Not many will remember outside of New England , Stingley was a very good WR before the tragedy pretty close to Pro Bowl caliber...Stanley Morgan was the other wideout who became the go to guy after Stingley's career ended ...
Russ Francis at TE, good RB's Calhoun, Herron and Cunningham, QB Grogan...those NE teams in '76 and '77 were very close to SB caliber.
The '76 team lost to eventual champion Raiders in the playoffs, in a close game 24-21 at Oakland, that Patriots team was the only team to defeat the 1976 Raiders and they beat them badly in New England in the regular season 48-17.
They were in a tough division with Miami and Baltimore all very good at the time.