They can, I agree, but they can also put context around the eye test being misleading. More often than not, stats will correct a misheld opinion, rather than the alternative.
I lean on them to mostly reinforce or correct what my eyes observe, I'm not immune from reassessing a lot after a first watch-through of games (I generally watch at least twice).
As for the other sides bullying us, we'll see. We're still a work in progress, but we're growing, and as far as the forward pack goes, we're closing the gap on the best teams in the comp in that area.
Oh, and we've barely played well yet so far.... That's a positive.