LISTEN UP AND PLAY FOOTBALL:

Vet raising ’Canes: Wilfork ready to mentor rookies (Karen Guregian, 5/14/07, Boston Herald)

Big brother already has given the boys a lecture. He’s already offered up a quick course in Patriots 101. And you better believe when Vince Wilfork talked, Brandon Meriweather and Kareem Brown listened. [...]

“Both the guys I gave the same speech. So, they understand what we expect out of them. They understand what I expect out of them,” Wilfork said Saturday night before participating in Kevin Faulk [stats]’s charity softball game. “They know what I’m talking about. Get ready to win ball games.

“I just told them, do what you do best . . . play football. Everything else will come to you. Just be willing to learn. You don’t know everything; you’re a rookie. . . . Just be able to learn.” [...]

“You’re a first-round draft pick, so there’s a lot expected out of you. He understands that. I’m not going to be in his ear every day. It’s like I’m going to be his big brother,” Wilfork said. “These guys are coming up to someplace they don’t even know, but they’re coming up here with someone they know, myself and (defensive lineman) Santonio Thomas, so we’re going to take care of them.

“But at the same time, they have got to get ready to play football. And that’s what we do best, play football.”