The following comparison came to the Chief Troll while on sports radio WEEI in Boston Sunday, in a moment of true inspiration. And the comparison is this:

 

If Broadsheet Bully Ron Borges ran a football team, it would look something like the Detroit Lions.

 

That's right, it would be a failed organization run by somebody who just doesn't understand what it takes to compete in the modern NFL.

 

In fact, through careful scientific research in our pigskin petri dish, we have discovered that failed Lions general manager Matt Millen is, in fact, the alter-ego of the discredited Boston Globe hatchet man.

 

Here's a short list of traits the two have in common:

Sparring partners – Millen took a swing at Patriots general manager Patrick Sullivan back in the 1985 playoffs. Borges has been taking swings at Patriots management throughout the 21st century.

 

Draft strategy – Millen believes the way to build a team is by grabbing wide receivers in the draft year after year. He comically pegged wideouts with top-10 picks for three straight years. None have lived up to expectations.

 

Borges also believes you build a team by drafting wide receivers. He once admonished New England for drafting Richard Seymour "on a day when they could have had impact players David Terrell or Koren Robinson."

 

The Cold, Hard Football Facts have proven that wide receivers are accessories on great football teams, not the foundation upon which great teams are built. Millen and Borges never got the memo.

 

A passion for over-hyped free agents – Millen has attempted to build his organization by tossing piles of cash into the fireplace of the free-agent market, giving out inexcusably large contracts to players like Damien Woody and Dré Bly, much to the detriment of the rest of the team. Press boxes around the country, meanwhile, are covered in drool from Borges, who salivates over every big-name free agent on the market.

 

The effectiveness of this strategy speaks for itself: Detroit is 23-69 (.250) on Millen's watch. The Lions haven't beaten a team with a winning record since 2004 and are 1-18 vs. quality opponents in the last three seasons.

 

The Cold, Hard Football Facts mean nothing to the likes of Borges, who has hammered New England repeatedly for its failure to overpay for everyone from Ty Law to Deion Branch.

 

The blind, inexplicable support of management – Despite a record that would shame most people, Millen keeps his job thanks to the blind support of Lions owner William Clay Ford. The public in Detroit is near unanimous in its belief that Millen should be canned ... but there he is, clinging to a job despite the embarrassment he brings to his employer.

 

Borges also has a record that would shame most people, yet also keeps his job thanks to the blind support of Boston Globe management. The public in Boston is near unanimous in its belief that Borges should be canned ... but there he is, clinging to a job and drooling all over the pages of the paper, despite the embarrassment he brings to his employer.

 

San Diego is a nifty 31-13 since 2004.

 

They're 18-0 when LaDainian Tomlinson rushes for 100 yards or more – just 13-13 when he does not.

 

Over the course of his career (since 2001), the Chargers have a pedestrian 48-44 record. They're 27-8 when LT tops 100 yards, 21-36 when he does not.

 

Tomlinson rushed for 178 yards against Buffalo. San Diego won, 24-21. He has 26 TDs, two shy of the NFL single-season record, with four games to play.