Bears' DT Tommie Harris Is Still Hurting
by Brandon on Aug 11, 2009 12:00 PM CDT
in Green Bay Packers News
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PrintThe Green Bay Packers home opener is week 1 vs. Chicago and the Bears' most important player on defense might not be available.
Chicago's plan for rejuvenating its Tampa-2 scheme depends on having consistent pass rush from the defensive line. When healthy, Harris is an elite pass rusher and interior disrupter. When he isn't, the Bears have no one they can rely on for that dual role...
Monday, however, Harris admitted he had a second knee procedure in March to determine why he was still feeling pain after originally having surgery in January 2008. The admission came on another day of inactivity for Harris, who oddly watched the entire practice while wearing full pads and holding his helmet under his arm.
Harris has admitted that he's been playing on one leg.
Without a constant pass rush from the inside, Chicago would have to rely exclusively on their defensive ends for pressure. Otherwise they'd have to blitz more. That really takes something away from their defense. The run defense might be fine, but their pass defense is something special when their linebackers can drop back in coverage and take away all the short passing routes. And they can't do that if they have to blitz. Or is Chicago's defense good enough to overcome the loss of Harris?
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No it's not
And they showed that last year. Harris is crucial to them because when he is healthy he requires a double team, which opens things up for their DEs. If Harris can’t generate a pass rush this year, then their secondary will likely struggle again this year.
Play calling
It wasn’t just the pass rush last season, although pass rush is always important in pass defense. The cornerbacks seemed to play too far off last season, which seemed to be by design, and probably led to the demotion of their defensive coordinator and now Lovie Smith is making the defensive play calls. Although I’m of the opinion that with defense, it’s all about the players. It might not matter who calls the plays if Harris isn’t playing.
I think Harris will be ready by week one.
At least that’s what all the reports seem to indicate.
We struggled last year, with or without Tommie in the lineup. Which is why the Bears brass brought in Marinelli, who is one of the most respected D-Line coaches in the game today. Plus, with Tommie being sidelined so far, our other DT’s have been getting a lot of extra work.
We have good depth and quality at the DT position with Tommie, Anthony Adams, Dusty Dvoracek, Marcus Harrison, Jarron Gilbert and the ever versatile Izzy Idonije. If these guys can get coached up (the way, we think, Hot Rod can do) Tommie being ready by week one won’t matter… as much. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have a healthy Harris starting than a role player or an unproven rookie, I just don’t think it will be that bad.
Our DB’s getting exposed last year, were partly a result of our inability to get a consistent pass rush on opposing QB’s. If the front four don’t fill their gaps and stop the run or apply pressure on the QB in passing situations, then it causes us to have to blitz a lot more. Thus, resulting in us asking our DB’s to cover more ground.
To be 100% honest, there are a lot of IF’s going into this season, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out for all of the teams in the North.
- Smudgers
"Newbie, if the next two words out of your mouth aren't 'See ya' then the third word will be 'Oh my god. My crotch. You've punched me in my crotch." - Dr. Percival Ulysses Cox
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