If there's one team that seemed to be facing an endless amount of distractions this offseason, it was the New England Patriots. 

Over the past six months we've heard about possible tension between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the fact that Brady possibly wants a new contract, the fact that Brady and Rob Gronkowski may or may not have both been mulling retirement and there was even talk that Brady doesn't feel appreciated by the Patriots. And let's not forget, this is just a partial list of the distractions that the Patriots have been facing this offseason. We didn't even mention the Malcolm Butler Super Bowl benching that Belichick has been asked about nonstop since February. 

Oh, and there as also the report that Belichick, Brady and Robert Kraft were going to sit down this offseason and try to diffuse all the tension in a meeting that apparently never took place. 

Despite all those distractions, the Patriots are once again favored to win the AFC East and that's because no team deals with distractions better than New England. 

In February 2015, the Patriots won the Super Bowl, despite the fact that Deflategate was hanging over their heads a for a full two weeks before the game. 

In 2016, the Patriots won the Super Bowl, despite the fact that Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the season. 

So how is the team able to overcome all the distractions? 

That's what Patriots owner Robert Kraft was asked during a recent interview with ESPN, and according to Kraft, it's all about keeping smart people together and not letting egos get in the way of decision-making. 

"Continuity, in life, is very simple for me. I try to stay with high-quality people," Kraft said. "And then if you got something pretty good going, have continuity. The fact that Bill and Tommy and I are together for 19 years -- you know what it's like in the locker rooms with egos ..."

After Kraft mentioned "egos" in the locker room, former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who was conducting the interview, threw in a line that Kraft didn't exactly disagree with. 

"You get tired of each other once in a while," Bruschi said. 

Kraft then went on, and although he didn't explain why the team traded Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots owner did say he doesn't like to make changes unless he has a plan to put something better in place. 

"The job of ownership is to keep continuity when you have something good," Kraft said. "I think some people just make change for change's sake, and I have a rule: We never break something down unless we can put something better in its place, and the Belichick-Brady combo has been pretty good, and I think as an organization, going back to what you said of putting distractions aside, whether it's the media or just normal events, everyone checks their ego at the front door and puts team first."

It's hard to imagine Kraft ever finding a better coach than Belichick or a better quarterback than Brady, so it sounds like he's going to keep those two guys in New England as long as they want to stay there, even if it leads to the occasional distraction or ego clash.