Don't Let The Door Hit You In Your Dangerously Large Ass

Regarding "Why so down? Reasons abound for 2-5 Texans" (Sunday Front Page), the primary reason the defense is under-performing is clear: for every play involving nose tackle Vince Wilfork, the Texans have only ten men on the field.  Former All-Pro safety Rodney Harrison was charitable when he said that Wilfork "has no impact".  In point of fact, his presence on the field actually benefits the opposing team.

Not only is the off-season acquisition from the Patriots routinely moved out of the running lane by but a single offensive lineman, opposing team running backs are actually using his large body as a "pick" to obstruct Texan linebackers.  "Wilfork Left" and "Wilfork Right" are the two bread and butter plays for every team that plays the Texans.

This should come as no surprise.  Wilfork came to Houston extremely overweight and out of shape, and then proceeded to do nothing about it.  As an ostensibly "elite" NFL player, he barely broke a sweat in training camp, and played in no preseason games.  In fact, his most memorable moment on the HBO series "Hard Knocks" was to talk about how much barbecue he could eat at one sitting.  That mindset and his lack of conditioning shows on the field.

Wilfork disrespected the Texans and their fans by making no effort to get into football shape, but he disrespected himself too.  He should retire, save himself and the Texan's any further embarrassment, and allow the Texans to check in with the standard eleven players on every play.

Pete Smith
Cypress, TX