Jamaal Anderson News

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas Power Rankings: Preseason: 8. This week: 9. 2009 Schedule/Results Where they stand: The Falcons are 5-3, but we're still trying to figure out who they really are.

During the first half of the Falcons' win over Washington on Sunday, the defense was knocking quarterback Jason Campbell around like he was in a pinball machine.

For a 2-5 team, the Washington Redskins sure are making a whole lot of noise. Even the occasional ESPN viewer is familiar with the faces of owner Dan Snyder, head coach Jim Zorn, and offensive "consultant" Sherman Lewis at this point, if for all the wrong reasons.

Though its early and anything can happen, it isn't a stretch to say that this Monday's game versus the New Orleans Saints is a must win for the Atlanta Falcons.

Finally, John Abraham thought, as he and Jonathan Babineaux closed in on Tony Romo.

If you've been reading this column with regularity, you've heard a lot from me about our defensive line.

Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas Here's another feather in the cap for Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

The Atlanta Falcons hope a young and promising defense is maturing at the perfect time.

When he was 23 years old, immediately following his brief career as a scrappy defender for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Mike Smith worked as a part-time assistant coach for San Diego State.

Tony Gonzalez slams the Bears. When last the Falcons played in prime time, they lost to the New Orleans Saints on Dec.

The week feels like such a long time until Sunday, particularly until you get to at least Thursday, which is the unofficial start to the weekend.

Typically when you look at the tape of a game, the loss doesn't seem as bad. Not so with this one.

The Falcons seemingly solved every problem that had emerged in the first three games of the season during their Week Four bye.

Falcons defensive tackle Trey Lewis loses his helmet as as tackles San Francisco 49ers quarterback Shaun Hill.

This was "Hat Day" during training camp. Coach Smith is on the left. Yours truly on the right.

On offense - Roddy White; On defense - Jamaal Anderson. These two guys can prepare to be blamed for EVERY loss the team has this season.

Play Head Coach for a Week Well, the bye week's over and now the Falcons are ready to start their insanely difficult stretch run that will likely determine the fate of the season.

Fred Taylor [ stats ] 's second-quarter, 19-yard gain when he was stopped at the line of scrimmage, refused to go down and bowled over a string of Falcons tacklers.

Falcons coach Mike Smith has plenty on his "to do" list for team's bye week. And right at the top is getting the team's run defense re-established after the the team was mangled by the New England Patriots for 168 yards on 39 carries.

The Falcons might not have visited Gillette Stadium since it opened in 2002, but John Abraham has.