As cold as it is outside, it is no match for the iciness all over The CHB's piece today.
His argument: If the Patriots don't beat the Broncos tonight, then the Patriots have no chance of going to the Super Bowl.
His rationale: The Pats can't get to the Super Bowl if it involves winning a game on the road. "The Patriots never do this, because they never have to do it. ... The Patriots haven’t won a road playoff game since beating the Chargers
at the place we used to call Jack Murphy Stadium — seven years ago. Unfortunately, they have forgotten how to do it the hard way."
Forgotten? Just how many players not named Brady were on the Patriots seven years ago? Is it possible to forget something you've never done?
That's a lead in to the obligatory rant about -- who else? -- Bill Belichick. ("Belichick really seems to hate [Wes] Welker.") After 14 seasons, hasn't Shank figured out that Belichick is great with mind games? It seems improbable that Belichick "hates" Welker, but more likely, he is calculating, willing to do anything he can to win football games. Which is why he's lasted 14 years in New England.
The CHB, of course, is just as calculating: witness all the "Curse" books. Wonder if he's calculated just how much longer it will be before new Globe owner John Henry promotes Leigh Montville to the page 1 of the Sports section?
As usual Shank wants to pretend the Patriots are somehow in over their heads if they have to play a road playoff game - especially against a Denver team that's not as disciplined with the ball with a quarterback who continues to show that something is fundamentally wrong with him in playoff football and in cold-weather football. And of course he can't find any kind of credible analysis to buttress his assumption.
ReplyDeleteShaughnessy proclaims that the Pats haven't won a road playoff game since that San Diego game, and leaves out the fact that those road playoff games totals exactly 3 (2 of which were Super Bowls on neutral sites). So 1 true road game in all that time. He truly knows how to pick a good sample, huh?
ReplyDelete