Bears Blitz

Published by Bob Warja on October 26, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

I don’t know about you, but I was surprised to learn that Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris was benched against Cincinnati—”coach’s decision”—not because he was playing well but because Lovie Smith & Co. rarely make this kind of admission about one of their “name” players.

We all remember, ad nauseam, the constant “Rex is our quarterback” refrain from Lovie. Frank Omiyale was signed to a relatively big contract this offseason and even though he’s brutal, the Bears have no plans to sit him down.

To be fair, Omiyale is learning a new position, but for crying out loud, he’s been starting there from mini-camp, through training camp, all through the preseason and now six games into the regular season. People have learned to speak fluent French faster than this.

Look, there wasn’t a single player or unit on that Bears team that played well in Sunday’s debacle against the Bengals. But to admit that Harris is no longer good enough to start speaks volumes about just how far his star has fallen.

Tommie believes he is injured. The Bears think he ought to get out there and practice. Lovie is basically saying that he is healthy enough to play but isn’t good enough to play.

Sure, he will be back against Cleveland this weekend, but we may never see the pro-bowl caliber of play that once made Harris one of the brightest young defensemen in the NFL.

You might get the occasional good play, but you won’t ever see consistently high level of performance from him, for whatever reason. Maybe his body has just shut down after all the injuries. Maybe the fat contract has made him lose his fire.

Whatever the reason, it is apparent, even to a Bears head coach who never calls one of his players out in public, that Harris needs to improve if he’s going to be on the field on a regular basis.

It has become common for Harris to miss one or two practices a week because of lingering knee soreness. However, last week he missed every practice.

Smith made it clear that in the future Harris can get back into the lineup by practicing.

“For a player to really prove he’s ready to go, it would help for him to be able to practice throughout the week and we think Tommie will be ready to go all week,” Smith said.

So is he hurt or not? Last Thursday, GM Jerry Angelo said Harris ”is healthy.” Even Harris said that injury wasn’t the reason for his benching.

”It wasn’t true,” Harris said when asked why his knee kept him out of the game. ”You talk to them. If you came here earlier, you saw, I worked out before the game.”

The only thing that seems to be a certainty is that Harris just isn’t the disruptive force he once was. While he was suspended for a game last season due to detrimental conduct, that doesn’t appear to be the case this time.

It is sad indeed that a 26 year-old player, who once flashed so much promise, seems to be nearing the end. If this situation doesn’t get better, the team may not pick up his $2.5 million roster bonus for next season.

Meanwhile, Lovie Smith ought to not accept excuses from himself. Since he started calling the defensive plays, there has been chaos and disorganization. Players don’t seem to know their assignments.

Yes, you might blame the injury to Brian Urlacher and yes, you can certainly blame the players for not executing. But hell, the Bengals are without their best pass rusher for the season and they seem to be getting along just fine.

Injuries are not a valid excuse, they happen to every team. It is part of the game. Look in the mirror yourself, Lovie, when evaluating players like Tommie Harris.

You may not like what you see, come to think of it.

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