Wilfork: I wouldn't have benched Welker

Vince Wilfork stopped by to chat with Dale & Holley from Gillette Stadium on Monday afternoon as part of WEEI's Patriots Monday. Wilfork said the Jets "didn't do anything we didn't prepare for," making Sunday's 28-21 loss that much more frustrating. Wilfork, who did not speak to the media Sunday night because he was afraid he would have said something he would later regret, tried to accentuate the positive.

"All year, we've grown as a team," he said. "To end like this is kind of heartbreaking. But at the same time, you can go look back and reflect on this season and say it was a very successful season. People never gave us a chance at the beginning of the year. To go 14-2 and see a lot of young guys grow into professionals, it says a lot to this organization and this team.

"With the loss to the Jets, we hate that we lost that ballgame. We picked the wrong time to play the way we played."

Asked about the Jets' trash-talking, Wilfork said: "We can't sit back and criticize any of the things they said, because they performed. They won the football game. As bad as that sounds, it is what it is. What they said, you have to roll with it."

Asked if he was tempted to respond to some of the Jets' comments last week, Wilfork said: "Of course. That's the one thing. We sit back. We're not about talking in the media and doing all that. But at some point, it gets aggravating. Where we come from, most of the guys, you're a punk. You let anybody talk to you in any kind of way. It is very tempting at times. It is very tempting. But you have to be the bigger man in those situations."

Wilfork said he didn't think Bill Belichick's benching of Wes Welker for the opening series was a big deal, but he would not have handled it the same way. "I didn't hear about that until the end of the game," he said. "That was something Bill and Wes went through. Me, personally, I don't know, I don't know. That's the head man making a point about what we represent. I wouldn't have done it. That's just me. Biggest game of the year so far, and probably one of your biggest players not being on the field. That's just me. Everybody has their opinion. That's my opinion. I wouldn't have done it."

To hear the interview, go to the Dale & Holley audio on demand page [1]. For more Patriots news, visit the team page at weei.com/patriots [2].