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Vince Wilfork, who underwent surgery on his Achilles tendon on Tuesday, released the following statement via his Twitter account:

I just want to thank everyone for your support and encouragement. ... Please know your words are heard. Bianca [Wilfork's wife] is making sure I see all the comments. I wish I could respond to everyone. But please know your words are heard.

One thing I know is I signed up to play football. I don't regret anything that has happened and there is no need to feel sorry about it. I've been blessed to only have one surgery prior to today and that was in high school.

I know what signing up to play football means and I know the rewards and risks. This is my job and I will switch positions for now and play the role of patient, but that is only temporary. I have so much confidence in our team and know that they will do great and I will be right beside them maybe not in uniform but in all other ways.

Thanks again.

The Patriots re-signed veteran cornerback Marquice Cole on Tuesday. Also, rookie safety Kanorris Davis cleared waivers after being waived Monday and is expected to be re-signed to the team's practice squad.

The moves are related, as Davis had been promoted to the active roster on Saturday, mainly to fill Cole's special-teams duties. Cole had injured his hamstring and wasn't available for Sunday night's 30-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons, which led to his release last Friday.

On Sunday, Davis played on each of the "Big 4" special-teams units -- kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return and punt coverage. He had one penalty, for illegal formation.

The Patriots don't have to release a player to make room for Cole, as they had an open spot on their 53-man roster after waiving Davis on Monday. The team also has an open spot on its practice squad.

It’s certainly not breaking news that there is no love lost between Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and the New England Patriots, and particularly quarterback Tom Brady.

There’s a history of trash talk between the two (OK, mostly Suggs) that dates back to 2010.

So it comes as no surprise to learn Suggs was at it again in an interview with Lisa Salters for an “E:60” feature that airs at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday.

In the same interview in which he accused Roger Goodell of playing a role in last season’s Super Bowl blackout, he was asked by Salters what he thinks of Brady.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for camera,” Suggs said. “I don’t like him. He don’t like me. I don’t like his hair. I don’t know. I don’t like his smug attitude. But then again he probably doesn’t like my a------ attitude. ... Everybody just seems to worship the guy, not me though.”

A look at the 4-0 New England Patriots in our weekly "stat check," while also bringing Sunday's opponent -- the 2-2 Cincinnati Bengals -- into the discussion:

Points scored
This week: 20th (22.25)
Last week: 22nd (19.6)
Last season: 1st (34.8)
Bengals in 2013: 22nd (20.25)

Points against
This week: 6th (14.25)
Last week: Tied-2nd (11.3)
Last season: Tied-9th (20.6)
Bengals in 2013: 10th (20.25)

Third-down offense
This week: 9th (28 of 66, 42.4 percent)
Last week: 13th (21 of 53, 39.6 percent)
Last season: 1st (110 of 226, 48.7 percent)
Bengals in 2013: 10th (22 of 53, 41.5 percent)

Third-down defense
This week: 11th (21 of 59, 35.6 percent)
Last week: Tied-8th (15 of 45, 33.3 percent)
Last season: 22nd (82 of 205, 40.0 percent)
Bengals in 2013: 20th (22 of 57, 38.6 percent)

Turnover differential
This week: Tied-7th (plus-4, 8 takeaways, 4 giveaways)
Last week: Tied-6th (plus-3, 7 takeaways, 4 giveaways)
Last season: 1st (plus-25, 41 takeaways, 16 giveaways)
Bengals in 2013: Tied-21st (minus-2, 7 takeaways, 9 giveaways)

Red zone offense (based on TD percentage)
This week: 30th (6 of 16)
Last week: 32nd (4 of 13)
Last season: 1st (49 of 70)
Bengals in 2013: Tied-5th (6 of 9)

Red zone defense (based on TD percentage)
This week: Tied-4th (4 of 12)
Last week: Tied-12th (3 of 6)
Last season: 13th (24 of 46)
Bengals in 2013: 26th (8 of 11)

A weekly examination of the Patriots’ ESPN.com Power Ranking:

Preseason: 6 | Last Week: 5 | ESPN.com Power Ranking since 2002

The Patriots' No. 4 ranking represents their highest spot of the year. They've been as low as seventh.

When looking closer at the voting breakdown, it came down to the Patriots and Saints for the No. 4 spot, with New Orleans getting one more third-place vote to barely edge New England.

If things hold true this week -- the Patriots hit the road to face the Bengals, while the Saints visit the Bears -- it will set up a potential No. 3 versus No. 4 matchup between the Patriots and Saints on Oct. 13 at Gillette Stadium. If the weather cooperates, that could turn out to be a true gem, because from this viewpoint, there's not much better than high-level NFL football played on a perfect New England day.

But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

First up for the Patriots is a test against the Bengals, who dropped from sixth to 11th in ESPN's Power Rankings.

As for the No. 1 (Denver) and No. 2 (Seattle) teams in the Power Rankings, no arguments here. They deserve it and my sense is that most Patriots followers would agree, while also acknowledging that what the picture looks like today isn't always what we'll see when it counts in November and December.

Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, who is likely headed to season-ending injured reserve, had surgery on his torn right Achilles on Tuesday.

Wilfork's wife, Bianca, tweeted a photo of Wilfork lying in a hospital bed with a cast on the foot and giving the camera a thumbs up:

Thanking God for a successful surgery pic.twitter.com/matpmHlcgH

— bianca wilfork (@mrs75) October 1, 2013

Tedy Bruschi held his weekly ESPNBoston.com New England Patriots chat at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The chat can be recapped here and includes some of the following topics:

1. Explaining what makes Vince Wilfork so valuable to the defense.

2. How the coaching staff might have to get creative to replace Wilfork, such as using Brandon Spikes in a defensive line-type role.

3. Why Spikes has played such a low total of snaps through four games.

4. A player's perspective on injury updates.

5. Sharing thoughts on the Dolphins as competition in the AFC East.

Every Tuesday on ESPNBoston.com, questions from New England Patriots followers are answered as part of a weekly mailbag. This week's mailbag has been posted and includes some of the following topics:

1. How the Patriots might recover from losing defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.

2. Did the Patriots make a mistake by not having Rob Gronkowski on the physically unable to perform list?

3. Cornerback Aqib Talib and the possibility of a contract extension.

4. The Broncos' early-season success and how it all matches up against the Patriots.

5. Rookie receiver Josh Boyce and his progress.

Once a training camp, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick throws his team a bone, metaphorically speaking.

It usually takes place after a morning practice, often on a Saturday, and the circumstances are these: If a player of his choosing -- typically a lineman -- can catch a punt, the team will have the afternoon and evening off from meetings. Six to eight extra hours of freedom may not seem like much, but during training camp, every spare minute counts.

Forgive us for not recalling the year, but one fair-catch attempt will forever be remembered. Belichick tabbed nose tackle Vince Wilfork -- all 325-plus pounds of him -- to catch a punt (in the air, of course) with a night off on the line. But there was a catch to the catch: Wilfork had to do so with a ball in one hand, allowing him just one free hand to make the catch.

As the punt soared into the air, spiraling down the field, Wilfork gently glided laterally, lining his frame up under the punt. Just seconds later, the arcing football landed in his free arm, almost as if Velcro were affixed to both the ball and his forearm.

For a moment, Wilfork could have been mistaken for his pint-sized teammate and master ball handler Kevin Faulk, a regular punt returner.

The point of this vignette is that it illustrates Wilfork’s rare athleticism for a man of his stature, proof that men who stand 6-foot-2 and well over 300 pounds can be exceptional athletes, not merely human mountains.

But not all defensive tackles have Wilfork’s movement skills. In fact, maybe a handful of others around the league do.

And that is -- at least in part -- what makes Wilfork such an invaluable member of the Patriots' defense. It’s the ability to align in a variety of spots on the defensive line, the quickness and agility to disrupt as a pass-rusher and, yes, the hands to make a play on the ball as a pass defender, as we saw against the Chargers back in 2011, when he nearly returned an interception for a score.

Three-down defensive linemen are hard to find, especially among interior defensive tackles.

Vince Wilfork fits the bill.

When the Patriots opt to put Wilfork on the injured reserve list -- which looks like a certainty at this point, after he had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn Achilles tendon -- a key cog in their defensive wheel will be done for the season.

And we haven’t even talked about Wilfork’s contributions against the run. The Patriots don’t always play three-man fronts. In fact, they often align with four men at the line of scrimmage. But when Wilfork was selected by the Pats in the 2004 draft's first round, he provided the team a refined and ready-made nose tackle to anchor the defense.

In the Patriots' two-gap system, a defensive lineman is called upon to engage an opposing offensive lineman, lock his arms out to gain leverage, and be prepared to move laterally with the flow of a run. If a running back tries to squirt through one of the two gaps the defensive lineman is controlling, it’s up to him to shed the block and make a tackle.

That’s not easy. It’s an arduous task that requires unique skills. And yet, on virtually every play, the Patriots rely on Wilfork to man this task at a dominant level. A look at the numbers affirms his importance: According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Patriots in the past five seasons have allowed 4.1 yards per rush with Wilfork on the field, ninth-best in the NFL. When Wilfork was off the field, the Patriots ranked last in yards per rush allowed (5.0).

“The replay system is not working. The ruling on the field stands. New England will not be charged a timeout.”

That was the announcement made by referee Walt Coleman midway through the fourth quarter of the New England Patriots’ 30-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night, and represented an embarrassing moment of sorts for the NFL.

The Patriots (leading 30-13) had challenged a completion to receiver Julio Jones, directly in front of the New England sideline. Bill Belichick was decisive in throwing his red challenge flag after it was ruled Jones had made the catch.

Then, after what seemed like a lengthier-than-normal delay, Coleman informed the nation that the replay system was down.

We all saw Belichick’s reaction, his arms lifted into the air, his palms pointing up, his head shaking as if to say, “Are you serious?” (we're going with the PG, family-friendly version here.)

A day later, he was asked about the unusual occurrence during his weekly radio interview on sports radio WEEI.

“In that situation, you’re just playing without replay, which is the way we played for years and years. That’s what it is, but I mean, the fact we have however many zillions of dollars committed to this system and it doesn’t work, that’s a whole another discussion,” Belichick said on the “Salk and Holley” program.

Nice little zinger there from Belichick, who said he also would have challenged the second play after Jones’ upheld catch, when he felt an incomplete pass should have instead been a Chandler Jones sack.

The system was later fixed.

“That’s a question that really should be asked to the league office and the officials, because I don’t have a good answer for it,” Belichick said.

Tedy Bruschi's weekly ESPNBoston.com Patriots chat is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET today. Questions can be submitted in advance.

Catch up with Tedy then.

The New England Patriots' road game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday (1 p.m. ET) will be broadcast on CBS, with Greg Gumbel (play-by-play) and Dan Dierdorf (analysis) on the call.

This is the second time that the Gumbel-Dierdorf duo has been assigned a Patriots game in 2013, as they called the opener against the Buffalo Bills.

Patriots 2013 television lineup
at Bills: Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf/Tracy Wolfson (CBS)
vs. Jets: Brad Nessler/Mike Mayock/Alex Flanagan (NFL Network)
vs. Buccaneers: Kevin Burkhardt/John Lynch/Erin Andrews (Fox)
at Falcons: Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya (NBC)
at Bengals: Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf (CBS)