SPORTS WEEKEND : AROUND THE NFC / WEST : Forget the Falcons

The Super Bowl will be played in Atlanta this season, but doesn’t figure to include the Falcons, now that Jamal Anderson is lost for the season because of a knee injury. Anderson accounted for 39% of the Falcons’ total yardage last season, and his loss leaves only quarterback Chris Chandler. Wave the white flag.

“I’m sick of hearing that when one player goes out, the Falcons can’t win without him,” linebacker Keith Brooking said.

So take two aspirins and wait until next season, because this one is over.

Jake Plummer, “the next Joe Montana,” according to Bill Walsh, who urged the 49ers to take him instead of Jim Druckenmiller, will be pitching against San Francisco Monday night.

How good would he look in a 49er uniform now, with Steve Young turning 38 and getting pounded because his line is no good and he can’t move as well as he once did? Young took 21 hits against the Saints.

But what about that Plummer-Montana comparison?

“No comparison,” said 49er defensive lineman Charles Haley. “I saw [Plummer] throw more interceptions in his first two games than Joe threw in his entire career when I was here. Jake is not there.”

Atlanta looks vulnerable, but Dick Vermeil has gone 3-13 against NFC West foes since taking over in St. Louis. The Rams were 0-8 against the West last season.

While the Falcons lost Anderson, the Rams lost starting quarterback Trent Green, and will be relying on Kurt Warner.

“I don’t spend a lot of time feeling sorry for myself, let alone anybody else,” Vermeil said.