“Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point," said Scrooge, "answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of the things that May be only?"
Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood.
"Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead," said Scrooge. "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!" - Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
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The 2-13 New York Jets are in town for the season finale of this ill-fated 2020 campaign. And while most people would scoff at the mere suggestion of it, we’ll suggest it anyway: Are they the Ghost of Christmas Future for Bill Belichick?
Are they a cautionary tale in the same way we looked at the Bills and Dolphins as being examples of how to get out of the morass of mediocrity? As much as we presume the Patriots of Kraft and Belichick could never sink to the Jets' depths, acknowledging the reality of where the Patriots currently are means accepting Belichick may not be infallible.
This is the last game before one of the most important offseasons in Patriots history. The Jets are not a shadow “of the things that Will be.” But they are a shadow of how “things May be” if the Patriots continue to flail in their roster restock. The Jets come in on a two-game winning streak. The Patriots have lost three straight and have one touchdown in their last 12 quarters. Could the Patriots take a season-ending sweep from the rest of the AFC East?
Click here for Tom E. Curran's Patriots vs. Jets Week 17 Preview