New England Patriots Machine Could Erode without Vince Wilfork

A de-evolution has been televised.

Anyone watching CBS between the hours of 1:00 and 4:00 eastern on January 10 bore witness to the brutal beatdown of New England by the Baltimore Ravens.

The once-dominant dynasty was utterly dismembered.

To thank for our deprivation is the creed heralded by the Patriots front office as nothing short of the gospel.

Throughout the 2000s, the Patriots manufactured victories like a machine. As time wore on, parts in the machine were removed and replaced. At first, it seemed the parts were being manufactured by an assembly line, with each part closely resembling the one before it. The transitions were seemingly seamless.

But what happens when the machine has become a shell of its former self?

The key cogs that made the machine move fluently have been replaced with jury-rigged parts. As a result, we’ve seen glitches in production. Games that would have been pristine victories just a few years ago now come out distorted, disfigured, or completely destroyed.

Of course, I’m talking about Vince Wilfork and his current contractual status, or lack thereof.

You can illustrate that the loss of Willie McGinest was followed by a smooth transition to Adalius Thomas. You could point to Deion Branch’s exodus across the country as an example of excellent evaluation by New England of their talent.

But explain, I beg you, the departure of Asante Samuel. If any player soon to be a free agent deserved the money, it was this guy. Samuel spoke out recently about New England’s heartless demeanor toward its players who have meant so much to the franchise. He warned Wilfork, essentially, that New England doesn’t care about him.

Samuel learned that much in his offseason negotiations with the team back in 2007 when they franchise tagged the elite cornerback. He learned it again in 2008 when they didn’t re-sign him.

The Patriots have been Scotch taping the secondary and scratching their heads ever since.

This is why the Patriots can’t let Vince Wilfork go. No part in the defensive mechanism is as important as Wilfork. If the 3-4 defense is a component of the machine, he is the oil that keeps everything around him running smoothly.

New England is already weak on the defensive line. I don’t like the prospect of replacing the elite Wilfork with an unproven Ron Brace.

So in building the perfect machine, what takes precedence: being player-friendly (the parts), or franchise-friendly (the machine)?

For years, the Patriots have built their dynasty on the idea that they can keep developing players and then let them go when pay day arrives.

Back in 2004 and 2005, when they were unceremoniously axing past talent, the critics were silenced by victory after victory, still manufactured at an alarming rate. The Patriots could get rid of top-flight talent and still remain an elite team.

And suddenly, we’ve begun to see hiccups in production. 10-6 isn’t elite by Patriots’ standards, but it isn’t exactly miserable. You’d think the way people are talking about New England as a dead dynasty that they went 5-11 or even worse.

That's just the standard of excellence New England has set for itself this decade.

The loss of key players to trade or free agency over the years was softened by the players who replaced them. But the Patriots still had a talented core group of players at the helm. Too many players have left the fold in the past few years, and the Patriots haven’t done the best job of replacing them.

Vince Wilfork had it right when he said that he’s not an OK player. He is a great player, and in this day and age where more and more teams are using the 3-4 alignment, why not hang onto the best player at one of the most important positions in their base defense?

Back to the question at hand: player-friendly vs. franchise-friendly?

A balance of both may be the best resolution to the dispute.

But New England is as unemotional as the machine to which I liken it. Even if the Patriots try to slap the franchise tag on Wilfork, who knows if he’ll even sign the tender without demanding a trade?

Chances are we could soon bid him farewell.