A DSNDING MD88 SIGHTS AND HAS A CONFLICT WITH ANOTHER MD88 CONVERGING BELOW 15 MI NW OF ATL; GA.

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WE WERE DSNDING ON A CLRNC TO 6000 FT FOR AN APCH TO THE ATL ARPT. WE WERE ABOUT 15 MI TO THE NW; HDG SE; ON VECTORS TO INTERCEPT THE FINAL APCH COURSE FOR RWY 8L. PASSING THROUGH 7000 FT; WE NOTICED ANOTHER ACFT BELOW US ON A CONVERGING COURSE; FLYING ON DOWNWIND FOR RWY 8L. I SLOWED OUR DSCNT RATE; PLANNING TO LEVEL IN ORDER TO AVOID THE TFC. APCH CTL CALLED US AND TOLD US TO LEVEL AT 6500 FT. SUBSEQUENT TO THE CALL FROM APCH; WE RECEIVED A TCASII RA INDICATING A CLB. I DISCONNECTED THE AUTOPLT; STARTED A CLB AND BEGAN A TURN TO THE E. A SECOND CALL FROM APCH DIRECTED US TO TURN TO A HDG OF 060 DEGS. THE TFC PASSED BELOW US AND TO OUR R; MINIMUM SEPARATION BTWN US AND THE CONFLICTING TFC WAS ESTIMATED AT 1 MI HORIZ AND 400 FT VERT. THE AIRSPACE SURROUNDING THE ATL ARPT WAS SATURATED WITH ARR AND DEP TFC. RWY 9R WAS CLOSED AND ARRS FROM THE S WERE BEING VECTORED FOR LNDGS ON RWY 9L. THE APCH CTLR WORKING THE FREQ WAS WORKING NON-STOP CTLING ARRS. IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT HE WAS OVERLOADED.