Frauds?

If there's anyone out there thinking that anything Shank wrote in praise of the 2014 - 2015 New England Patriots was in the slightest bit sincere or honest, guess again.

Longtime readers of this site are well aware that Shaughnessy has hated this team since / shortly after Robert Kraft assumed ownership, and anything he's ever written in praise of the team from that point forward has been insincere, dishonest and bullshit. There is nothing more entertaining for Shank than to pull the endless Sybil / Jekyll & Hyde routine so as to give some sort of lame and semi-deceptive appearance of evenhandedness, and he tries to pull the wool over the Boston Globe readers one more time.

This guy's all over the fucking place. From today's column:

Are the 2014-15 Patriots Super Bowl-bound, or are they Adams Division/Presidents’ Trophy “more days in first place” frauds?

Here's Shank, rubbing their balls on November 14, 2014, with a 9-2 record:

See you in Glendale Feb. 1.

Behold, Shank's complete and utter hatred for anything connected with this team (most likely because they refuse to give him 'comped' meals):

This game against the Ravens is a valid test. It’s going to tell us whether these Patriots are the real thing, or yet another January patsy, artificially inflated by the clown show that is the AFC East, unable to punch back when they get smashed in the mouth in the playoffs.

There’s a lot to love about this Baltimore-New England matchup. It’s not another All-Access “try-the-burgers-at-the-CBS-Scene” layup. And that’s good. You’re supposed to win hard games in order to advance to the championship. And for all their regular-season success, it has been a while since the Patriots won the hard games in the playoffs.

Try this on with your Patriot Place footie pajamas: Since running the table in 2007, the Patriots have one postseason victory against a quality opponent. One.

He then goes on to mention the Patriots' playoff performances since 2004, when they won their last Super Bowl. Conveniently ignored are a) the Patriots vast improvements in the defense, notably the free agent signings of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, and b) the fact that ten regular season games are played outside of the 'tomato can' AFC East, which isn't even the worst division in the NFL (NFC South).

It's one thing to mention the Baltimore Ravens and the problems they've posed to the Patriots in recent years. It's quite another to do what Shank did with this column and rub his hands with obvious glee like Mr. Burns in The Simpsons.