A Dynasty For The Right Reasons

I’m here to give Buccaneer fans a view from the outside. I’m a Patriots fan who grudgingly admires what the Buccaneers are doing.  What they are doing is playing to win. They made a commitment to sign all of their starters that won them the Super Bowl. Everyone, even the players know there is a salary cap. They didn’t hicker and dicker them down with jibber-jabber and minutia as Bill Belichick does.  They maneuvered the money in such a way to keep everyone content and in the fold. They draft well and reward those players with good cintracts. Lavonte David, Vita Vea, Devin White, Tristan Wirfs, etc, etc. Belichick likes to draft players in lower rounds to get them cheap and have leverage on them. He push a fifth-year team option on them. Then hold them hostage to that below-average contract even if they way over perform it. Not a way to build trust and good will.  Bill’s record of drafting high is filled busts and whiffs. When he does come across a good player. Such as UDFA J.C. Jackson in 2018. He treats them like crap. Jackson had nine interceptions last year. Instead of hurrying to renegotiate his contract to not only lock him in but to show appreciation. Belichick will play him on his rookie deal to squeeze every penny out of him. He did the same to Malcolm Butler and dozens of others who gave their heart in soul to the team. Whether it was Tom Brady or Malcolm Butler he treats them all like crap. The list of players who left Foxboro with ill will is ridiculous. Dion Branch, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, Damian Woody, Randy Moss, Logan Mankins, Nate Solder, Roosevelt Colvin, Wes Welker, Ben Watson, Assante Samuels, Akeem Hicks, Trey Flowers, and more and more and more. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s Bill Belichick.

The Buccaneers are doing it right. You can’t make everyone happy but at least they aren’t trying to screw their players over. The Patriots, under Bill Belichick, are known for that. What they did to Branch, Seymour, Samuels, Butler, Gronk, Brady and now Jackson is SOP. The Buccaneers front office knows what they have in Tom Brady. Brady will retire a Buccaneer no matter what. They will keep him on the team even if he has to trot out onto the field with an upright walker. They know that having someone like that on a team is priceless. Not the Belichick Patriots. Belichick pushed Brady out the door for Cam Newton. That’s correct you heard right. It wasn’t Tom that left. It was Bill who closed the door on Brady. Bill had wanted to get rid of him 7 years ago. Before the last 3 Super Bowls. But owner Bob Kraft stepped in on Brady’s behalf. Kraft knew it would be bad PR. Tom was still playing at a high and had kept accepting less than top QB money his whole career. It put Kraft in the middle. But he side with Brady. Three Super Bowls later it turned out to be the right move. This time around Kraft stayed out of it. He didn’t want to step on Belichicks toes twice. Belichick then told Brady he couldn’t pay him more than 18 mill when Brady asked for 20. 20 mill is not even bottom of the barrel for top NFL quarterback. Its bottom of the barrel for an average NFL qb. Maomes,with one Super Bowl under his belt, was given a contract worth 50 mill a year months earlier. But here was Belichick stating he could pay the GOAT more than 18 million. To be generous he’d throw some incentives in it.  It was the slap in the face that Belichick knew would make Tom walk away. So Brady did.

The championships are fine. Six Super Bowl yes. But there have been so many players abused, mishandled, and maligned along the way. That it is hard to really enjoy them. Even the players that won didn’t seem happy. Most of them couldn’t wait until their contract was up to get out of town. I am still a Patriots fan. But I hope you guys do it better. If you repeat this year. I hope Bruce Arians gets coach of the year. It will be proof you don’t have to be a jerk to win.