You know who Pearce reminds me of in terms of escaping criticism, Josh Jackson. Jackson by his own admission had a bad year, statistically he had a bad year, nsw only started winning after the got rid of him, most dogs fans on the kennel don't even rate him, yet the so called experts kiss the ground he walks on, with Gallen even suggesting he takes Frizzell's spot in origin despite Frizzell having a better origin record, and literally dominating Jackson is every conceivable stat.
These guys have built a career on effort and being surrounded by good teams most of their careers, I believe a lot of pundits just have preconceived ideas about these players always being consistent players who give their all.