They have been the best TEAM for the decade, not the best collection of talent although they have had their share. This is the first year that Brady has had elite players on the offensive side of the ball (Givens and Branch were good while on the Pats but not great) and the results show. They are always well coached and the best prepared overall. BB has all of the personality and social acumen of an engineer but he and hos coaching staffs have been great.
The same is true with just about all of the 'great teams'. Yes, the 'stars' were important, but it was generally the coaching that made them stars. In some ways BB reminds me on Chuck Knoll with the Steelers in the 70s. Andy Russel who was a great linebacker for that team tells a story. He had already been a top NFL linebacker when Knoll arrived in Pittsburgh (been to a couple of Pro-bowls and was respected around the league as one of the elite.) But Knoll looked at Russel and told him he was doing lots of things wrong even down to things like his stance. He retaught this seasoned pro how to play the game and made him an even better player and did the same with others especially the raw talent he drafted. He could take a gifted athlete and turn him into a great player.
Yes, you can say that Steelers were great because they had a dozen of Hall of Fame players on those teams, but the flip side of that is that most of those guys would have never been Hall of Famers if it weren't for the ability of a coach like Knoll to teach them to be their best.
I think we're seeing the same kind of thing with the Pats.