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!