by By KAREN GUREGIAN , The Boston Herald

The nose tackle reiterated much of what he said last week during his own charity appearance.

``OTAs were voluntary. I chose to sit out with the situation I'm in,'' Wilfork said yesterday. ``It's nothing personal, it's just what makes sense to me at this time. With that said, I'm looking forward with the season. I could care less about what people think. . . . I don't want to leave. We're doing everything in our power to get (a contract) done. I try not to talk about it, I'm trying to stay positive. I want to be a Patriot, but there's a business part of it. It hurt me to sit out OTAs, but that's the business part to it. I'm going to give 100 percent. I'll be ready to play this season.''

Wilfork, however, left it up in the air on whether he was going to attend mandatory minicamp, which begins tomorrow.

A Boston Globe report yesterday claimed Wilfork stood to lose $500,000 should he not show up for the mandatory camp.

Carl Francis, the director of communications for the NFLPA, would neither confirm nor deny that report last night.

Wilfork's agent, Kennard McGuire, also was mum on the subject.

``I don't have a comment on that,'' McGuire said via e-mail. ``Vince, Bianca (Wilfork's wife) and I are aware of all our options.''

Patriots owner Robert Kraft, meanwhile, offered his thoughts on his Pro Bowl defensive lineman.

``I'm a big fan of Vince Wilfork. Unfortunately, the business part of this game, this is something that goes on every year with most teams,'' Kraft said. ``We're lucky to have Vince. I hope he's here for the long term. These things usually have a way of working themselves out. We're privileged to have some pretty good Football people making the decisions.

``We're in a unique period in the evolution of the labor relations, so there is a lot of things factoring in here. But in the end, everyone should know that the Patriots are always trying to make decisions to put our franchise and team in the best position to win consistently. That's what our mantra is.''

Brady experience

Newly acquired running back Fred Taylor had an idea about what to expect for leadership from quarterback Tom Brady, but even Taylor was surprised at the levels Brady goes to achieve excellence with the offense.

``He's a winner for a reason,'' Taylor said. ``Sometimes you sit back when you're on the outside, and you go, `Man, these guys are just the lucky ones.' But the intensity and passion he shows out there in practice, wanting to be perfect on every single throw, every single dropback, he's a winner for a reason, and he's humble. You don't get that combination often. He's a true leader.'' . . .

Speaking of the quarterback, while on the radio Kraft offered his impressions of Brady at practice.

``I personally like what I see,'' he said. ``But in the end, we know it's not what happens now, but in the Monday after Labor Day.''

Snap judgments

Kicker Stephen Gostkowski talked about the difference between the two long snappers - Nathan Hodel and rookie Jake Ingram - vying for Lonie Paxton's old job.

``It's early. We're just trying to get a feel for each other and get our rhythm down, that's pretty much it,'' Gostkowski said. ``. . . They don't throw it at exactly the same speeds, but they're both doing a good job.'' . . .

Tedy Bruschi, who turns 36 today, won the long-drive contest at the charity event yesterday. The Pats linebacker drove it 287 yards. Former winner Brady was second at 281 yards.

Read the Patriots Point After at bostonherald.com.

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