So Predictable!

Yesterday, I mentioned it would take Shank a few losses by the New England Patriots for him to start ripping the team. Boy, was I wrong!

Patriots’ opener was supposed to supply some answers but instead left questions about Drake Maye

FOXBOROUGH — Can we blame this on Bill Belichick, too?

Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Patriots, 20-13, Sunday, in New England’s much-anticipated season opener at Gillette.

It rained all afternoon. Top draft pick Will Campbell got beat on a couple of bull rushes and committed a crushing pre-snap penalty late in the fourth. Mike Vrabel’s decision to punt from near midfield, down by 10 with 4:53 left, was right out of the Joe Judge-Matt Patricia playbook. New England generated virtually zero offense in the second half.

Oh, and after the Pats took a 10-7 halftime lead, second-year quarterback Drake Maye threw an interception that tipped everything in the Raiders’ favor early in the second half.

Let’s blame the Hoodie. Relations between the Krafts and the Belichicks are at an all-time low, and blaming Bill for everything always will be easier than swallowing the notion that this might be another long, sad football autumn in New England.

Next week's game against the Miami Dolphins (where they've tended to lose in recent history) will be a barometer for more Patriots bashing by Shank, who doesn't mind doubling his weekly column output if he can continue to take a proxy dump on Robert Kraft.

DHL Dan CCLXVII - Anticipation

In Friday's Picked Up Pieces column, Shank talks up the New England Patriots after a few years in the wilderness:

There probably hasn’t been this much anticipation for a Patriots game since Tom Brady left, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while noting that Tommy Cutlets wears the No. 16 for the Patriots once worn by Scott Zolak . . .

⋅ The NFL season is finally here and New England waits breathlessly for the beginning of the Mike Vrabel era, when the Patriots and Raiders kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday at Gillette.

Patriots Nation is agog. There probably hasn’t been this much anticipation since Tom Brady prepped for what would end up being his final Patriots game: a 20-13 playoff loss to Vrabel’s Titans in January 2020.

A lot of stuff has happened to the Patriots since that day. Most of it bad.

Brady bolted for Tampa in the middle of the pandemic and Patriots Nation subsequently endured a chorus line of QB castaways, wannabes, and never weres: Cam Newton, Mac Jones, Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer, Bailey Zappe, Jacoby Brissett, and Joe Milton.

...

Those were the good old days . . . when the Patriots ruled the football world . . . when Wiggy would say, “They hate us cuz they ain’t us!"

It was great then. It could be great again. And Patriots Nation believes it’ll start this weekend against the Raiders at Gillette.

It's subtle, but still there - set up the team with high expectations so he can rip them down the road when they lose a few games.

The Class of 2029

Shank welcomes the college students who are new to Boston:

New to town, college students? Here’s a few suggestions to assure you’re getting the full Boston sports experience.

Welcome to Boston, college class of 2029. Most of you are scheduled to be here for the next four years and some of you might stick around considerably longer. Maybe forever.

The last week, we’ve seen your out-of-state license plates on the Mass. Pike and Storrow Drive: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Michigan. Hope you’re comfy in your new digs and enjoying the stimulus and fast-paced living of our cities and suburbs. Keep your heads up and ears open.

Warning: There’s a chance you’re going to become a Boston sports fan. Don’t be surprised if you adopt the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins while you’re studying and playing in your college homestead.

It happens all the time. Out-of-towners live the Fenway, Gillette, and Garden experience and carry it into adulthood. We see (and hear) them when the Sox, Pats, C’s, and B’s play in Baltimore, Charlotte, Tampa, and Texas. Boston teams are supported at venues across America and much of it comes from folks who fell in love when they lived and studied here from the ages of 18-22.