International Man Of Mystery

Someone on Twitter resurfaced this informative column by his Shankness from four years ago, picked up off of Shank's Twitter feed:

The Patriots’ man behind the curtain

Is little-known Bill Belichick confidant Ernie Adams the secret to the Patriots’ success?

By Dan Shaughnessy | Globe Staff

And - he's got a BatPhone!

PHOENIX — You can see the Ernie Hotline in the phone bank near the Patriots bench. Sometimes when Bill Belichick is prowling and scowling on the sideline, you get a glimpse of the wall of black phones behind the coach.

Under an NFL-shielded Microsoft Surface blue awning, in the middle of the row of old-timey wall phones, there is one handset with a strip of red tape affixed to the receiver. Somebody with a black Sharpie has identified the man on the other end of this line.

The five letters run from top to bottom of the handpiece.

E

R

N

I

E

Who is Ernie Adams? What does he do? These are the eternal questions surrounding the Mystery Man of the Patriots.

Again - this is a good / solid column, and showcases what Shank can do when he's not ragging on the local teams and / or searching for that soft spot on your back before he sinks the shiv in.