Super Bowl Predictions 2012: Vince Wilfork and Patriots Defense Will Come Up Big

You can forgive folks for forgetting about the New England Patriots defense heading into Super Bowl XLVI.

With all the excitement over Eli Manning's Hall of Fame potential, the dominance of the New York Giants defensive line, Victor Cruz's dance moves and Tom Brady's pursuit of Joe Montana (not to mention Peyton Manning's neck), it's easy to overlook a defensive unit that ranked 30th in the NFL during the regular season per Football Outsiders. 

But this ain't the regular season anymore, nor is this the same Pats D that seemed to slink along through injuries and a lack of depth, particularly in the secondary.

The defensive backfield remains a concern, especially after surrendering more than 300 yards passing to Joe Flacco and with an elite quarterback like Eli on the docket for Sunday.

New England's front seven, though, has been solid all year and nothing short of spectacular in the postseason. Through two playoff games, the Pats have racked up eight sacks, with Vince Wilfork accounting for 2.5 of them.

Wilfork has done a masterful job of occupying blockers in the trenches and bullying his way into opposing backfields. The big fella's activity in the middle has opened up opportunities for Mark Anderson, Rob Ninkovich, Brandon Spikes and Shaun Ellis to apply pressure in the pass rush and mask the team's deficiencies at corner and safety as a result.

With Big Blue's receiving corps being as good as it is and Eli Manning as effective as he's been, the responsibility will fall to New England's defensive front to keep the G-Men in check and the Pats in the game.

That shouldn't be too much to ask, given New York's recent problems in pass protection. The San Francisco 49ers had Eli playing from the seat of his pants all night in the NFC Championship Game, sacking him six times and hitting him on a dozen occasions in total.

The Pats D doesn't exactly measure up to San Fran's, but if Wilfork and friends can hurry and harass Eli half as much as the Niners did two weeks ago, then the Pats will have an excellent chance to avenge the disappointment of Super Bowl XLII with an historic win in Indy.

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