-New England NT Vince Wilfork was carted off of the field during the first quarter of Sunday night's game in Atlanta and appears to be out for the season. Playing over three-quarters of the game without Wilfork, LE Rob Ninkovich achieved his highest PFF grade of the season with (+2.8) However, Ninkovich has consistently graded out higher versus the run this season but was only credited with two assisted tackles in week 4.
With Wilfork in the lineup the Patriots played a decent amount of 4-3 as their base defense. Without him will they switch back to a more traditional 3-4 defense? Normally, a player with Ninkovich's skill set would see more tackle opportunities playing this way. But without Wilfork to eat up defenders, Ninkovich and his fellow New England linebackers may end up setting up the Patriot defensive backs for more tackles. Judging by their current numbers, New England's defense should also be on the field for both more snaps and longer drives without Wilfork in the lineup. The Patriots take on RB Giovani Bernard and the Bengals in Week 5.
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