Every single ESPN expert is picking PIT

[8-8 Forever?]

I guess we deserve it with a 3-6 record but PIT is even worse! Most other sites are mixed in their picks. Bleacher Report actually has 9 out of 12 picking the Bills. But ESPN has a clean sweep for the Steelers.

I love it. 3 - 6 is based on a beaten up team. Last 7 games we have all hands on deck. Now the fun begins. Get your popcorn, people. It is showtime. Go Bills.

[Big C]

I gotta pick the bills to win this one. If Manuel is back? A little shocking that there would be unanimity on ESPN given both teams' records. Well..we'll know what's what after we play them. Go Bills.

 

As it turns out, one guy picked the Bills.

[KikO M G]

Like I said, he switched his pick. I will edit the subject when I am home. can't do it from my phone.

[Doc]

Not only are they picking Pitt but on PTI yesterday Wilbon said that both the Bucs and Jags were going to beat us! Lol this is the kind of respect we get from people around the country that don't watch our games but just look out our record.

The Jags and Bucs are winless. So if that's the criteria Wilbon used, he's a moron.

[YoloinOhio]

The Jags and Bucs are winless. So if that's the criteria Wilbon used, he's a moron.

In all fairness, Wilbon likely hasn't seen the Bills play since about January 2000....

[Kirby Jackson]

In all fairness, Wilbon likely hasn't seen the Bills play since about January 2000....

 

You can say that for about any national guy. I remember a few years back hen Peters was coming off what I think was his 2nd straight Pro Bowl. Marshall Faulk was being interviewed leading up to the draft and he was talking about how the Bills bigger need was LT. I was thinking to myself "that's about the only position that they don't need."

 

These guys just regurgitate the same couple of things about every team at the national level. For example, when they talk about the Chargers this year they talk about Phillip Rivers resurgence. I do not follow that team but I am pretty positive that there Is more going on than him simply playing better. It is a part of the story but there is tons more there that the national guys are too lazy to dig into.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Kirby Jackson

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Not sure who will win but I do know the score will be very low like 13 - 9 ish

 

FWIW, the over/under is 43.5 points on most books.

[Doc]

In all fairness, Wilbon likely hasn't seen the Bills play since about January 2000....

It still doesn't explain the pick because again, the Bills had 3 wins and those other 2 teams have none. Therefore he's a moron.

[KGUNBILLS]

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone after losing the way we did to the Chiefs that ESPN analysts would pick the Steelers, Jets, Ne, etc. We need to finish strong in close games. When we beat NE a few years back, it was because we didn't play conservatively. It was close, near the end, and we attacked them. I for one didn't expect our offense to come at them throwing the ball. We just need to stay aggressive throughout our games, not go into peaks and valleys type mode.

[Dorkington]

Every week we get offended by the experts picking the other team.

 

Every week we explain why we'll win the game.

 

66% of the time, we lose.

 

66% of the time, we come up with excuses why we didn't win. Injuries, luck, etc.

 

Why is this week any different? Playing on the road... against Pittsburgh... with a rusty and possibly injury prone rookie QB, playing behind a line that doesn't deal with zone blitzes well. I can see why we are underdogs.

 

I have no prediction myself, other than like most weeks, we should be in the game, at the very least.

[CodeMonkey]

Every week we get offended by the experts picking the other team.

 

Every week we explain why we'll win the game.

 

66% of the time, we lose.

 

66% of the time, we come up with excuses why we didn't win. Injuries, luck, etc.

 

Why is this week any different? Playing on the road... against Pittsburgh... with a rusty and possibly injury prone rookie QB, playing behind a line that doesn't deal with zone blitzes well. I can see why we are underdogs.

 

I have no prediction myself, other than like most weeks, we should be in the game, at the very least.

Damn zebras cost the Bills 65.9% of those losses!

[eball]

Every week we get offended by the experts picking the other team.

 

Every week we explain why we'll win the game.

 

66% of the time, we lose.

 

66% of the time, we come up with excuses why we didn't win. Injuries, luck, etc.

 

Why is this week any different? Playing on the road... against Pittsburgh... with a rusty and possibly injury prone rookie QB, playing behind a line that doesn't deal with zone blitzes well. I can see why we are underdogs.

 

I have no prediction myself, other than like most weeks, we should be in the game, at the very least.

 

Exactly.

[Dorkington]

Damn zebras cost the Bills 65.9% of those losses!

 

I say we start dressing a couple bench players in ref outfits and see if we can make a couple sneaky swaps throughout the game.

[Captain Hindsight]

It still doesn't explain the pick because again, the Bills had 3 wins and those other 2 teams have none. Therefore he's a moron.

And the Jags have yet to lose a game by less than 10 points...

[KikO M G]

Mike Rodak actually is predicting the Bills to win. Only the second time all season.

[dubs]

ESPN has fallen so far from grace that I can't even watch anything on there unless it's an actual live sporting event. They have created a network that is dumbed down to the point that Twitter feeds have become news. The personalities on NFL game day are terrible, with very few exceptions.

 

They are the TMZ of sports.

 

That being said, I think this game is a toss up and can't really knock someone for thinking Pitt wins the game. Personally, I think Buffalo is a much better team and I would expect them to win this game, but this is all the ESPN personalities look at:

1) teams with similar records

2) Pitt is at home

3) It's Pitt vs. Buffalo

[mannc]

ESPN has fallen so far from grace that I can't even watch anything on there unless it's an actual live sporting event. They have created a network that is dumbed down to the point that Twitter feeds have become news. The personalities on NFL game day are terrible, with very few exceptions.

 

They are the TMZ of sports.

 

That being said, I think this game is a toss up and can't really knock someone for thinking Pitt wins the game. Personally, I think Buffalo is a much better team and I would expect them to win this game, but this is all the ESPN personalities look at:

1) teams with similar records

2) Pitt is at home

3) It's Pitt vs. Buffalo

I agree re ESPN, but have you tried to watch the NFL Network? Infinitely worse. According to our local fishwrap, the Steelers are 3 point favorites, which means Vegas views the teams as about equal, with Pittsburgh giving the points due to home field advantage. That line seems about right to me, although I think the general public (and ESPN talking heads) are always slow to catch on when a perennial powerhouse like the Steelers is not what it used to be.

[dubs]

I agree re ESPN, but have you tried to watch the NFL Network? Infinitely worse. According to our local fishwrap, the Steelers are 3 point favorites, which means Vegas views the teams as about equal, with Pittsburgh giving the points due to home field advantage. That line seems about right to me, although I think the general public (and ESPN talking heads) are always slow to catch on when a perennial powerhouse like the Steelers is not what it used to be.

 

Totally agree. I haven't tried FoxSports1 yet, but I would imagine the model is similar. Ex-ball players who have no business being on TV, try and create controversies and cater to the least common denominator, and really don't offer any insight or analysis that most regular fans couldn't figure out on their own.

 

As far as predictions, until Buffalo starts becoming a regular winner, stuff like this will happen week in and week out.

 

I always thought there HAS to be a market for a sports news channel that caters to people who don't want to hear the Trent Dilfer's of the world relate everything that happens in the NFL to their own careers (and all the other demerits we discussed).

[mannc]

Totally agree. I haven't tried FoxSports1 yet, but I would imagine the model is similar. Ex-ball players who have no business being on TV, try and create controversies and cater to the least common denominator, and really don't offer any insight or analysis that most regular fans couldn't figure out on their own.

 

As far as predictions, until Buffalo starts becoming a regular winner, stuff like this will happen week in and week out.

 

I always thought there HAS to be a market for a sports news channel that caters to people who don't want to hear the Trent Dilfer's of the world relate everything that happens in the NFL to their own careers (and all the other demerits we discussed).

Well, at least we don't have to listen to Sean Salisbury any more. Remember that tool? Unfortunately, we still have Deion, Warren Sapp and Michael Irvin. They actually make Keyshawn Johnson sound reasonable and insightful.

[John in Jax]

ESPN has fallen so far from grace that I can't even watch anything on there unless it's an actual live sporting event. They have created a network that is dumbed down to the point that Twitter feeds have become news. The personalities on NFL game day are terrible, with very few exceptions.

 

I agree re ESPN, but have you tried to watch the NFL Network? Infinitely worse.

 

Totally agree. I haven't tried FoxSports1 yet, but I would imagine the model is similar. Ex-ball players who have no business being on TV, try and create controversies and cater to the least common denominator, and really don't offer any insight or analysis that most regular fans couldn't figure out on their own.

 

As far as predictions, until Buffalo starts becoming a regular winner, stuff like this will happen week in and week out.

 

I always thought there HAS to be a market for a sports news channel that caters to people who don't want to hear the Trent Dilfer's of the world relate everything that happens in the NFL to their own careers (and all the other demerits we discussed).

 

Three GREAT posts above! I wholeheartedly agree.

 

But OTOH, there are tons of folks out in the world, and even in here, who think that this stuff is real complicated, and we need all these "experts" to tell us what's happening. These folks have virtually the same viewpoint about NFL coaching. My take is that it ain't brain surgery out there, and if you closely watch/follow the game for a few years, and you're reasonably intelligent, you will know as much as they know. And if you closely watch/follow the game for 20+ years, you probably will know MORE than they know.

 

As for the weekly "picks", no one can truly be called an "expert", the games are too unpredictable......."On any given Sunday." If there were true any "experts", they'd move to Vegas, and get rich by working from Sept. through the end of Jan. Then for the rest of the year they'd just hang out and spend their millions. So the picks are just more "entertainment" to fill hours of pre-game "analysis."