Sure but as Pats fans, some of us are entitled to ask "what have you done for me lately."
The 2020 season is proof positive that the lack of success in the last 5 drafts came back to haunt the team. It's been universally acknowledged that the 2020 team was devoid of talent. You can't hide that. Kraft saw it. Everyone saw it.
How is it being fixed? By going out and breaking all NFL records in the amount of guarantees being handed out! That's all Kraft is saying.
How is it being miserable to acknowledge your mistakes. You need to learn from mistakes. Sure the team won 2 SBs in the last 5 years, despite these mistakes. Why? Well having the GOAT was a large part of it. Reading the posts in the last month shows many of the posters don't believe you can win with just an average QB, despite good coaching.
Being optimistic is fine but trying to shut down anyone that points out "real" mistakes is not what a forum should be about.
You're missing one pretty important point. Look at any NFL roster in three parts: rookie deals, middle class, older vets. The Pats sustained success in the last few years by continuing to pay that middle class - they went into every draft (except 2019) with few "needs" and more looking for players who could crack a veteran roster.
Go an look at the rosters if you don't believe me.
They had the best middle class in the league, year after year, and have the hardware to prove it.
Over the last couple of years, that middle class aged out or opted out for next deals the Patriots couldn't match (without pushing a ton of cash forward - look at Van Noy making $15m in Miami, for example, or Collins doing 3/30 at Detroit). They had to clear their books, and they did.
Look at this year's contributing members - look at how many were first, second, or third-year guys. Guys like Uche and Jennings, Dugger, Onwenu, were getting way more playing time than would be usual for a kid on the Patriots. Even with that, even with a mess at QB, they won 7 games.
So the money they laid out in FA, money they HAD, this year and next, was essentially the money they would have paid to extend their young middle class - guys fresh off rookie deals. They got Judon for 4/14, after Baltimore had franchised him at 16 last year. You want to see their 2016 and 2017 draft classes? They just extended them in FA.
The 2021 team will look at lot different in terms of who's on what contract. Instead of Uche, Dugger, and Jennings, you'll have those guys plus Hightower, Van Noy, and Judon.
This isn't the perfect way to do it, of course, as you don't really know how some - say Henry and Smith - will wind up working together when they get on the field. It would be preferable to be able to just fill in against a starting core going into their second contracts. But you can only do that for so long, because you run out of roster slots for development, and if you're good, as were the Pats, you're pick 29-32 instead of top 10, top 15, every round, every year (look at Tampa's homegrown roster and where those guys were picked).
Look at last year's roster.