr. underrated on the patriots.