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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Falcons running back Steven Jackson, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, is expected to practice on Wednesday. The news raised hopes around the practice facility that he will play this week at Arizona. But coach Smith cautiously hedged, saying Monday the Falcons "anticipate" Jackson will return to the teams first practice of the week. The running back has been held out since pulling the hamstring on Sept. 15 against the Rams. Smith said Jackson will be watched closely, especially on Wednesday. "This is all based on what the doctor will say in terms of how much he will participate in practice as we go through the week," Smith said. "When we left out of here on Friday, everything was very good in terms of his testing and the opportunity to return to play. "We are anticipating well get him in and well see how he handles it. Youve got to go in and take it one day at a time when youre coming back from an injury. Obviously youre not going to go out there and have him participate fully in a practice the first day hes back." Smith said adjustments and corrections made during the bye week played a big role in Atlantas 31-23 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday. Smith said he and his staff spent the bye week "looking at everything we do" before the Falcons ended their three-game losing streak. "A number of things we did during the bye week I think paid dividends," he said. Some of the biggest changes were on defence, including a deeper rotation on the defensive front with rookie defensive ends Stansly Maponga and Malliciah Goodman added to the mix. Maponga was limited in training camp while recovering from ankle surgery. The Falcons used the bye week to add depth to the defensive line rotation. "I thought it worked very well for us," Smith said. "We had much better pressure. We were able to sack the quarterback three times. We had opportunities for a couple other plays, but I thought it was nice to see some of the younger guys stepping up." Also, rookie cornerbacks Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford had new roles with Trufant playing the nickel back and Alford moving outside in passing situations. Smith said the Falcons also wanted to play more of an attacking style on defence. The more aggressive style showed when safeties William Moore and Thomas DeCoud each blitzed on Tampa Bays second play of the game. Moore sacked quarterback Mike Glennon, forcing a fumble, and DeCoud returned the recovery 30 yards for a touchdown. Defensive co-ordinator Mike Nolan moved to the field from the press box level for the game so he could have better communication with the players, including the two-safety blitz which produced the defensive touchdown. "It was a great play call by coach Nolan," Moore said. "He called it and we executed it perfectly and got a big turnover." The offence also made some changes. Darius Johnson was promoted from the practice squad to add depth at receiver following Julio Jones season-ending foot injury and Roddy Whites hamstring and ankle injuries. White was inactive for the first time in his nine-year career. Johnson had two catches and Drew Davis had a 24-yard catch, his first of the season. Harry Douglas led Atlanta with seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown. Smith wouldnt update Whites status on Monday. Jacksons return could provide another boost for the Falcons (2-4), who managed only 18 yards rushing against the Buccaneers. Jackson, 30, signed a three-year, $12 million deal with Atlanta after posting eight straight seasons with more than 1,000 yards rushing at St. Louis. Jacquizz Rodgers and Jason Snelling have shared the carries the last four games. Rodgers caught two touchdown passes from Matt Ryan but neither had success running the ball against the Buccaneers. The Falcons biggest gain on the ground was only seven yards. The good news was Ryan was not sacked while completing 20 of 26 passes for 273 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. "I thought our pass protection probably was as good as it has been all season long," Smith said. "Obviously we have to do better running the football." Marquise Blair Jersey . 11 Ana Ivanovic and American Sloane Stephens, and former world No. Jazz Ferguson Jersey . - Kevin Labanc and Joseph Blandisi were a potent combination for the Barrie Colts on Friday night. http://www.cheapseahawksjerseysauthentic...hristmas-jersey. Only it wasnt the extended right pad of his old teammate Jonathan Bernier early in the final frame, it was James Reimer, who stole a night that was supposed to belong to the former King. Joey Hunt Jersey .Y. -- Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff had an opportunity to experience an entire range of emotions in his first trip back to Buffalo to face his former team. Jordan Simmons Jersey . But that changed when he committed a five-minute major penalty and helped pave the way for a comeback by the Philadelphia Flyers. Vincent Lecavalier scored at 2:45 of overtime and the Flyers rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 5-4 victory on Sunday.MIAMI -- A jury has convicted a man of second-degree murder in the in the killing of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor, who was shot outside his bedroom after witnesses said he confronted a group of young men who broke into his home. The jury deliberated about 16 hours over four days before returning the verdict Monday in the trial of 23-year-old Eric Rivera Jr., who admitted in a videotaped confession to police days after Taylors death that he fired the fatal shot after kicking in the bedroom door. But at the trial, he said on the witness stand that his confession was given only under police pressure and amid purported threats to his family. Rivera sat quietly at the defence table with his lawyers after the verdict was announced, showing no reaction or emotion. The courtroom was packed with Taylor and Rivera family members -- and about two dozen security personnel -- but there were no outbursts. Rivera was also convicted of armed burglary. Although Rivera did not get the maximum first-degree murder conviction, he still faces a potential life prison sentence. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy did not immediately set a sentencing date but will hold a related hearing Dec. 10. Neither prosecutors, Taylors family nor the family of the football players girlfriend would comment afterward. Riveras parents, sisters, lawyers and friends also left without comment, as did the 12 jurors. In the confession, Rivera said the group of five young men, all from the Fort Myers area, drove to Taylors house planning to steal large amounts of cash he kept inside. They thought Taylor, 24, would be out of town at a game against Tampa Bay, but didnt realize until it was too late that he was home with a knee injury. Taylors then-girlfriend, Jackie Garcia Haley, and their 18-month-old daughter, were also home at the time but were not hurt. Four other men were also charged in the case and three will be tried later. Venjah Hunte, 25, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and burglary charges in a deal that calls for a 29-year prison sentence. Testifying in his own defence, Rivera claimed it was Hunte who brought the 9mm handgun and who shot Taylor. Rivera insisted he was not told about the burglary plot until the group was driving toward Miami, and that he stayed in the car outside Taylors house the whole time. The gun was never found.dddddddddddd Police say it was stuffed in a sock and thrown into the Everglades. Legal experts said Mondays verdict appeared to be a compromise, with at least some jurors doubting the confession and questioning whether Rivera, who was 17 at the time, truly pulled the trigger -- but not that he played a role in the burglary plot. "They believed that he was part of the burglary and was present when it occurred," said David S. Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice. "There was no eyewitness to put the gun in Riveras hand and that is what at least one juror needed to convict him of first-degree murder." Taylor, a Pro Bowl safety who had starred at the University of Miami, was shot in the upper thigh, damaging his femoral artery and causing massive blood loss. Witnesses say Taylor was shot when he confronted the group with a machete outside his bedroom. A medical examiner said he was essentially dead on arrival at a hospital on Nov. 26, 2007, although doctors did manage to restart his heart for a while. Aside from Riveras confession, police found shoe prints outside Taylors home that matched sneakers some in the group were wearing that night. Witnesses testified Rivera was seen driving a rented black Toyota Highlander believed used in the crime, and another witness said the group of five had burglary tools when they came to her house after Taylor was shot. Taylor, a first-round Redskins draft pick in 2004, signed an $18 million contract with the team and was becoming one of the NFLs top defensive players when he was slain. Several witnesses, including Garcia Haley, testified that he liked to keep large amounts of cash around his Miami house. One of the men charged in the slaying, 25-year-old Jason Mitchell, attended a birthday party a few weeks earlier at the house for Taylors half-sister, Sasha Johnson -- who lived in Fort Myers and knew Rivera. She testified that Taylor gave her a purse containing $10,000 in cash at the party, which was witnessed by all the guests. That event put the wheels in motion for the burglary plot, witnesses said. Rivera himself testified that some in the group thought they would get between $100,000 and $200,000 to split up. Also c