Will Ray Edwards Break Out Against The Seahawks?

Not in hives. I hope.

The signing of Ray Edwards was widely heralded as a good move. It was a bargain price for a good pass rusher, I argued, and fans and the front office feted him. Troubadours brought words of his exploits in Minnesota to the adoring masses of Atlanta, and there was much rejoicing.

It's fair to say that Edwards' splash on the team thus far has been less cannonball than leaf swirling gently onto placid waters. Aside from a nice fumble recovery and return that he deserves enormous credit for, Edwards has been more effective in run-stopping than pass rushing. In fact, he's been outstripped in that

What gives? A number of things. Learning a new defensive scheme in an accelerated time frame thanks to that dirty, dirty lockout, off-season knee surgery that probably set him back a bit and some timely blocking. It is also incumbent on Edwards to get to the quarterback even with those constraints, though, and it's not like John Abraham isn't helping him out on the other side.

The flip side to that, of course, is that Edwards is probably helping to spring Abe a bit more. That's something I want to take more of a look at in the weeks ahead, but for now we'll give Ray Ray the benefit of the doubt on that one.

Back to the present. The Seahawks haven't been very adept at stopping opposing pass rushers this season, something that's been compounded by Tarvaris Jackson's tendency to bolt from the pocket like a spooked deer every time he feels pressure. This would seem to be the perfect game for Edwards to start racking up some sacks and ratcheting up his pressures. Did I mention that the Seahawks are missing at least one starting lineman?

What are your expectations for Edwards against the 'Hawks?