The Atlanta Falcons are no stranger to entering a season with a chip on their shoulder. Even with a new regime, they're are still being looked at as a team who will finish near the bottom of the NFC South. But I don't think people realize how many games Raheem Morris and the old staff lost them.
Despite how truly awful Morris was, the Falcons finished with eight wins in each of the last two seasons. But they probably should have been a 10 or 11-win team in 2025. So all Kevin Stefanski and Tua Tagovailoa need to be is adequate with the talent around them for this team to make the playoffs.
Unfortunately, no one seems to believe in either of them entering their first season in Atlanta. While Tua is expected to begin the year as QB1, it's no guarantee that he finishes the year there because of Michael Penix Jr. And more people think Stefanski will lead Atlanta to a top-10 pick than the playoffs.
Tua Tagovailoa and Kevin Stefanski are once again being overlooked
While CBS Sports' Jared Dubin ranked all 12 new HC-QB duos, he had the Dirty Birds' new duo coming in at eighth on his list, which is pretty disrespectful. The bar is basically underground for the four groups he has them behind them, while this duo has real playoff aspirations if things go right.
"Given Michael Penix Jr.'s injury issues, assume Tagovailoa gets the first shot under center. That does not necessarily spark optimism for the Falcons," Dubin wrote. "When Tagovailoa was at his best, he succeeded in a very specific set of circumstances created by Mike McDaniel's offense. Things are going to be quite different under Stefanski, who is an excellent offensive coach in his own right but perhaps not the best fit for Tagovailoa's skill set."
Not only did Dubin add fuel to the growing consensus that Tua will be the Week 1 starter, he dunked on the signing. He credited the 28-year-old's success more to the situation under Mike McDaniel rather than his talent as a former top-five pick, but he clearly missed the narrative on Tagovailoa.
Here's what Dubin forgot: Tua led the NFL in completion percentage in 2024 and has a 68% completion rate across his career. He should be a strong fit for a Stefanski's system based on timing and accuracy. A more play-action centric system is just what the doctor ordered amid his fresh start.
There is no way Mike McCarthy and a 43-year-old Aaron Rodgers are considered a better duo than Stefanski and Tua. He has to be trolling. Rodgers has looked like a shell of himself since leaving Green Bay, and McCarthy isn't that good of a football coach. If it was 2010, I would be shaking in my boots.
Here's what people like Dubin forget: the Falcons thrive when overlooked. Both Kevin Stefanski and Tua Tagovailoa needed a scenery change, and while it won't come easy, Atlanta is better equipped to give that to them than most NFL fans realize.
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