DEL.ICIO.USFalcons’ Abraham ready for Chiefs’ blockers
Falcons defensive end expects Kansas City will stack line against him
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Flowery Branch — Falcons defensive end John Abraham knows what awaits him Sunday, and he’s not too happy about it.
Abraham, who leads the NFL in sacks and has four of the Falcons’ five, knows that his former head coach Herm Edwards is going to send a lot of blockers his way when the Falcons play host to the Kansas City Chiefs at 1 p.m. at the Georgia Dome.
Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com
Falcons defensive end John Abraham sacks Lions quarterback Jon Kitna in the season opener at the Georgia Dome.
“I’ve been around Herm, so I know he’s not going to be like, ‘Hey, let John wild out today.’ I know it’s not going to be anything like that. So I’m not the happiest guy right now.”
Against the Chiefs, Abraham will face rookie left tackle Branden Albert, the 19th pick in the 2008 draft.
“He’s young, and you automatically get happy when you hear stuff like that,” Abraham said. “I mean Herm is not a spring chicken. He’s going to know that he’s going to need a tight end over there, somebody to chip. I know he’s not going to let me have one-on-one all day with the kid.”
When asked if Abraham, who played for Edwards from 2001-05 with the New York Jets, would be left one-on-one with Albert, Edwards started laughing.
“Tell John he’s not getting a free rush at the quarterback,” Edwards said. “Tell him don’t even worry about it. Tell him it’s going to be three guys blocking him, so don’t even worry about it.”
The Falcons are moving a lot of players around on the defensive line.
Against Tampa Bay, Grady Jackson’s knee swelled, and Jason Jefferson got the start at tackle.
Kroy Biermann, a rookie defensive end, played about 20 snaps at left end while Jamaal Anderson moved inside to tackle.
“Kroy has done a very nice job,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “I think he’s got a very good understanding of what we are trying to do schematically.”
The Falcons are looking at other players to help generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks, such as Biermann getting a shot to develop into a designated pass rusher.
“He has a knack for rushing the passer,” Smith said. “He’s very tenacious in the way that he plays.”
Abraham, who had 10 of the Falcons’ 25 sacks last season, thinks help is on the way, and he cited the play of defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux.
Babineaux, who has the Falcons’ other sack, got good penetration against the Buccaneers and had three tackles for loss.
“I think we are progressing and getting better as a unit,” Abraham said. “Babs had a great game against Tampa, and I guess we need him to progress; he needs to keep doing the same thing he was doing last week.”
The Falcons definitely want other linemen to help Abraham out.
“We’re all working hard at it,” Smith said. “Sometimes you work hard and you get the sacks. Sometimes they just come to you.”
Anderson is playing more defensive tackle, but he still has not registered a sack in 18 NFL games.
“I thought he was very active in this last game,” Smith said. “I think he had six official hits in that game. He’s continued to improve.”
Anderson has been productive when playing inside.
“He’s pushed the pocket when he’s been inside as a pass rusher,” Smith said. “I think he is improving. He’s getting better and better. I think it’s just a matter of time when he gets the opportunity to get his first sack.”
Meanwhile, the Falcons don’t plan to let the Chiefs take Abraham out of the pass rush.
“There are different ways that you can do it,” Smith said. “But I really don’t want to talk about it. But there are ways to try to combat it.”
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