Robert and Jonathan Kraft promise "critical evaluations of all elements" of Patriots' football operations

BOSTON -- Last spring, Patriots owner Robert Kraft admitted that he was bothered by the fact that his team had not won a playoff game in three years. He also said he expected his team to get back into Super Bowl contention as soon as the 2022 season.

That, however, did not happen.

With a 35-23 loss in Buffalo on Sunday, the Patriots officially came up short in their quest to make the playoffs, let alone vie for a championship.

As such, Kraft is once again disappointed in the outcome of the season for his team, and he -- along with son Jonathan -- shared that sentiment in an email to season ticket holders.

"Unfortunately, our season ended sooner than we hoped yesterday afternoon in Buffalo," the Krafts wrote to season ticket holders. "While we always want to be playing games with playoff implications in Week 18, our expectation was to perform better throughout the season and to advance through the playoffs. We can assure you that no one in our organization is satisfied with the results from this past season."

While Bill Belichick was noncommittal about making any changes when he spoke to the media on Monday morning, the Krafts promised a keen eye will be looking over the entirety of the football operation.

"In the weeks ahead, we will be making critical evaluations of all elements of our football operation as we strive to improve and return to the playoffs next year," the Krafts vowed.

What those evaluations determine will of course be monitored closely by everyone in New England, as the offensive coaching experiment with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge steering the ship was a failure by any measurable standard. Belichick wasn't willing to admit that on Monday morning, but the head coach did state that everybody needs to be better and that he planned to talk with Robert Kraft about how to best go about that process.

Last spring, Robert Kraft seemed to admit that Belichick's coaching staff decisions were a bit out of the ordinary, but the owner said that Belichick "has a unique way of doing things" and that the head coach's 40 years of experience earned him a certain level of freedom with such decisions. Kraft said he was more results-oriented in his evaluations of his businesses. In October, Jonathan Kraft stressed that Belichick had "earned the right to manage the team" however he saw fit.

Yet based on the letter sent to ticket holders, it seems as though Patriots ownership may want to have a little more say in the building of the 2023 football team.