New England Patriots Joe Vellano In The Spotlight After Vince Wilfork Injury

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

New England Patriots Joe Vellano Gets His Shot

Vince Wilfork, the best run stopper in the NFL for almost a decade, future hall of fame candidate, and Patriots defensive MVP, was lost for the season early in the Atlanta game. Based on the laurels just mentioned, its clear that this is potentially a devastating injury to the New England Patriots defense, and hopes for a Superbowl birth this season.

Going into the season, the Patriots cut several defensive tackles who had had solid production for the team in previous years. The Patriots went into the season with only three defensive tackes: Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, and undrafted rookie Joe Vellano. They added another first year player, Chris Jones from Bowling Green State.

This was going to be a banner year for Vince Wilfork. The athleticism and versatility of all the Patriots front seven defensive players enable a lot of creativity to be deployed in their defensive schemes. This meant that Wilfork would be able to line up in a variety of places as he did last year, and really have some fun in his efforts to thwart the constant double teams he faces on virtually every play.

Yet a simple step while slightly off balance put an end to all that as that fateful step ruptured Wilfork’s achilles tendon. It’s ironic that such a warrior, who for eight seasons has endured thousands of scrums with powerful men and endured with out a major injury. And then a simple step while engaged with no one ended his season.

Enter Joe Vellano. Joe Vellano is an undrafted rookie out of the University of Maryland. In the preseason, it was clear he was a player as he stood his ground against double teams consistently. At 6-2, 306 pounds he has only average size for his position. Yet he appears to have great strength and leverage, and he will get his chance to show it off.

I’ve seen only glimpses of him playing, yet given what I’ve seen, and given that Bill Belichick seems to have a ton of faith in Vellano, I kind of get this feeling that a star may be born over the next several weeks.

Do you remember the hit that changed history? When Mo Lewis of the New York Jets flattened Drew Bledsoe, literally almost killing him as bledsoe had internal bleeding that collapsed his lung and required emergency care to save his life.

The Step That Changed History?

It’s very doubtful that anybody can match the production of Vince Wilfork. I’d say its impossible for anyone to surpass it. So I don’t truly believe the impact of Vellano can compare to the birth of Tom Brady.

However, I do expect Vellano to be a monster run stopper, and I also believe with his great motor, he may be able to get pressure up the middle on passing downs. The Patriots will absolutely need to adjust their schemes to account for the loss of Wilfork, yet I believe that with every tragedy comes an equal or greater opportunity. I believe the Patriots will survive the loss of Wilfork and that Joe Vellano will be an incredible success story. Time will tell.

Who Is Joe Vellano

Joe Vellano had a very productive college career. He was a two-time All-ACC performer who averaged 1/2 a sack per game in the 2012 season, and consistently made tackles for losses. As a fifth year senior, he was a captain on his team and by all accounts appeared to be a mid round draft pick.

I haven’t been able to find any negative information about Vellano or understand why he didn’t get any interest in the draft.

Hopefully for Patriot Nation, Bill Belichick has done it again, finding a diamond where everyone else saw a lump of coal. His debut in Atlanta was a great start, as the Falcons struggled to gain yardage running the ball.

Good luck Joe. We’ll be watching.