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Hype...Rise or Fall

By Shawn Harris

Hype is a thing created by the media and fans. Hype is either positive or negative. Many teams this year have had some kind of hype created around them. You can even call it a buzz of some sort. When talking about a positive hype a couple teams come to mind. Both from the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins.

The Bills have this hype mostly coming from Head Coach Rex Ryan and a big trade for LeSean McCoy. Starting out with a 2-1 record. Not bad, especially considering how big the two wins have been. The first came against a team who many predicted to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl 51, the Indianapolis Colts. The Bills' defense was dominant against one of the NFL's finest young quarterbacks, Andrew Luck. The Bills rode this hype into a loss to the New England Patriots the next week (the Patriots are another story- they don't need any hype. They're straight up untouchable). The Bills however bounced back whooping the Dolphins this week, who also had a lot of hype this off season.
The Dolphins are sitting at 1-2 and seem to be not looking all that hard core as the presence of Suh would bring. Signing him instantly made them contenders in the AFC east but a slow start is making others think differently. Ryan Tannehil needs to pick up his game as fast as he picked up his new check this off season. Receiving elite QB check brings a big responsibility. I think he can, but as of now hasn't shown it.

NFL media and fans will always bring this hype, some rise and others don't, it sometimes comes during the season. Two teams who have created big hype lately are the Oakland Raiders and Atlanta Falcons.

The Raiders pick up another win after a blow out lose to the Bengals. Derek Carr two weeks Ina row throws for over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns. Winning clutch moment of the week with his game winning touchdown pass in week 2 against the Ravens. The "AC DC" connection, which Raider fans are calling the Derek Carr Amari Cooper duo, is getting big. Again wide receiver Amari Cooper gets over 100 yards receiving. Being the first rookie to do it in back to back games since DeSean Jackson in 08. Though the defense is not as productive as should be with the front seven they have. The Raider Nation had something to cheer for.

And of course Julio Jones...what else do you need to know about the Falcons? Doesn't really matter. Julio Jones is continuing to be a big play receiver. With a gigantic 20 targets on Sunday, Jones is on pace to be targeted on passes a whopping 252 times this season. The Falcons on both sides of the ball are looking awesome. This is in large part, of course, to new Head Coach Dan Quinn who is bringing a defensive mind to the team.

So much is changing in our NFL. It's exciting, and interesting.


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