FOXBORO -- You couldn’t tell if Vince Wilfork was kidding until he smiled.

Asked if he wanted Nick Mangold -- the Jets Pro Bowl center who has been on the shelf because of an ankle injury as of late -- to play on Sunday, the Patriots Pro Bowl defensive lineman waited a beat.

“No. I don’t,” he replied before grinning. “He’s probably one of the best offensive linemen in the game. He’s definitely a leader on that team for them. I’m pretty sure that they would love for him to play because I think he gives them a spark. It’s absolutely a difference when he’s in and when he’s not in. I think they need that leadership and everything around that.

“I expect for him to be in there to get things going and everything, and get his team off to a good start.”

The matchup between the New England nose tackle and the New York center has often been the key element in determining which way things will swing. Both are fierce warriors who have been exceedingly durable over the course of extended careers.

In his eighth season, Wilfork is the tone-setter up from for the Patriots’ defense, a three-time Pro Bowler who is a universally respected veteran. Prior to his ankle injury, Mangold had started 89 straight games (including the postseason) since he was drafted in 2006, and has gone to three Pro Bowls.

But Mangold has missed the last two games, and the Jets offensive line has struggled as a result, yielding 11 sacks through four games, while the running game averages 3.1 yards per carry and 71 yards a game this year, both 30th in the league.

Mangold reportedly practiced on Thursday with an eye toward playing on Sunday, but even then, it might not be enough for the Jets, who continue to have problems up front. According to analyst Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, the issues go deeper than just the loss of Mangold for a stretch.

“The Jets O-line has fallen apart faster than I can remember a top unit doing so before. It has gone from the league’s top unit to a problem virtually overnight, and it wasn’t all the loss of Mangold,” Monson wrote in an e-mail to WEEI.com. “So far this season Mangold has played 80 snaps and allowed a pair of sacks, a hit and two more pressures. Mangold allowed just a single sack, one more hit, and six more pressures in the whole of 2010.

“Last year the Jets’ pass protection surrendered 147 total pressures (sacks, hits and pressures) over the season. This year they’re on pace to allow 184, and have allowed almost half of the total sacks and hits they did for 2010.

“The bigger problem might be run blocking though, with Mangold the only Jet lineman we have with a positive run-blocking grade so far in 2011. They can’t move blockers at the point of attack and they don’t have runners (at least not in Tomlinson and Greene) who can make things happen themselves.”

Mangold or no Mangold, Wilfork still expects a lot of the “ground and pound” attack that has carried the Jets to back-to-back appearances in the AFC Championship Game.

“I’m expecting a lot of runs,” he said. “When you have two backs that can run the ball and you have an offensive line that is big and physical, you want to be able to run the ball. I’m expecting for them to come out and establish a run game. That always takes pressure off your quarterback, especially when they struggle at times.

“That’s one thing defensively we have to get our mindset ready for -- being a physical game, these guys coming out (and) running a little bit more run plays than they’ve shown earlier this year.”

More runs would likely help the Patriots from a statistical standpoint -- they remain in the middle of the pack statistically when it comes to stopping the run, but dead last in most major categories when it comes to pass defense. Wilfork remains optimistic that with more reps together (Shaun Ellis, Albert Haynesworth and Mark Anderson are all among the veteran defensive linemen in their first year together in New England), the Patriots front seven will start to see improved numbers across the board.

“It’s a learning process, but I think the more we play, the better we get -- just knowing how each other plays,” Wilfork said. “That comes with time. I think we’re getting better as a unit. I think we’re moving forward.

“Our job is stop -- stop -- the opponent. We haven’t done that a lot around here lately. That’s something that has to change,” Wilfork added. “Once that changes, you’ll see a difference in this defense. You’ll start seeing the big plays being made, the turnovers, the big hits. You’ll start seeing a lot of guys having fun.”