PALM BEACH, Fla. - Here's a transcript of Robert Kraft's on-the-record comments about the Patriots at the league meetings.
He had some pointed comments about missing the playoffs, the poor drafting before last season, expecting the team to compete this season, the AFC landscape and how Bill Belichick has handled the coaching staff.
I'll be back with my thoughts later.
Opening statement
I'm a Patriots fan. First, more than anything, it bothers me that we haven't been able to win a playoff game in the last three years, and I'm happy that I think we had a great draft last year, and it made up for what happened the previous four years or so. I look forward to hopefully having a great draft this year. That's the only way you can build your team for the long term and consistently that have the chance of winning is having a good draft.
Are you comfortable if it takes a few years for the team to be in true contention or do you expect that to happen as soon as this year?
I expect it to happen as soon as this year. I think we've made the commitments as an organization and I think we have a lot of talent and some wonderful young men from last year and a couple in the weeds from before. It's a chance for them to grow and come together and hopefully the team comes together. I think on these young quarterbacks, the good ones, in the second year they've usually grown a great deal. I'm a big fan of Mac Jones. I see how hard he works and he wants everything to go right, puts the time and energy and his personality as a team guy so we have a chance. Without a good coach and quarterback, no matter how good the other players are, I don't think you can win consistently. Hopefully, I believe we have both, an outstanding coach and a good young prospect at quarterback.
Has the sort of arms race during the free agency caused you to recalibrate expectations in the AFC? Or when you view what's gone on the talent acquisition, do you feel like you're right there?
You can use all the analytics and everything, but until you play the games and things happen. I think people who don't understand our sport, also don't understand the opportunity costs of not having players on the field. If you saw our nutrition staff, rehab staff, weight room people, there's a composite picture of trying to give us the chance to have as many of the guys out there on Sunday as possible and that makes a big difference. I'm really excited and look forward to this coming year.
Robert after last year, when the team spent a lot of money in free agents. This year, it's been a quieter offseason. In terms of that, how would you describe the team's plan and approach this year to get better?
I think we have a lot of young players that are coming into their own. I don't think free agency is over, I know the big spending (is). Remember, we have a salary cap. So there's only so much we can do in that area. I do think that we have an opportunity to pick people up along the way right down to the final cuts. That's once free agency is over and I've seen that in other years and people get all excited with the headlines now. But in the end, it's what happens throughout the entire year.
So you're not very concerned the dolphins are getting Tyreek Hill, the Bills getting Von Miller and it seems like you're subtracting.
I don't look at it as subtracting. Those are good for the headlines but the headlines aren't the substance of what's happneing. In the end, I go back to '01. We definitely didn't have the best headlines, the best talent, but we had the best team and they came together and that taught me a lot, that the chemistry of what goes on and the intellect of your people that come in and who have to understand your system. Just because a guy has a record over here and then goes to another place, doesn't ensure success. But we'll see.
You see other AFC teams rise to the top, does that frustrate you after you were dominant for so many years or?
I mean, I think what's going on in the AFC and look, it looks like, I don't know what proportion but the number of quarterbacks, top quarterbacks in the league, it looks like there's a higher number is in the AFC than the NFC, but we really have to worry about our situation, take care of business, and I can only worry ... I'm fortunate. We have a paper and packaging company that's all over the world, but I learned running that company that I can only concern myself with what I can control. I can't worry about my competition. Yeah, secretly, we'd maybe like them to stumble but I gotta focus on our business and make sure we're doing the right thing. If you do that, good things happen. I think we had a period of two decades that were unbelievable with a salary cap and we have to find a way to sustain it and keep it going. I've said to you, after my family there's nothing more important to me than the New England Patriots and winning football games. That's my passion. So whatever I can do, hopefully in a small way, I'm there. I'm not happy that we haven't won a playoff game in three years. So I think about that a lot.
Not many teams in recent history that have gone into a season without an offensive or defensive coordinator. So what's your confidence level of assistant coaches on the staff right?
I think we have it, I think Bill has a unique way of doing things. It's worked out pretty well up to now so ... I know what I don't know. And I try to stay out of the way things I don't know ... I think he's pretty good. I don't know, is it over 40 years of experience doing it? So it doesn't sometimes look straight line to our fans, or to myself but I'm results-oriented.
Mac Jones what are some of the qualities you like about him away from football?
Well, first of all, I'm amazed he's such a good person and he's humble. But I come in there sometimes on the weekend or early. He's there working out, watching film just doing things I wouldn't believe someone of his background would have that kind of commitment given his past. And the guys in the locker room really like him, all the guys. I actually believe he has a little more edge than we've seen but he's been respectful of coming in as a rookie. I'm very high on him and I think we really ... the staff did a great job drafting him. We're lucky to have him for our future.