JACKSONVILLE - Vince Wilfork did unto others as they did unto Trevor Scott Sunday in Jacksonville.
At the end of a lengthy interception return by Patrick Chung, Wilfork hit Jaguars lineman Steve Vallos in the back well after Chung had been tackled.
The hit drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty but no remorse from Wilfork who explained what happened after the game.
"Protecting my teammate plain and simple," said Wilfork. "You're not gonna sit right in front of me and take a cheap shot at my guy with me standing behind you. That won't fly. Plain and simple."
The penalty moved the ball from the Patriots 28 back to their 14.
I hadn't seen the hit by Vallos on Scott that riled up Wilfork on the replay. Wilfork told me after his press conference that the hit had been on Scott.
Scott said he appreciated Wilfork standing up for him. Wilfork acknowledged he may get fined.
New England Patriots
"I'll probably get penalized for what I did but at the same time, you'll never see me let my teammates get cheap-shotted like that with me standing right there," he explained. "It is what it is. It's part of football. Some people may not like it, some might like it. I'm gonna do everything I can to protect my teammates and I was protecting my teammate. I don't think twice about it. If it happened again, I'll protect my teammate the best way I could."
While Wilfork was at least acting with a sense of purpose, the hit delivered by Chung on Jags receiver Cecil Shorts made less sense. After a Patriots punt, the Jags had the ball at their own 38. Jags quarterback Chad Henne threw to Shorts down the middle and he was drilled in the head by Chung while going to the ground.
That 15-yard penalty seemed imminently avoidable since Chung could have let up on the hit as Shorts was on his way to the ground. Shorts was injured and the ball moved to the Patriots 47 for a frantic drive by Jacksonville that ultimately ended with another Chung pick in the end zone, this one on fourth down as time expired.
Chung said Shorts ducked his head and that he was going too fast to pull up. "That's just football," he explained.
Used to be. But defenders in 2012 are asked to make quick decisions about whether or not to finish off receivers. With Shorts headed to the ground, he wasn't going anywhere even if he made the catch (which he didn't). If he didn't make the catch, the result of a hit when the player is defenseless - a defender should by now realize - will likely contact the head.
Wilfork defended Chung for his hit on Shorts.
"I don't think he was trying to hurt the guy but sometimes it happens. Sometimes it looks like it's intentional but me personally, I don't think he was out trying to make that hit a headshot like that. It's football. Sometimes you get bad breaks. Sometimes you're in situations where it's the ball and the defender, you have to make the decision in a split-second. Nobody would understand that except the guy that's been in that position. You have to make a choice in a split second. Sometimes it looks harsh, sometimes it don't. I'm sure he'll be getting a letter (from the league). You try to prevent it, but it's football in the end. I hate to see anyone injured."
It was one of a few questionable decisions by Chung. Intercepting the fourth down passes rather than batting them to the ground is a transgression. And Chung's circuitous, hard-fought 27-yard return courted the possibility of a fumble which could have returned the ball to the Jags. The end result was fine, but Chung should have hit the deck sooner.
Those who've followed the NFL long enough remember San Diego safety Marlon McCree being stripped by Troy Brown in the 2006 Divisional Playoff game after a fourth-down pick. That gave the Patriots another chance to win and they capitalized on it.