The Atlanta Falcons’ former division rival doesn’t believe their hype

The general consensus around the Atlanta Falcons is positive. Media figures are finally starting to pay attention to a team that has assembled all sorts of offensive talent over the last three drafts.

But you can’t please everyone, there will always be detractors. For the division favorite Falcons, one of them is a former offensive lineman who started his career in the NFC South, Geoff Schwartz.

According to Schwartz’s comments, teams don’t change from year to year and quarterbacks don’t have a profound impact on whether a team wins or loses.

No one on this earth can argue that the Atlanta Falcons aren’t a better team than they were a year ago. The biggest problem in 2023 – the quarterback position – was solved with the addition of Kirk Cousins.

If Cousins ​​had been here last season and stayed healthy, the Falcons would have won the division.

This is why many people are picking the Falcons to win the NFC South division. This was a team that underperformed last season due to the most important position in the sport.

Still, not everyone buys into the hype as a former offensive lineman. Geoff Schwartz, who began his career with the Panthers, believes the Buccaneers should still be the favorites to win the crown.

“Everybody’s going to pick them to win the South this year. Did we forget that Tampa won the South last year? I feel like people give Atlanta the division pretty easily without at least looking at Tampa Bay and thinking that. They won nine games last year and won the division and return a lot of good football players. I feel like we’re giving the Falcons way too much love for the division and the opponents they play, like people are drawing them in pencil, maybe putting them in Sharpie to win the South. It’s going to be a little harder than just giving them the Sharpie now.”

– Geoff Schwartz

That’s what he said on SiriusXM’s NFL Radio. Of course, everyone has the right to their opinion, but it’s easy to find fault in one’s assessment.

As I said before, Kirk Cousins ​​gives this team a chance to win every week, something they didn’t have last year when they were a few games away from winning the division.

The ironic part is when he says, “This team won nine games last year and won the division.” Well, winning nine games isn’t exactly impressive and it’s safe to say they’ve overachieved. This is a nine-win team that returns many of its same players while losing three key defenders and their offensive coordinator.

To say that Tampa Bay is the favorite because they won the division last year is very short-sighted. Only time will tell who’s right, but it’s hard to believe that Kirk Cousins ​​doesn’t, at least, explain the difference between these two teams last season: This offseason, the Falcons added more to their team than the Bucs. Do the math and there is reason to believe the majority view.