Patriots HC Belichick singles out Rams and Bucs as teams that 'overspend,' to win Super Bowls

Well, as we wait in the wee hours for our coffee to kick in and for the LA Rams to initiate their final push to cut their roster down to the limit of just 53 players, a new topic surfaced for discussion that has some relevance to the LA Rams roster. And what better way to distract us from the final 22 players to be released by the LA Rams before the 1:00 pm deadline on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, than to mention the name of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick?

After all, it was the reign of Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick and former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady that established what could very likely be one of the last NFL teams to dominate the NFL in such a fashion. At a time when NFL teams that find success are ripped apart quickly by the forces of salary demands vs. salary cap, promotion vs. retention,, retention vs. acquisition, the New England Patriots manage to remain relevant and in the mix for a Super Bowl for many years.

And now, as the Patriots' penchant for winning has waned, mysteriously after quarterback Tom Brady had left the Patriots team to play elsewhere and now retired, Belichick is quoted as commenting on the strategy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams. In fact, he describes their strategy in one word:

"Overspending."

Actually, he has a bit more to say in an article written by Masslive.com writer Chris Mason, which we cite below:

"You can’t sustain the 20 years of success that we sustained by overspending every year without having to eventually pay those bills and play with a lesser team. I think if you look at the teams that have done that, that’s kinda where some of them ended up. Jacksonville back in 2014, the Rams are going through it, Tampa is going through it now. So, I’m not saying there’s anything right or wrong with it. It’s just a different way of doing things and there’s the results for doing that."

Bill Belichick

While he is not entirely wrong to a degree, keep in mind that the Patriots streak of success began when the team nailed the 199th overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by selecting Tom Brady out of the University of Michigan.

The Patriots were able to leverage the incredibly inexpensive contract of Brady to build a Super Bowl winner, draft wisely, and then hold the line on spending to ensure that the Patriots would remain financially viable despite their unprecidented success. In fact, on some occasions, players agreed to play for less money with the Patriots in order to have an opportunity to win a Super Bowl during their career.

While the Rams did a bit of 'win now,' strategy to ensure that the team could hoist the Lombardi Trophy for SoFi Stadium and during the prime years of All-Pro DT Aaron Donald, the LA Rams appear to be switching strategy lanes this year to a more grow-from-within sustainable method to building a Super Bowl winning roster.

But that will take time, which means that the LA Rams success in 2023 may or may not be as prosperous as many fans expect it to be.