Atlanta Falcons former division rival is not buying their hype

The general consensus around the Atlanta Falcons is positive. Media personalities are finally taking notice of a team that has gathered all sorts of offensive talent in the past three drafts.

However, you cannot please everyone, there will always be haters. 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 profoundly impact whether a team wins or loses.

Nine-year veteran Geoff Schwartz doesn't buy the Falcons hype

No one on the face of this earth can claim the Atlanta Falcons are not a better team than they were a year ago. 2023's biggest problem—the quarterback position—has been fixed 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 choose the Falcons to win the NFC South division. They were a team who underperformed last season because of the most important position in sports.

Nevertheless, not everyone is buying the hype as former offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, who started his career with the Panthers, believes the Buccaneers should still be the favorites to win the crown.

"Everyone is going to pick them to win the South this year. Did we forget like Tampa won the South last year? I feel like people are giving Atlanta the division pretty easily without sort of at least looking at Tampa Bay and being like. That team won nine games last year and won the division and returns a lot of good football players.’ I feel like we’re giving the Falcons way too much love for the division and the opponents that they’re playing. Like people are just kind of penciling in them, maybe Sharpieing in them to win the South. I feel like it’s going to be a little tougher than just giving them the Sharpie right now."

- Geoff Schwartz

Those are the words he spoke on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Certainly, everyone is entitled to their opinion but it is easy to poke holes in his assessment.

As I already spoke about, Kirk Cousins gives this team a chance to win every week, something they didn't have last year when they came within a few games of winning the division.

The ironic part is when he says "That team won nine games last year and won the division." Well, winning nine games isn't exactly impressive and you can argue they overachieved. They are a nine-win team returning many of their same players while losing three key defenders and their stud offensive coordinator.

Saying Tampa Bay is the favorite because they won the division last year is very nearsighted. Only time will tell who is correct but it is hard to believe that Kirk Cousins doesn't account for, at least, the difference in these two teams last season—this offseason, the Falcons have added more to their team than the Bucs did. Do the math and there is reason to believe the majority's opinion.