Chris Harris: The Immediate Upgrade to the Chicago Bears Secondary
Published by Zack Pearson on April 27, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Last year showed the weaknesses of the Bears defense. They couldn’t cover, they couldn’t tackle, and they couldn’t stop anybody. They were torched in games against Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Arizona.
So, one of the main focuses of the off-season was to upgrade the defense.
So far, so good, right?
The Bears secondary was one of the worst in the NFL last season, and struggled heavily.
Charles Tillman was the only bright spot.
If you could even call it a bright spot.
This offseason has been a busy one for the Bears. With the mindset of “win now,” they are going all out.
First, they landed the No. 1 free agent, Julius Peppers, who will give the defensive line a big boost. Peppers is the type of player who can change the game himself and is a steady threat on the defensive line.
Something the Bears didn’t have last season.
If Tommie Harris can play to his 2006 Pro-Bowl potential, the defensive line can be one of the fiercest in the NFL.
The defensive line wasn’t the major problem though. The secondary showed weaknesses all over.
A position that killed the Bears last season was safety. They had no true impact safety that other teams feared on their roster.
That all changed this offseason though.
With their first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, 75th overall, they drafted Major Wright from Florida. Wright is a hard-hitting safety, but his cover skills aren’t all that great.
Still, Wright is expected to compete, and possibly win, a safety spot on the Bears. If he can do so, and play well, the future will be bright for the Bears at the safety position for years to come.
We thought the Bears had finished addressing the safety spot, but they pulled another one out of their hat.
The “nothing to lose” Bears announced earlier today that they had acquired hard-hitting, former Bear Chris Harris. Harris gives the Bears a instant impact player at the safety position, and a threat to opposing offenses.
Harris played with the Bears for a couple of seasons, before being traded in 2007. He led the NFL in forced fumbles his first year in Carolina, making the Bears regret their move.
With two anchors in the secondary, and some youth, the Bears could have fixed their problem in the secondary with just a few moves.
Getting a healthy Brian Urlacher back, and what looks like an improved defense, the Bears have a chance to be a defensive power in the NFL again.
But don’t get your hopes up too much, because we all know what happened last season.
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