Robert Kraft Embracing Patriots' 'Low Expectations'?

The New England Patriots are in uncomfortable new territory as the 2023 season kicks off but Robert Kraft wouldn't have it any other way.

It's not about how you start, but how you finish ... but New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has found it hard to avoid the former.

Kraft's Patriots are burdened with their darkest prognostications in quite some time: a developing offense that just lost its top receiver in Jakobi Meyers is led by Mac Jones, a franchise thrower potentially wading into a make-or-break year. 

Beyond Foxborough, the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins were already tough to deal with in the AFC East division and now the New York Jets, the Patriots' frequent scoreboard victims, are armed with new hope thanks to the adds of Aaron Rodgers and several young talents. As a result, the Patriots have been pegged by many to finish last among the quartet.

Kraft wouldn't have it any other way.

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"I sort of like that people are picking us to come in fourth in the division,” Kraft said while showcasing the renovations at Gillette Stadium, per Conor Roche of Boston.com. “I think there’s a great chemistry. This is a young team, too. This might be one of the youngest teams, I think.

"Coach (Bill Belichick) has done a good job overall. I think having (offensive coordinator) Bill O’Brien come here and work with Mac, they seem to have great chemistry. I’m actually excited about the team.”

The relatively cloudy forecast comes as the Patriots are trying to avoid consecutive playoff no-shows for the first time since 1999-2000. Those two seasons also stand as the last time they finished last in the AFC East, having never done so when there were four in the group.  

To Kraft's point, there's certainly plenty of young talent and potential to justify any excitement seeping through the New England fanbase. Third-year running back Rhamondre Stevenson is coming off his first career 1,000-yard season and 2020 second-round choice Josh Uche united with tenured veteran Matthew Judon to earn 27 sacks last season. The Patriots also welcome in a dozen-member draft class, one headlined by starting cornerback Christian Gonzalez out of Arizona State.

Those youngsters and more will face an immediate pressure cooker upon their debut as a 2023 New England group on Sunday: as the Patriots commemorate their past, their present goes into the future against the Philadelphia Eagles, the defending Super Bowl runner-ups (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS).

As if the team's long-term prognostications weren't grim as is, even few expect the Patriots to take down a green group no doubt seething over how last year's championship trek ended. Kraft, of course, had no sway in how the schedule played out but once again called the Eagles' visit idyllic.

“We’re playing the team that came within three points, right at the end, of winning the Super Bowl,” Kraft said of the Eagles 38-35 losers in last February's Super Bowl. “Their defensive line is outstanding, their whole team. We have our hands full. Fingers crossed.”