FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Veteran Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said he feels as strong as ever and that his previously injured Achilles injury is an afterthought. Through 14 training camp practices and one preseason game, Wilfork feels good, and the player he matched up with Tuesday -- Eagles center Jason Kelce -- relayed that Wilfork is as tough as ever.

"I did not notice anything -- he was not any slower, or any less explosive, that's for sure," Kelce said after Tuesday's practice. "As a matter of fact, the first one-on-one he did, I was expecting [something different], and I set him on the line, and he hit me with a good swim move that I wasn't expecting. So he still has that explosiveness, still looks like the same great player that he's always been."

Kelce (6-3, 295) took us deeper into the matchup with Wilfork (6-2, 325), who had torn his Achilles Sept. 29.

"The first thing you notice going against him is that he's very intelligent," he said. "He's a guy that's really going to get every edge he can on you, and he's a guy that has a multiplicity of maneuvers. Everyone thinks he's a big, powerful guy and he only has one facet to his game, but he's actually pretty quick for his size and he has great technique, and it felt like the same old guy I've been up against before, which is never an easy task."