You could spend everyday annoying yourself with other people’s takes on your football team.

In writing this, I know I’m falling into the trap. This is the whole point. This particular clip, lasting 3 minutes and 15 seconds, was selected solely because the content is so spicey, it will generate a reaction:

It’s been viewed 325,000 times at the time of writing. It’s the most viewed video for this account this week. The next most popular video has 100,000 views.

You can well imagine the social media manager wearing a wry smile as ‘Warren Sharp’ (real name Tyler Brickner) declared the defending Super Bowl Champions were a ‘fringe playoff team’.

I’m going to bite though. Sharp (Brickner) is one of these people who seems to have been around forever — always willing to offer an opinion — and it’s not entirely clear why.

I’ll admit that some of his data work is fascinating, helpful and can assist in explaining why certain things occur within the NFL. Yet if the data analysis leads you to delivering the kind of appalling take we see above, is he even capable of discerning what the data tells him?

Let’s be clear. There’s nothing wrong with casting doubt on the Seahawks’ ability to repeat as Champions. Only two teams have done it since the turn of the century. The chances are Seattle won’t repeat, as nice as that would be.

They’ve lost Ken Walker, Coby Bryant and their offensive coordinator. They are in the same division and conference as the consensus title favourites.

Yet to suggest they are a fringe playoff team is bordering on a level of preposterousness saved for people stuck on a desert island, Tom Hanks style, without a TV, for the last 12 months. And I couldn’t see a volleyball hiding behind Sharp/Brickner in the video.

Did he even watch this team?

The Seahawks finished the season with a 17-3 record. Two of their losses came in the first five weeks of the season — including week one — when a new team was still figuring things out. Their second loss, to a red-hot Tampa Bay, also came when numerous key defenders were missing through injury.

Their third and final loss came against the very capable Rams in week 11. Despite the quarterback throwing four interceptions, they were a missed-kick away from winning.

From November 17th until the conclusion of the season, they won every game. They did it in a variety of ways too. This wasn’t just a great defense carrying everyone else. Sam Darnold and the offense won the NFC Championship game and, to a slightly lesser extent, the week 16 contest against the Rams. Special teams play was constantly elite.

Every position group had at least one very talented player, and often multiple players — particularly in the defensive front seven.

The Seahawks led the league in point differential (+191). That was 19 points better off than the second-placed Rams. Only three teams had more than +140 points.

The offensive player of the year came from the Seahawks. They have the #1 ranked defensive tackle per ESPN’s recent polling of executives, scouts and coaches. They have numerous young players yet to reach their peak — complemented by seasoned, ultra-professional veterans providing leadership and standards.

The total depth of talent across the roster and the balance across all three units is top-notch. The performance of the coaches was exceptional — and it’s clear the Seahawks have a depth of talent across their staff. Losing Klint Kubiak is a blow but the staff won’t collapse collectively because one man departed. In fairness, they have appointed a replacement who is very familiar with Kubiak’s offense and the quarterback.

They used their first two draft picks to replace their two main losses in free agency. Their third replaced the wildly erratic Riq Woolen. They kept virtually everyone else apart from Boye Mafe — who had two sacks last season.

They’ve had another off-season with zero drama and it very much appears business as usual despite carrying the weight of a defending champion status.

Nothing about this suggests they are, without major misfortune with injuries, on the road to regression. Being a nine-win fringe playoff team would mean losing five more games in 2026. It would be one of the biggest and most epic declines in recent memory if this team was to regress from the deepest, most rounded roster in the NFL a year ago to virtual also-rans.

By all means reflect on the quarterback’s need to limit turnovers, changes to the offensive staff or anything else that casts doubt on Seattle’s ability to repeat.

But let’s not be silly. This is not a fringe playoff team. They are Champions. They remain strong. They will be in the mix if, like anyone else, they avoid lots of injuries.

Be balanced, not ridiculous.