| Vince Wilfork joins relief effort in wake of Marathon bombing | 04.16.13 at 3:35 pm ET |
On Tuesday, defensive lineman Vince Wilfork joined wide receiver Danny Amendola as one of the Patriots who will assist in the Boston Marathon relief efforts.
Text VINCE to 50555 to donate $10 to the Vince Wilfork Foundation all proceeds until end of the month will benefit victims of Boston bombs
— Vince Wilfork (@wilfork75) April 16, 2013
| Former Patriot Ted Johnson apologizes for insulting Vince Wilfork’s wife on radio show | 03.22.13 at 1:24 pm ET |
I have personally apologized to the family and feel awful.It was a huge error in judgment and I’m sorry for upsetting Vince’s family.
— Ted Johnson (@TedJ52) March 22, 2013
Ted Johnson, a former Patriots linebacker who now appears on a radio show in Houston, apologized Friday after insulting Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork‘s wife.
Asked which former teammate had the ugliest wife, Johnson said, “He won’t hear this: Vince Wilfork.”
Audio of the segment made its way around the Internet on Friday, leading to Wilfork tweeting: @tedj52 your barking up the wrong tree I hear and see everything [expletive].
Added Wilfork: Let me apologize to my fans in advance of whatever I may say today but I do not play when it comes to my family.
Wilfork included a picture of a note, on which he wrote:
Every1 is entitled to their own opinion but it is [expletive] up when a x-teammate that I actually looked up to and enjoyed playing with takes shots at my wife for whatever reasons. I love my wife and my family She is my everything. I don’t care when this was said no one should cross that line. The line has been crossed so it is what it is. All I wann say is [expletive] you! you don’t want to [expletive] with me or my family take shots at me all day but not them I have a great family life and blessed to have them.
Johnson responded with a series of tweets, including: I just made a huge error in judgement and want to apologize to Vince and his wife for comments I made earlier today on a Houston radio show.
And: I have personally apologized to the family and feel awful. It was a huge error in judgment and I’m sorry for upsetting Vince’s family.
| Andrew Luck replaces Tom Brady on AFC Pro Bowl squad, Logan Mankins, Wes Welker and Vince Wilfork also out | 01.21.13 at 7:38 pm ET |

Tom Brady will be missing the Pro Bowl again. (Mike Petraglia/WEEI.com)
Tom Brady is again politely declining a trip to Hawaii to play in the NFL’s greatest exhibition game.
Andrew Luck had one of the best seasons any rookie quarterback has ever had in living up to his No. 1 overall draft billing coming into the 2012 season.
On Monday, the Indianapolis Colts rookie was rewarded with a trip to Hawaii to replace Brady in the in the Pro Bowl. Brady was excused from the Pro Bowl with an undisclosed injury.
Brady was selected to his eighth Pro Bowl game in late December but hasn’t played the last six times he’s been selected. He played in Feb. 2002 after winning the Super Bowl and he played in Feb. 2005 after the 2004 season but hasn’t played since, as he has been designated as injured and has been replaced.
It appears Brady won’t be alone in turning down the leis in paradise. Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports Wes Welker, Logan Mankins and Vince Wilfork have also taken their names out of the Pro Bowl due to various injuries. Linebacker Jerod Mayo and special teams captain Matthew Slater were also selected but remain on the Pro Bowl roster.
As for Luck, through Week 9, Luck had thrown for the same number of yards as his predecessor, Peyton Manning, did in his first season in Denver.
His legend began to truly grow in Week 13 against the Lions. Luck and the Colts were trailing 33-28 with 1:07 left. He was able to get to the Lions’ 14 yard line and faced a fourth down with three seconds left. Luck then threw a screen pass to Donnie Avery who got free and ran in for the winning score.
The win gave Luck his eighth on the season – the most wins by a rookie quarterback drafted first overall in NFL history, as well as his fifth game-winning drive on the season, tying Vince Young and Ben Roethlisberger for the most by a rookie quarterback. On Dec. 23, 2012, Luck broke the record for most passing yards by a rookie against the Kansas City Chiefs, throwing 205 to bring his season total to 4,183. Cam Newton held the previous record with 4,051 yards.
Luck advanced the Colts, one season removed from 2-14, to the the playoffs, where they lost to the Ravens in Baltimore.
| Mayor Menino adds to list of Patriots mispronunciations with ‘Wilcock,’ ‘Gonk’ | 01.17.13 at 12:36 pm ET |
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino was trying to brag about the Patriots in a televised phone call to the Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake on Wednesday, but once again Menino struggled to get the pronunciations correct.
Menino, wearing a Vince Wilfork jersey, referred to the defensive lineman as “Wilcock” before being corrected by a reporter. Then he mispronounced Rob Gronkowski‘s nickname as “Gonk.”
“We have Tom Brady here,” Menino said. “And Stevan Ridley, I mean, another great guy. And Wilcock. … We have it all. [Aaron] Hernandez is going to do a great job. He’ll step in for Gonk because Gonk’s hurt.”
Menino’s past mistakes include confusing Pats kicker Adam Vinatieri with Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, calling Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo “KJ” and “Hondo,” and referring to Gronkowski and Wes Welker as “Grabowski” and “Wekler.”
| Jerod Mayo and friends explain ‘The Patriot Way’ and what it means now | 01.16.13 at 4:05 pm ET |

Vince Wilfork says the ‘Patriot Way’ has led him and his teammates to where they are now. (Mike Petraglia/WEEI.com)
FOXBORO — The “Patriot Way’ means different things to different people, even inside the Patriots locker room.
So while, Ravens wide receiver was boldly predicting this year’s AFC championship ‘we’ll make it different, we’re gonna win,” Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo we’re humbly talking about what it’s like to be a part of a team where the individual doesn’t matter.
“I think Coach [Bill Belichick] always talks about doing your job,” Brady said. “You do your job so that everyone around you can do their job. When people trust each other, then you can play with anticipation and confidence and ultimately go out there and play aggressively. There’s no really no secret to it. It’s just coach puts a lot of pressure on us in practice every day to perform at a high level. When we don’t, we certainly hear about it. When you show up to work every day, you better have your game face on because you’ll end up on the low light film the next morning. I think the guys bring that attitude every day and over the course of a long season, it results in enough wins to get us into the playoffs, give us a chance.”
Brady pointed to past Patriots greats who helped teach him the ‘Patriot Way’.
“I think I was one of those guys that had to learn that too,” he added. “Tedy Bruschi took me aside and Willie McGinest took me aside and Lawyer Milloy took me aside. I think that’s part of the responsibility as a veteran player that you learn from these experiences and you try to convey the message to some of the younger players so they don’t have to learn the hard way. A lot of times you have to learn the hard way in life.
Wilfork echoed Brady’s old-school teachings from great Patriots of the recent past.
“I learned a long time ago with Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Willie McGinnest, Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour, I learned from some of the best that played around here,” Wilfork said. “The first thing that comes to your mind is that you can’t be selfish playing here. It is not about you. It is about the team and if you buy into that you will be very successful, and that is the one thing that I think this organization has had for a long time. Guys that come in here that aren’t selfish and they put the team first because it is a team sport. It definitely is a team sport. You need everybody working on the same page. If you have one or two that are not you can be in big trouble. That is the Patriot Way. We put team first and we win as a team and we lose as a team. I have won a lot of games in my career being here and I wouldn’t change it for nothing.”
The other irony Wednesday was comment from Jerod Mayo, on a day when it snowed in the morning making the rush hour commute difficult. He reminded everyone of Adalius Thomas without dropping his name. It was three years ago when Thomas, Randy Moss, Derrick Burgess and Gary Guyton were sent home for being late to an 8 a.m. meeting on the morning of a snow storm.
“The ‘Patriot Way’ to me, starts at the top with the Kraft family,” Mayo said. “Not only being a good football player, but being a good person and falling in line. If you want to be a good football team, you’ll never be stuck in rush hour traffic. You are the first one here and the last one to leave. I think guys really buy into that, guys that come from other teams, I think they follow the lead of the bulk of this team and it has worked well here.”
For more Patriots news, visit the team page at weei.com/patriots. WEEI 93.7FM will broadcast the AFC Championship game between the Patriots and Ravens on Sunday, January 20 at 6:30 p.m.
| Qadry Ismail on M&M: ‘You stop Vince Wilfork, you give yourself a chance’ | 01.15.13 at 1:00 pm ET |

Qadry Ismail
Former Ravens receiver Qadry Ismail, now a TV/radio host in Baltimore, joined Mut & Merloni on Tuesday to preview Sunday’s AFC championship matchup.
Ismail said the Ravens defense won’t be intimated by New England’s high-powered offense, especially considering the teams’ recent history of games against each other. And the key to the Ravens’ offensive success is how Baltimore handles Vince Wilfork.
“Offensively, Joe Flacco and the offense, they’re churning, they’re doing things, they’re feeling pretty good,” Ismail said. “I think that’s something that you take into consideration. I know one thing, offensively, you’re going to have to find a way to stop Vince Wilfork. You stop Vince Wilfork, you give yourself a chance. You don’t stop Vince, it’s going to be a long day.”
Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo took to Twitter on Sunday night to sound off on the Patriots’ hurry-up offense, accusing New England of borderline cheating. He apologized on Monday for embarrassing himself and the organization.
“I absolutely am shaking my head, like, ‘What are you thinking?’ He’s normally spot-on in regards to just his measure and understanding what’s the right thing to say and what’s the incorrect thing to say, and don’t say that incorrect thing,” Ismail said. “When you’re looking at the Patriots offense … you’re absolutely right, it’s about situational football. If you ain’t ready on defense and we are, and that referee says, ‘OK, the play clock is started,’ what am I supposed to do, wait for you?”
Added Ismail: “That’s what you look at when you’re talking about a veteran like Tom Brady. He’s figured out another way to enhance the probability of a play working. You as a defense, you have to be honed in and ready to perform or he will make you pay. It’s that simple.”
| Vince Wilfork first-team AP All-Pro, Logan Mankins second-team, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski snubbed | 01.12.13 at 1:06 pm ET |

Vince Wilfork earned his first AP All-Pro honor on Saturday.
FOXBORO — Another dominating season along the Patriots’ defensive line has earned Vince Wilfork first-team Associated Press All-Pro honors.
Starting left guard Logan Mankins was named to the second team despite missing six games due to hip and ankle injuries. The results from a panel of 50 voters was announced Saturday morning.
Despite another Pro Bowl season, quarterback Tom Brady, with three votes, did not make either first or second team, beaten out by first-teamer Peyton Manning (43 votes) and Aaron Rodgers (four votes). Brady missed the second team by one vote after throwing for 4,827 yards and 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 63 percent of his passes.
This is the first time Wilfork has been voted to the first team, after being named to the second team in 2007, 2010 and 2011. The perennial Pro Bowl nose tackle finished the season with three sacks, 29 tackles and four fumble recoveries.
Rob Gronkowski finished third among tight ends, behind Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez and the Cowboys’ Jason Witten.


2013 PATRIOTS DRAFT PICKS

2013 NFL DRAFT

- Bill Belichick and The Greatest Coaches Ever
- New England Patriots Links 5/23/13 - Amendola, Jenkins Top Receivers at...
- Patriots Claim OT Kevin Haslam; Waive R.J. Mattes
- Patriots Spend League High $140K In Guaranteed Money For UDFAs
- New England Patriots Links 5/22/13 - Talib: OTAs About 'Getting Down the...
- The Potential Importance Of Jake Ballard
- Four Missing From Second Day Of Patriots OTAs
























