New England Patriots Links 12/14/10 - Wilfork A Believer In His Defense: 'They Work Their Tails Off'

Vince Wilfork believes in his defense and has kept a positive approach even when they struggled early on.

"It starts in practice," he said. "Just seeing guys attitudes and how they approached work made me a believer from Day 1, all the way back to OTA’s. These guys, as a team, we made a promise to each other: We’re going to give it our all. When we step on the field, we’re going to play as a team. We’re going to play through whatever it may be. There’s going to be some ups and downs. There’s going to be some positives and negatives. But you know what, we’re going to play through all that. Once we get to the end of the tunnel, we’ve got to be able to finish ballgames.

"So, I saw it early, and I was always a believer. A lot people thought I was crazy. A lot of people wrote us off. But it was just something I saw in these guys. They work their tails off, man."

Bill Belichick addresses the media yesterday, "Back in the warmth of Foxborough."

As I said after the game, I thought it was a real good job by our players of a short week, preparation, going out there and really being ready to go. [We] did some real good things early in the game and all the way through to the first half: defensive stops, plays in the kicking game [and] offensive production. [We] got some long-yardage plays which are tough to get. Overall, I thought it was definitely a good win for us.

Tough conditions and things we had talked about [and] worked on, we got to actually use in a game, game situations, game applications. So, that was good. I'm sure that will service well going forward here. We have three regular-season games left, and I wouldn't be surprised if some element of that game shows up in another one. On to Green Bay. On to Green Bay.

TEAM TALK

• Erik Scalavino gives us the Packers week schedule.
• Monday Press Conferrence: Bill Belichick (18.10 min. video) Plus transcript.
• Patriots Today - Pats weather storm in Chicago. (4.21 min. video)
• Locker Room Uncut - Post-game reactions on win over Bears. (3.46 min. video)
• Locker Room Uncut - Thoughts from Vollmer, Butler. (3.13 min. video)
• WEEI Patriots Monday: Tom Brady (23.20 min.), Brandon Meriweather (11.10 min.), Vince Wilfork (12.10 min.) and Deion Branch (16 min.).

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss sees the Patriots taking on the look of a champion, a look we've seen before.
• Kirk Minihane thinks it's Super Bowl or bust for these 2010 Patriots.
• Christopher Price gives us the five most important things we need to know about the Patriots from Monday. Devin McCourty had an MRI.
• Shalise Manza Young notes the Patriots could clinch the AFC East title and a first-round bye this week with a win over the Packers and a Jets loss to the Steelers.
• Ian Rapoport reports on how the Patriots stayed in control of the game by holding the ball for 21 plus minutes of the final half in just four possessions.
• Ian Rapoport looks at how the Patriots managed the clock against the Bears vs. how they managed it vs. the Chargers, Steelers and Colts.
• Dan Shaugnessy looks at the staggering numbers as we watch Bill Belichick 'paint his Sistine Chapel' with this young team.
• Mike Rodak offers some picked-up pieces from the Patriots victory.
• Christopher Price tells us what we learned on Sunday. The statement that should strike fear through out the rest of the NFL is that Tom Brady thinks his offense can get even better.
• Mark Farinella reports the Patriots didn't use any tricks to win in Chicago, they were just smart in their preparation and their execution.
• Tom E. Curran notesTom Brady says his streak of pickless play is attributable to scheme change and, as Brady says, things being done "different."
• Brian MacPherson asserts it's the attention to detail that puts the Patriots in a position to succeed.
• Michael Vega looks at the Brady to Branch TD at the end of the half and wonders if it was insubordination or a veteran QB recognizing an opportunity and acting upon it.
• Tony Massarotti says it may be time to wonder whether Tom Brady is the best bad-weather quarterback that we've ever seen.
• Tedy Bruschi offers six observations from the Patriots' beatdown of the Bears.
• Mike Reiss offers his three up and three down for the Patriots.
• Mike Reiss looks at and analyzes the offensive snaps played by Patriots skill-position players in Chicago.
• Mike Reiss takes a look at the snaps played by Patriots defenders Sunday and identifies any possible emerging trends.
• Mike Reiss looks at the positional groupings utilized by the Patriots in Sunday's win, and sees Bill O'Brien striking the right mix.
• Mike Rodak re-watches the television copy of Sunday's Patriots game against the Bears and offers some of his observations: First quarter - Second quarter and Second half.
• Jeff Howe thinks the Patriots should be cautious with Devin McCourty and his rib injury.
• Steven Krasner says Darius Butler is ready to go if McCourty can't.
• Gerry Callahan compares this team to 2007, and likes this year's version better.
• Jeff Howe notes the Patriots are feeling good as the last two blowouts validate the hard work put forth during the week.
• Judee Cosentino talks with excited fans at the Patriots Pro Shop after the Patriots win over Chicago.
• Steve Buckley looks at some recent "bulletin board" material and how the statements matched up with reality.
• Eric Wilbur looks ahead to Miami, after the Patriots win the next two, and wonders if Bill Belichick will throw the game.
• Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: Devin McCourty appeared to have escaped serious injury but his official status is unknown; Pats won't know if the Packers will start Aaron Rodgers or Matt Flynn Sunday; The D wasn't hurt by the loss of Brandon Spikes because Gary Guyton stepped stepped up with a TD and an interception; Aaron Hernandez remembers being crushed by Urlacher; Sebastian Vollmer was impressed by Julius Peppers.
• WEEI Patriots Monday highlights: Boomer Esiason - Tom Brady - Deion Branch and Bill Belichick..
•  Kirk Minihane Week 14 Report Card.
• Ron Borges Patriots Report Card. The supposed test of the Patriots’ mental and physical toughness at Soldier Field turned out to be a pop quiz.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Tim Graham (ESPN) When it snows, Patriots don't lose.
• Rick Gosselin (Dallas Morning News) New England Patriots are perfect even in imperfect conditions.
• Michael Lombardi (NFL.com) Pats' ability to adapt to elements, opponent makes them the best.
• Mark Maske (Washington Post) Bears vs. Patriots: New England routs Chicago, 36-7, in wintry weather.
• Steven Krasner (ESPN) Patriots will prepare for anything: Uncertainty of Packers QB shouldn't affect Belichick's game plan.
• Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) Patriots MVP meter: Week 14.
• Michael Silver (Yahoo! Sports) Patriots biggest threat: Ray Lewis' Ravens.
• ESPN Stats and Information Stats analysis: Breaking down win & streak.
• Mike Pereira (Fox Sports) NFL Week 14's top officiating rulings.
• Special Report (Sports Business Journal) The 50 most influential list. Robert Kraft in the top 10.
• Adam Schefter (ESPN) Will Aaron Rodgers play vs. Patriots?
• Eric Allen (ESPN) Are Patriots better than 2007team? (2.24 min. video)
• Patrick Hruby (ESPN) Jets' tripper Sal Alosi evokes our meltdown list.
• Pat Kirwan (NFL.com) Packers, Chiefs take step back with poor backup plans plus more from Week 14.
• Dave Goldberg (NFL FanHouse) As playoffs draw nearer, it's Patriots, Falcons and unpredictability.
• Steve Wyche (NFL.com) Jets, Packers have issues that make reaching playoffs a struggle.
• Gary Myers (NY Daily News) Sal Alosi tripping incident and Mark Sanchez's struggles don't make for happy birthday for Rex Ryan.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) For the slumping Jets, it's time to worry.
• Jason Whitlock (Fox Sports) Rex Ryan needs to rein himself in.