I agree with your refusal to accept the term "Patsies", as it fuels the false national diatribe denigrating the franchise at every turn. Yes, Mr. Sullivan suffered from terrible financial management and poor decisions; however he did bring some positive attributes to the table, just as Kraft does today.
An excellent example is the 1974 season. We went 6-1 halfway through; and it's recorded that in the second half of the season the rest of the league "caught up" with our innovative 3-4 defense. Balderdash. The Fairbanks-Bullough formation would be adopted by EVERY team in the league except one within five years; when Chuck was developing it at OU, even Vince Lombardi on his death bed commented on its potential effectiveness. Furthermore, the decline in '74 had to do with massive injuries. Through the draft and trades, Fairbanks continued to stock up, culminating with the Plunkett trade to SF, after which the Patriots, despite being the youngest team in the league, were also the best in the league in 1976. They simply dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides, and led the league in takeaways and special teams. To this day, that 1976 team remains in my mind the most talented and powerful Patriots team ever, closely followed by the 2004 edition. I plan to see the surviving members and their families appropriately honored at some point, for all of the adversity they faced, and no it will not be a stupid banner.
The remainder of the decade saw all four local pro teams, as you say, highly competitive, each falling just short of the top, until Bird's first title in 1981.
