You're overselling your case. No one is arguing that Spags didn't so a fantastic job, but the things you just described (picking and choosing players, when to rush, where to rush from) are what a defensive coordinator does. I think what he was saying is that Spags didn't re-invent the wheel out there. He came in with a very good game plan, called the right plays, and his players executed. He deserves all the credit in the world for that, but that defense wasn't something the Patriots haven't seen before, it was just extraordinarily well executed.
I think the beef was with the "master plan" comment implying it was some sort of defensive gameplan that great poets and artists will feel compelled to preserve for generations to come. It wasn't unique, it was just great.