RAM NOTEBOOK : Timing Not on Cornerback Henley’s Side

Darryl Henley’s timing couldn’t have been worse.

One day after cornerback Todd Lyght signed his monster contract with the Rams, with speculation already beginning as to when Lyght would replace Henley in the starting lineup, Henley got burned for a touchdown.

It happened late in the second quarter of the Rams’ 23-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks Saturday night. It happened with Lyght, the Rams’ $5.5-million man, watching from the sidelines.

Henley, playing the right corner, couldn’t keep up with Louis Clark on a fly pattern, and with Ram free safety Pat Terrell blitzing, Henley didn’t get any backside help.

Clark ran under Dave Krieg’s pass in the end zone and caught it just behind Henley for a 31-yard touchdown play that gave Seattle a 13-0 lead 12 seconds before halftime.

“I’m sure fans are going to say they want Todd Lyght--they said that about me (last year) when I took LeRoy Irvin’s place,” Henley said. “But when we play teams like Houston, Atlanta and Phoenix, 70% of our defense will be nickel (five defensive backs), so I’ll be in there. I’m handling this fine and so is Todd.”

Lyght, in fact, had some encouraging words for Henley afterward.

“I told him to keep his head up and bounce back from it,” said Lyght, who has yet to play an NFL game. “You’re going to get beat for touchdowns in the NFL. The main thing is to bounce back and play the rest of the game mistake-free, which Darryl did.”

Henley took no solace in the fact that the touchdown wasn’t entirely his fault. Normally, a cornerback gets help from his safety on such a play.

“I don’t know how many times we blitzed tonight, but when you live by it, you die by it,” Henley said. “You’ve got to make that play a heck of a lot more times than you miss. But I hate giving up touchdowns, blitz or no blitz.”

Strange twist: Usually, it’s wide receiver Aaron Cox who comes out of games because of hamstring problems--his playing time has been severely limited the past two seasons because of his injuries.

But Saturday night, after starter Henry Ellard suffered a bruised thigh, Cox came off the bench and played most of the second and third quarters.

He took full advantage of the opportunity, catching three passes for 56 yards and providing some rare offensive highlights for the Rams.

Cox caught a 16-yard pass on a third-and-seven play during a third-quarter drive that ended with one of Jim Everett’s passes being intercepted. He then caught two passes, for 19 and 21 yards, on the Rams’ next possession.

“I don’t wish bad luck on any one, but I was happy to get some more reps--I can always use the work,” said Cox, who missed most of the past two preseasons because of hamstring injuries. “I felt great. That was the longest I’ve been in since my rookie year (1988). It’s nice to stay in the game after a catch instead of only playing on third downs.”

Ellard’s injury was not serious, and he was pulled from the game for precautionary reasons.

Kicking and fighting: The Seahawks used a fourth-round pick in April to select Georgia kicker John Kasay, which didn’t bode well for 10-year Seattle kicker Norm Johnson, a former standout at Pacifica High School and UCLA.

Seahawk special teams Coach Rusty Tillman called Kasay “one of the best kickers to come out of college in a long time.” Kasay showed why in Seattle’s first exhibition game when he kicked a 54-yard field goal against Phoenix.

But Johnson, who has led Seattle in scoring the past nine years, is not going down without a fight. He kicked a 54-yarder Saturday night to give the Seahawks a 6-0 lead over the Rams with 12:29 left in the second quarter.

“I was a little miffed when they protected me in Plan B and then drafted John, but I have no control over those things,” Johnson said. “Him being a fourth-round pick and getting a big signing bonus ($92,500), he’s going to get an extra look. I just try not to think about it and try my best.”

Jim Everett, after a sharp game last week against the San Diego Chargers, was a long way from a regular-season groove Saturday night, completing 12 of 24 passes and have two intercepted.

He even heard a chorus of boos in the third quarter after his second interception, a pass that he left up high for receiver Flipper Anderson.

“They paid good money to come see the game,” Everett said of the booers.

“There were two throws I wish I could have back. They were at a point where I was trying to make something big happen.”

Coach John Robinson said Everett’s performance was just part of the offense’s overall doldrums Saturday night, and Everett didn’t disagree.

“I would call it an embarrassment, as far as we executed,” Everett said. “We moved the ball well, but there were times when we seemed to self-destruct. We just weren’t operating on all eight cylinders tonight.”

Times Staff Writer Tim Kawakami contributed to this story.