FOXBORO -- Vince Wilfork knows his team isn't being given much of a chance to win Saturday's matchup with the Patriots. When asked about being double-digit underdogs during a conference call with New England reporters Tuesday, he didn't quite play the Rodney Harrison "disrespect" card. But he made his feelings known all the same.
"I think last night we [saw] a game in Alabama-Clemson, these so called experts had Clemson as the underdog," he explained. "In '07 the experts had the New York Giants as underdogs, and both those teams went out to win the Super Bowl and national championship. It goes to show you what these experts know.
"We don't pay attention to outside what people have to say about us or how good or how bad we are. I think this team is a close-knit group. We play well together, and we keep everything as a family. We approach everything the same, win or lose. We win as a team, we lose as a team. I don't think anything outside . . . [will impact] how we'll go up there and how we feel because of what somebody else said. We're going to go out and play our tails off."
If they don't they'll be going home, leaving their 2016 season in the rear-view. For Wilfork, who has hinted at the possibility of retirement this offseason, it could mean he plays the last game of his 13-year career in the stadium that he called home for 11 seasons.
"At this point in my career, that's something that I'll think heavy about once the season ends, and see what I really want to do," he said. "It's hard to walk away from something that you love and have been playing for so long. But we can't play the game forever. That's a decision I'll make at the end of the season and give it some time and some thought and I'll weigh different things and go from there.
"But whenever I make that decision, I'm full-fledged making the decision. I won't be one of those ones to say no I'm not retired and coming back and play that game. When I hang my cleats up, I'm gonna hanging them up for good."