Is Vince Wilfork dealing with an injury?

Vince Wilfork didn't quite look himself on Thursday against the Jets.

It's something that's incredibly troubling if it keeps up. Wilfork is the anchor of the Patriots defense, and if he's not playing well, it could be a bad sign for the future of one of last year's most stout run defenses.

Wilfork was handled pretty well by the Jets' Vladimir Ducasse. Yes, Vladimiar Ducasse. It was noted in Greg Bedard's notes published Friday. Bedard wonders if Wilfork might be injured.

MMQB:
There has to be something going on injury-wise with Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. He’s never going to wow with quarterback pressure, but he has been elite at taking on double teams and holding his gap against the run. Wilfork struggled mightily with that in the first two games, to the point that Jets guard Vlad Ducasse completely handled him on Thursday night. This is something to watch because the Patriots are basically playing a three-man tackle rotation with Wilfork, Tommy Kelly (who also tired against the Bills) and undrafted free agent Joe Vellano. That’s all the Patriots have.

This was something also noticed much to the surprise of Jets fans, whose game time comments I monitored for the Ring Envy.

The much maligned Ducasse was the top ranked Jets offensive lineman that night. While, Wilfork was graded with a -4.3. Of course, it's not just the stats that tell the story. Watch the game again and see Ducasse of all people taking the Pats' star out of the game.

It's something we hope is more a case of Ducasse playing the game of his life than a decline in Wilfork's play.