So many reporters, analysts, and talking heads picking the Bills to win the Super Bowl. What changed?

[Logic]

I've noticed over the past week or so that more and more local and national reporters, analysts, and talking heads are picking the Bills to win the Super Bowl. Many are also picking Josh Allen to win the MVP award.

Whereas earlier this offseason it was all "will Josh Allen regress?" and "can the Bills fix their pass rush?", now I'm just seeing a whole lot of "Bills win the Super Bowl" predictions. What changed? Was it the preseason performance against the Packers? The training camp reports of Allen and the offense being lights out? The perceived improvement of the pass rush? Are the Bills just the "trendy" pick all of the sudden?

I'm sure there's much more than I'm listing here, but here's just a small collection of what I'm talking about. I'm not sure how to feel about all this but here we are. What a time to be a Bills fan.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rad Likes The Bills]

We made the AFC championship game last year with an ascending QB. Of course we are going to be a trendy pick

 

 

Get used to it! Josh has us in uncharted territory, big credit to Mcbeane🏆

[BigDingus]

"What changed?"

 

Did you miss the 2020 season or.....? 

 

Unless we're going back to 2019, nothing's changed. After you go 13-3 & make the AFC Championship game, you become a lot of people's pick for SB contender. So since then, nothing has changed.

[Doc Brown]

White facemasks.

[BillsGuyOutWest]

Think it’s almost entirely pass rush  / development of Epinesa and Rousseau -related for two reasons:

 

1) Pass rush was the team’s primary weakness last year 

 

2) Pass rush was essential in winning the super bowl against the team they lost to the previous round  

 

All the reporters both local and national focused on it during their visits and apparently the new / improved guys have passed the eye test. Therefore with the last theoretical blocker clear to the big dance, why not? 

Edited September 9, 2021 by BillsGuyOutWest

[Rc2catch]

It’s just pre jumping on the hype train, takes a little bit for someone to make that bold statement. Then others just piggyback off of it. 

[Logic]

31 minutes ago, BigDingus said:

"What changed?"

 

Did you miss the 2020 season or.....? 

 

You mean the 2020 season that saw the Bills losing handily to the Chiefs in the AFCCG and then ended with a Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl?

 

Yeah, I remember that. Exactly my point. I’m seeing more people picking the Bills than the Chiefs or the Bucs. The Chiefs beat the Bills twice last year and the Bucs return all 22 starters.

 

What changed?

 

 

[billybrew1]

I think we're the trendy pick because reporters don't want to pick the obvious teams in Tampa and KC. So the big risk takers go all the way down to three, LOL!

 

However, here's a list of things that has changed.....

 

- This team was very new last season. So now, we have a second year together, both players and coaches, and a lot of young players too, to get much better. Both individually and together. I think this is pretty big.

- Emmanuel Sanders healthy and ready to go! He's a legit excellent #2 and another great weapon for Josh. Our four-wide package might be the best offense in the NFL right now.

- Cody Ford. Should the big guard finally find his game he could really help the run game and solidify the passing game.

- Josh Allen - He's definitely still maturing in all facets. That is, He's still getting better.

- The run game. Brian Daboll's whole offseason last season was to create a Star in Josh Allen. That took ALL his time last season. He worked only on pass blocking. He worked only on passing routes and passing plays. The run game fell to the way-side. Now, with a offseason to digest and a full spring and summer to work on everything together, the run game should be better.

- Our 23 year old RB is a man! And his coaches, both Leslie Frazier and Sean McDermott say it is time for him (and teammate Ed Oliver ) to make splash plays. I'm hoping the D is also more aggressive this year and that both players have more freedom to attack.

- Our coaches are maturing together. It wasn't that long ago that Sean McDermott was a rookie HC. He wasn't kidding then that there was a lot for him to learn. I also think he has (had?) a problem playing chefs HC and his former boss Andy Reid giving him far too much respect. It's time Sean beats him. This is also Brian Daboll's first successful attempt at  being an NFL OC and I'm certain he is learning in the playoffs. The whole team is learning about winning in the playoffs and what it is going to take. This is very real and what usually happens with young teams growing up.

- Lastly, we have really improved the DL over the last two years. AJ is in a way better position to help the Bills now going through his first real training camp. Efe Obada was signed and is going to help sooner or later. Great depth is a must for Super Bowl teams. This year, two more DEs were added and they both look good. Groot looks especially good and has what we need. Pure skill at pass rushing. All 8 of our DL is going to see equal time and it is a better 8 this year.

 

Did I miss anything?

 

Go Bills!

 

Written But not read....

[Warcodered]

We're top 4 on odds to win it and the season is about to start so everyone needs to get there pick in.

 

Plus we're a funner pick than the other three.

[NickelCity]

24 minutes ago, Rc2catch said:

It’s just pre jumping on the hype train, takes a little bit for someone to make that bold statement. Then others just piggyback off of it. 

 

Wholeheartedly agree. There was a jump from the early/mid off-season to the past couple weeks, in terms of pundits' predictions for the Bills. Honestly I think it's the "trendy" option, as offered by @Logic.

 

Regardless, we have a great shot at the title, and god I hope we're contenders year in year out. Long live Allen.

[LeGOATski]

Camp/preseason

 

Everyone who was on the fence got pushed off of it by the Bills' offseaosn performance.

 

Honestly, I don't like it, because the talking heads are wrong more often than not.

[Albany,n.y.]

6 minutes ago, Logic said:

ul
You mean the 2020 season that saw the Bills losing handily to the Chiefs in the AFCCG and then ended with a Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl?

 

Yeah, I remember that. Exactly my point. I’m seeing more people picking the Bills than the Chiefs or the Bucs. The Chiefs beat the Bills twice last year and the Bucs return all 22 starters.

 

What changed?

 

 

No 2 seasons are the same, that's what changed.  So are the 22 same starter Bucs going to start as slowly as they did last year and have only the 4th best record in the NFC again?  Did you expect the 2011 NY Giants to repeat even though they were barely over 500 but got hot in the playoffs?   Your conclusion that we're going to see the same resuilts as 2020 is illogical.  

[Thurman#1]

34 minutes ago, Logic said:

You mean the 2020 season that saw the Bills losing handily to the Chiefs in the AFCCG and then ended with a Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl?

 

Yeah, I remember that. Exactly my point. I’m seeing more people picking the Bills than the Chiefs or the Bucs. The Chiefs beat the Bills twice last year and the Bucs return all 22 starters.

 

What changed?

 

 

 

It's a good question.

 

IMO they saw the Green Bay game and now think Josh isn't going to undergo major regression.

 

And they buy into the fact that our DL can rush the passer much better this year than they did last year. And since that was the main reason we had trouble with KC last year I think, they have some faith we might do better against them.

 

There is surely more to it than that, but I think those are the main two reasons, I think.

 

 

 

Edited September 9, 2021 by Thurman#1

[BornAgainBillsFan]

Our GM and coach changed a few years back. Quite a difference, huh?

[BruceVilanch]

I live in oregon and we have superbowl picks up on the whiteboard in my office and 5 out of the 8 picks that are up so far are picking the Bills to go to the superbowl from the AFC, the national outlook has changed! what a time to be alive!

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Why?  Ask this gathering of Bills Mafia!

 

[VaMilBill]

One thing I don’t understand is I’ve also seen the Patriots and the Niners getting a lot of Super Bowl hype. I have no idea why. Niners are essentially the same team and jimmy isn’t getting any better. And the Pats have a rookie QB who is unproven. Sure he will be an improvement over Cam (it’s gotta be difficult to be any worse) but I can’t imagine him being Tom Brady right away

[ALLEN1QB]

They started winning.

[BobbyC81]

37 minutes ago, Gene1973 said:

You are seeing the lemming effect in action in terms of the talking heads...

 

Also Allen. If he takes another leap forward in development, I think many see that he will truly be on par with Mahomes. Add into that the stability of the franchise.

What stability?  The owners said they need a new stadium to be paid with public funds and made a veiled threat that Austin, Texas is interested in getting a team.  They backed off that but say they won’t renew the lease on the current stadium until a new stadium is decided on.  I know it’s just threats again but what if there isn’t enough public funding?
 

Now, if you’re talking about GM/Head Coach I understand.

[Shaw66]

I just think the coming of the season changed things.  Here's why:

 

I've complained, along with plenty of others, that the Bills don't get covered properly by the national media.   It's because Buffalo is a small market, and because the Bills have been so bad for so long, the average just believes the Bills are bad all the time.   

 

The press largely writes what their audience wants to hear.   Because so many of the ill-informed fans around the country think the Bills are bad, the press wasn't going to write a lot of positive stuff about the Bills in the off-season.  They're trying to write stuff the fans already believe, so they were writing "are the Bills for real" articles.   

 

Now that the season is here, the press has to write their preseason review articles, and the press isn't stupid.  They look at last season, the teams, how they've progressed or not, and it's pretty clear the Bills are a serious contender.  The fans will read the preseason review articles in any case (without regard to their anti-Bills bias), so the press is now telling the full story, so to speak.  

 

All I know is that it's like a dream, seeing all this stuff. 

[JMF2006]

1)They won 2 playoff games last year for starters.

 

2)Josh has looked even better in camp this year.

 

3)The Bills returned their core and added pieces

 

4) On paper the schedule looks to be easier overall than last years

 

5) The Mafia's back in the building and travel real well

 

That sums it up for me

[Billsflyer12]

Many of ESPN guys not so high.  Stephen A didn’t even have us in top 5, but he had Patriots there.  Get Up guys when asked if it’s not KC then who,  all on that panel picked the Browns.  I really don’t mind as I prefer to be under radar.

[Beast]

They were the new kid on the block in the Final 4 last year and are relatively young. I think that makes for the trendy pick. That and Josh Allen is a Freak.

[Greg S]

Beane and McDermott have changed the culture of this franchise. 3 playoff appearances in the last 4 years with team getting better every year. We also have #17 who happens to be pretty dam good at his job.

23 minutes ago, Billsflyer12 said:

Many of ESPN guys not so high.  Stephen A didn’t even have us in top 5, but he had Patriots there.  Get Up guys when asked if it’s not KC then who,  all on that panel picked the Browns.  I really don’t mind as I prefer to be under radar.

 

Not happening this year.

[CLTbills]

"What changed?"

 

Really?

[machine gun kelly]

2 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Why?  Ask this gathering of Bills Mafia!

 

I like this one a little better Ridge…

 

 

But if we really want to get fired up on High Hopes, here’s what should be played every Saturday night at the hotel for the boys in royal blue.  At least before the Chiefs game.  I know a silly Rocky movie clip, but how true it is in life.

 

 

[Royale with Cheese]

Has it really hit you guys yet that this could really be the year?  I got it this morning drinking coffee and making breakfast listening to WGR.  

It's not a homer prediction anymore to have this team as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.  

 

Sunday we could be watching the first step to Lombardi and it's really cool to think about.  

[machine gun kelly]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

I just think the coming of the season changed things.  Here's why:

 

I've complained, along with plenty of others, that the Bills don't get covered properly by the national media.   It's because Buffalo is a small market, and because the Bills have been so bad for so long, the average just believes the Bills are bad all the time.   

 

The press largely writes what their audience wants to hear.   Because so many of the ill-informed fans around the country think the Bills are bad, the press wasn't going to write a lot of positive stuff about the Bills in the off-season.  They're trying to write stuff the fans already believe, so they were writing "are the Bills for real" articles.   

 

Now that the season is here, the press has to write their preseason review articles, and the press isn't stupid.  They look at last season, the teams, how they've progressed or not, and it's pretty clear the Bills are a serious contender.  The fans will read the preseason review articles in any case (without regard to their anti-Bills bias), so the press is now telling the full story, so to speak.  

 

All I know is that it's like a dream, seeing all this stuff. 

Agreed Rockpile, and I’ll add, so many reporters looked like idiots before last year as they predicted the Pats to win the East, etc. and they don’t want to have to eat their words later.  This year inside so many talking heads are thinking man, I better pick the Bills or will look like a maroon in two months when the Bills go 7-1.

[Jerome007]

KC lost some quality starters on the OL. Salary cap casualties, as it happens in a winning team. 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

The media likes winners and hates losers. Simple as that. There is no bias for or against Buffalo. 

[Maynard]

It’s because of the addition of Zach Ertz. 

[Don Otreply]

9 hours ago, Logic said:

You mean the 2020 season that saw the Bills losing handily to the Chiefs in the AFCCG and then ended with a Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl?

 

Yeah, I remember that. Exactly my point. I’m seeing more people picking the Bills than the Chiefs or the Bucs. The Chiefs beat the Bills twice last year and the Bucs return all 22 starters.

 

What changed?

 

 

Obtuse much? Asking for a friend,

 

Go Bills!!!

[Ponch]

9 hours ago, Logic said:

You mean the 2020 season that saw the Bills losing handily to the Chiefs in the AFCCG and then ended with a Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl?

 

Yeah, I remember that. Exactly my point. I’m seeing more people picking the Bills than the Chiefs or the Bucs. The Chiefs beat the Bills twice last year and the Bucs return all 22 starters.

 

What changed?

 

 

I understand your point…. You’re talking what’s changed in the last few weeks? I feel ya dude… and I agree… I think it’s Allen looking amazing against Green Bay and the pass rush looking very good in preseason. The Bills look better than last year. 

[Don Otreply]

8 hours ago, BornAgainBillsFan said:

Our GM and coach changed a few years back. Quite a difference, huh?

Yeah, an owner that lets smart people do their jobs, remarkable isn’t it,

 

Go Bills!!!

[hondo in seattle]

No one wants to predict another Tampa-KC Super Bowl.  Too boring.  Not click worthy.

 

It's far more interesting to talk about up-and-coming teams.  Right now, in the AFC, that's the Bills.  

[Logic]

2 hours ago, CLTbills said:

"What changed?"

 

Really?

Nah. I said it just to bother you.

[NewEra]

3 hours ago, Gene1973 said:

Yes, GM and HC, but also willingness to pay players they developed.

 

And, how much does the new stadium talks affect how Allen plays or how McDermott coaches? I bet not at all...

 

This franchise is way more stable now than it ever has been.

That’s probably why you don’t post much.  Not much to be negative about right now

[DasNootz]

Two words - Taiwan Jones.  Notice all of they hype came after the 53 man was announced.  Once they knew we kept our elite gunner and special teams' captain, the hype train started chuggin' - chooo chooo! 

 

In all seriousness, we're this year's "It" team, just like the Browns have been.  Hopefully we can live up to the expectations.  I find it hard to believe that we're everyone's super bowl pick, but Vegas still has us as an 11 win team in a 17 game season.  

[NewEra]

1 minute ago, Gene1973 said:

https://twitter.com/ChrisWesseling/status/799404526465781760?s=19

I don’t think you understand the rules of the game yet Gene.  

[Eastport bills]

This is always bad karma when these shiftless noaccounts start making headlines with prognostications. The Bills will be must see TV, but it's better when expectations are lower. Now teams will circle the date when they play us and figure their reputations will be made beating us. These SB pickers didn't do us any favors.