The Rams’ Primary Problem Is Secondary : Pro football: The Saints’ Wilson will try to exploit a defense that has given up 738 passing yards in the last two games.

Some teams have intricate game plans, but in the last two weeks the attack presented by Ram opponents has been quite simple: Get the ball to the guy being covered by cornerback Wymon Henderson.

Steve Young, San Francisco quarterback, earned NFC player of the week honors after exploiting Henderson’s coverage in a 35-10 victory over the Rams.

Phoenix wide receiver Gary Clark was nominated for the same award last week after catching eight passes for 159 yards at Henderson’s expense but was beaten out by teammate Ron Moore, who scored four rushing touchdowns against the Rams.

This week’s leading candidates to pick on Henderson and vie for NFC honors are New Orleans quarterback Wade Wilson and wide receiver Eric Martin.

“If they do come at me, I’ll be ready,” Henderson predicted.

The Ram coaching staff has prepared for today’s game in the Superdome fully expecting the Saints to go after Henderson and the team’s undermanned nickel defense.

Henderson, who played for Denver before being released, has been forced into the Ram lineup because of injuries to Todd Lyght and Robert Bailey, and Darryl Henley’s legal problems.

To complicate the Rams’ defensive situation, in obvious passing situations the Rams have had to go with players such as Dexter Davis and Mitchell Price, defensive backs who, like Henderson, were home a few weeks ago and looking for jobs in the NFL.

“No question, if we would have played more productively in our nickel packages against Phoenix, it might have been a different game,” said Joe Vitt, Ram assistant head coach. “In third-down situations, they created mismatches, and they were glaring mismatches.

“It’s obvious they went after Wymon, and they went after Courtney Griffin. We have to provide more help by rolling our defense to both sides or using a two-deep zone to provide more support for those guys. That’s been our Achilles’ heel: how we react on third down.”

The 49ers succeeded against the Rams by converting six of 12 third-down opportunities. When they looked for a first down, they ran wide receiver Jerry Rice toward Henderson, and Young passed for the necessary yardage.

The Cardinals were successful on nine of 12 third-down opportunities, and once again Henderson was targeted.

“Because of limitations, we’re going to have to play more zone than we want to,” said George Dyer, Ram defensive coordinator. “We’re really leery of singling people out (in man-to-man coverage).

“You’ve got to find the mismatches and try to give that guy a lot more help. Some of the things we’re asking him (Henderson) to do is not all his fault because of the speed factor. Now you’re playing off a guy, and he’s going to catch some balls.”

The Rams are hoping they can put pressure on Wilson, who was sacked nine times last week, and force him to throw poor passes into their zone coverage.

“Pass defense is equal to rush plus coverage,” Coach Chuck Knox said. “If we can’t get the rush on the passer, then the coverage is going to break down.”

After getting 17 sacks in the first four games, the Rams have had 13 in the last eight. As a result, the Rams rank last in the league in stopping opponents on third down.

“This is a real challenge for our front four,” Dyer said. “Your zone coverages are only as good as your front four. We have to get pressure on Wilson.

“Here’s what we need. We have to hope we get a rush and pressure on the quarterback. We have to hope when they do catch it we tattoo them and knock the ball out. We have to hope we get a hand on the ball, get some interceptions and attack it that way.”

The Saints, who have lost five of their last seven after opening the season with five victories, prefer to run. The Saints rank sixth in the league in rushing, but how can they resist attacking a Ram secondary that has given up 738 passing yards the last two weeks?

“They have always thrown the ball against us more than you would anticipate,” Dyer said. “They have a good running game, but they have been very effective throwing three wide receivers out there and getting the ball to them.”

The Saints defeated the Rams, 37-6, in Anaheim Stadium earlier this season with Wilson passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams’ starting cornerbacks in the game were Lyght and Henley. In addition, they still had a sound Robert Young rushing the passer.

“To win, we’ve just got to play outstanding football,” Vitt said. “Good things have to happen early for us because we’re throwing all the adjustments that we can at them early. I don’t know what else we can do.”

The Saints (7-5) cannot afford to stumble to remain in the playoff hunt. The Browns limited the Saints to 127 yards in total offense last week in beating them, 17-13, and the Saints have gone seven games in a row without scoring at least 21 points.

“Right now, we’re going through a frustrating time,” said Rickey Jackson, New Orleans linebacker.

The Rams (3-9) know all about frustrating times after losing seven of eight games. Five times in the last eight weeks, they have given up 30 or more points, and a growing list of injuries will make it much more difficult to keep the opposition from scoring.

Ram Notes

Because of a technicality, the Rams will be unable to put tackle Jackie Slater on injured reserve until Monday. Coach Chuck Knox said the Rams will add an additional offensive lineman to their roster Monday to replace Slater, who has a torn shoulder muscle, or promote one of their young players from the practice squad.

The Rams put cornerback Robert Bailey (knee) on injured reserve to make room for the addition of wide receiver Richard Buchanan. Buchanan will fill in for Sean LaChapelle (wrist).