RAM NOTES : He’s a Step Away, but Day Isn’t Lost

Ricky Proehl stretched and dived in desperation, but got no more than a fingertip on the pass he wanted most Sunday afternoon--the pass in the end zone.

“Half a foot,” he said after the Phoenix Cardinals defeated the Rams, 20-14.

Half a foot wasn’t much to Proehl on Sunday, a day he had 126 yards on nine catches.

The number of receptions marked a career-high for Proehl, a third-year wide receiver from Wake Forest.

And if his barely 6-foot frame was a little larger or his arms a little longer, he might have hauled in Chris Chandler’s 31-yard pass and given the Cardinals a fourth-quarter lead. Instead, the pass fell incomplete and Phoenix had to wait until its next possession to score the decisive touchdown.

Even so, Proehl did plenty to show that he is one of the better young receivers in the NFL. On the play before the incomplete pass in the end zone, Proehl leaped to snare a 50-yard pass despite double coverage by Pat Terrell and Todd Lyght.

It looked as if he took the ball out of the Rams’ hands, but Proehl said he caught it outright.

“I had it the whole way,” he said. “They overran it, then tried to come back for it. I just had to go up and get it.”

Proehl didn’t draw a lot of interest during college despite leading the Atlantic Coast Conference in receiving as a senior. That changed, however, when Proehl finished among the top 10 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting workouts and caught five passes in the Blue-Gray college all-star game. Phoenix took him in the third round of the 1990 draft and he led the Cardinals in receptions the next season. After his first two seasons, the only player in his draft class with more receptions was Rob Moore of the New York Jets.

Proehl’s success Sunday came mainly because the Cardinals took advantage of the Rams’ defense.

“It was just the way the reads were going,” Cardinal Coach Joe Bugel said. “They were walking up their strong safety to stop the run, so we had one-on-one coverage on both Ricky and Randal (Hill), and we decided to keep passing the ball until they dropped that safety back.”

In addition, Lyght, who was beaten twice for touchdowns last week against Atlanta, is still readjusting after being out four games because of a shoulder injury.

“I thought early in the game he was playing off a little bit,” Proehl said. “I thought we could probably throw some outs on him. I told the coaches early on.

“It’s tough for a guy coming off of (injured reserve). He’ll get better every week. But he’s gonna be cautious about getting beat deep.”

Swann’s song: If the Cardinals hadn’t won, defensive end Eric Swann would have been in a heap of trouble. It was Swann’s attempt to block Jackie Slater--a 287-pound, 38-year-old lineman who was 20 yards behind the play--that resulted in a clipping penalty that negated Aeneas Williams’ 69-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

Swann was quickly subjected to his teammates’ ire.

“We had some words,” Williams said.

Swann didn’t try to shake the blame.

“Right after I hit the guy, the flags were flying all around,” he said. “You wish you could disappear, but it’s not possible.

“You do stupid things like this sometimes. I thought it was a clean hit on Jackie to tell the truth, but it was a real stupid penalty. Realistically, you look at the play, I never should have touched him.”

Even Slater knew he didn’t have a prayer.

“I don’t know how far away from the runner I was,” Slater said, “but I know that every step I took, he pulled away from me.”

Phoenix forgiveness: Williams was miffed, to say the least. The touchdown would have been the first of his career--and would have given the Cardinals the lead in the fourth quarter.

He was still celebrating when teammate Robert Massey pointed out the flags.

“It was like my blood brother had brought me the news we’d just lost a loved one,” Williams said.

He tore into Swann before he could control himself.

“After I talked to Swann, I felt worse for Swann than about my score. After the heat of the moment, I realized he needed more consoling than I did. I just thank God we have the ability to apologize to each other.

“It’s a good thing we won. He can bounce back.”

Don’t think Swann doesn’t appreciate that. The play was called back to the 30, but Johnny Johnson eventually scored on the same possession.

“I was very happy,” Swann said. “In fact, I’ll take Johnny Johnson out anywhere he wants.”

Bugel call: Bugel couldn’t believe Swann’s gaffe, either.

“I didn’t like the play Eric Swann made,” Bugel said. “We were going to let him ride on the front of the airplane . . . outside. He would have been our nose cone.”

Voice from the past: Fritz Shurmur, the former Ram defensive coordinator who now guides the Cardinals’ defense, took note of Jim Everett’s 21-for-32 performance.

“This (Ram) team is really very volatile,” Shurmur said. “They’ve got excellent receivers, and Jim knows how to get them the ball. We made the plays when we had to today, but I still think that’s a great offensive football team, and Jimmy’s playing extremely well. He hardly missed a single read today.”

Starting defensive end Bill Hawkins, who sprained ligaments in his right knee in the first quarter and did not return, could be out several weeks. . . . The Rams won the coin toss for the first time this season before Sunday’s game. They received the opening kickoff for the first time, and punted after three plays.

Times staff writers John Weyler and Tim Kawakami contributed to this story.