Thrown in the fire

By Scott M. Johnson

Herald Writer

KIRKLAND — The first few months of Ken Lucas’ NFL career have played out like a bad reality television series.

The Seattle Seahawks’ rookie cornerback has watched his fellow contestants succumb to a myriad of tribulations, and suddenly he finds himself standing alone as the so-called winner.

As of Sunday afternoon, he’ll really be alone on an island.

Lucas, as is typical for NFL rookies, can expect to be tested early and often in Sunday’s season opener at Cleveland.

"I look at it like it gives me more opportunities to make plays," Lucas said. "I try to look at everything in a positive manner."

The Browns will be looking for any advantages they can get, seeing as though they ranked last in the league in offense last season. Cleveland’s wide receivers caught just three touchdown passes all of last season, and starters Kevin Johnson and Dennis Northcutt never got into the end zone at all.

With former first overall draft pick Tim Couch returning from injury, the Browns will probably throw the ball as often as possible against the Seahawks on Sunday. Couch threw for 2,447 yards and 15 touchdowns as a rookie in 1999, but missed the final nine games of last season with a broken thumb.

"I feel like I’m going to make some plays in the game," Lucas said. "I’m going to have to prove that I can play the game even though I’m a so-called rookie."

Lucas is only the second Seahawks rookie to ever start a season opener at cornerback. The other, Shawn Springs, held his own in a 1997 debut. Springs got tested early — the New York Jets threw his direction for a 9-yard completion on their first offensive play — but he held Keyshawn Johnson to modest totals of six receptions, 68 yards and no touchdowns during a 41-3 drubbing.

Of course, Springs went on to become one of the top corners in the NFL. Lucas has a long way to go to get to that point.

Lucas, 22, was a wide receiver for his first year-and-a-half at the University of Mississippi before the Rebels moved him to cornerback because of injuries in the secondary. In his first game at cornerback, against the University of Georgia in 1998, All-American cornerback Champ Bailey lined up at wide receiver across from Lucas.

"I was very nervous in that game," Lucas said. "When they saw me come in the game, they put (Bailey) on my side every time."

So how did Lucas fare?

"My goal was just not to get beat deep," Lucas said. "He caught the ball on me on a comeback, but I was playing soft on him so he wouldn’t catch the deep ball."

Lucas took over as a starter by his junior year and earned all-Southeastern Conference honors as a senior.

Injuries to teammates opened up the door for Lucas at Ole Miss, much like they have done in Seattle.

The Seahawks were hoping Lucas would be in the starting lineup, but not in this fashion. He performed admirably during the preseason, but essentially earned the starting nod by default.

First, Fred Vinson went down with a season-ending knee injury while playing pickup basketball over the summer. Then Springs hurt his hamstring in the preseason opener, an injury that is expected to cost him at least one regular-season game. Willie Williams fractured his forearm the following week and could be out until the Sept. 30 game at Oakland.

And then, in Saturday’s preseason finale against New Orleans, second-year player Ike Charlton hurt his knee. Coach Mike Holmgren said Tuesday that the injury would keep Charlton out two to three weeks.

While the Seahawks are still mulling over the possibility of adding another cornerback — at least until Springs gets back — they will most likely enter Sunday’s game with Lucas and Paul Miranda each making his first NFL start. The only healthy reserve is another rookie, sixth-round draft pick Harold Blackmon.

"You go into this game a little bit hesitant, but in the long run this is only going to help us because we’re forced to play some younger guys who are only going to get better," secondary coach Ken Flajole said. "You just hope they can grow up fast enough that the mistakes aren’t going to cost you a ball game."

Ready or not, Lucas enters this weekend as the team’s most solid cornerback — despite the fact that he could be one of only two rookies in the NFL to start this weekend. (The Washington Redskins’ second-round pick, Fred Smoot, will also start Sunday.)

Lucas had an unspectacular preseason that saw him get burned on two touchdown passes, but he held his own for the most part. Both touchdowns came despite decent coverage, as Arizona’s David Boston and San Francisco’s Terrell Owens used strength to catch the ball.

Flajole said overall he was impressed with Lucas’ play this preseason. Of course, what will happen this weekend is still a big question mark.

"Some guys don’t miss a beat, some guys look like a deer caught in the headlights in their first game," Flajole said. "Everybody’s going to react differently. I suspect, just knowing the type of person that he is, that it won’t affect him adversely."

Now that he’s got four unofficial games in the NFL under his belt, Lucas feels like he’s ready for the real season to begin.

"Every (preseason) game that was played, I got more and more confidence," Lucas said. "My attitude now is, I’m ready to make plays. I consider myself a young veteran. I don’t plan on playing like a rookie. Being a rookie is just a mentality, and that’s not a mentality I want to have."