Back On The Bandwagon - XIX (At Least)

After spending at least half of the season questioning them in many different ways, he's back on the Patriots bandwagon.

FOXBOROUGH — A million years ago the great Muhammad Ali was involved in a fight vs. Ernie Terrell that reminded me of the Patriots vs. the Chargers Sunday.

The 1967 championship bout is remembered for its dominance and downright cruelty as Ali pummeled Terrell, throwing 737 punches and allowing the challenger to stick around for a 15-round beatdown. Ali, born as Cassius Clay, was angry because Terrell refused to recognize Ali’s Muslim name, and the champ spent 15 rounds hollering, “What’s my name,” as he pounded Terrell into a bloody pulp.

This is what we got Sunday at Gillette as Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and the ever-mighty Patriots put a stop to months of noise about Brady falling off a cliff and the final days of a crumbling dynasty with a 41-28 playoff beating of the estimable Los Angeles Chargers. (Pay no attention to that final score. It could have been 59-7.)

How's that for back on the bandwagon?

The only question for the upcoming week - is Shank dumb enough to attempt a troll on Kansas City like he's done to Houston, Cleveland and St. Louis in previous situations? Stay tuned!

Shank On The LA Chargers - II

Sorry for the late post - I suppose I've been as lazy as responding to this column as Shank was in writing it, because we get a typical Shank walk down memory lane.

Chargers-Patriots.

The first meeting was Oct. 8, 1960, when Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House and future Patriot Larry Eisenhauer was a senior defensive end at Boston College. The Chargers were the Los Angeles Chargers and the Patriots were the Boston Patriots.

Two of the AFL’s original eight teams, the Chargers and Patriots have played one another at Nickerson Field, Balboa Stadium, Fenway Park, Alumni Stadium (Boston College), Harvard Stadium, Schaefer (a.k.a. Foxboro and Sullivan) Stadium, Qualcomm (also Jack Murphy) Stadium, and Gillette Stadium. They have met 38 times in the regular season.

See what I mean?

Shank On The LA Chargers

The columnist who's spent the past five or six years pretending to like the New England Patriots and deriding every other team in the NFL as 'Tomato Cans' now sees a worthy playoff opponent.

This won’t be a typical playoff layup for the Patriots

I am the Tomato Can Whisperer.

I know Tomato Cans. I invented the genre. It’s sort of like creating Facebook or discovering your own solar system.

Just a bit overboard with the self-praise there, Shankaroni...

I identified the fraudulent Texans when they were 11-1 in 2012. I called out the hideousness of the playoff Colts in 2014 and the divisional-round Titans last year. Along with many others, I easily marked the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins of the AFC East (Warhol) Division. Trust me, I know Tomato Cans. I am to Tomato Cans what J. Robert Oppenheimer was to the atomic bomb.

And let me say this to the Los Angeles Chargers: You, sirs, are no Tomato Cans.

If you can stomach more of that bullshit, go right ahead and click that link.

Patriots Tweets, By Dan Shaughnessy

At least Shank is sparing us the 'tomato can' / 'double score' shtick somewhat:

Chargers in Foxboro. Prepare for visitors to look across the field at Belichick and forget everything they know about football. #tomatocans

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) October 29, 2017

Pats win toss. Defer.
We're on to Denver.

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) October 29, 2017

The stupidity begins: "Let's not go for 4th and 1. We are losers. Let's go for a 51 yarder and miss it.''

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) October 29, 2017

Well, if I recall correctly, Novak (Chargers kicker) was never known for long-distance field goals.