[CBFF] ESPN - Harris' return a shot in the arm for Bears' D

[Phil DeNomme]

I still think a healthy Harris and Brown, the bears beat the colts.

-----Original Message-----
From: cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com
[mailto:cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com] On Behalf Of Jerry Madsen
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 2:22 PM
To: CBFF
Subject: [CBFF] ESPN - Harris' return a shot in the arm for Bears' D

 Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Harris' return a shot in the arm for Bears' D
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris returned to practice for the
Chicago Bears on Monday, providing relief and optimism to a position
severely thinned by defections and suspension.

Harris had been sidelined since December by a hamstring injury that
kept him out for the final month of the season and the playoffs. He
underwent surgery in December to repair a torn left hamstring tendon
and was cleared late last week by the Dallas surgeon who performed the
procedure to return to the practice field.

His return to practice was first reported Monday evening by the team's Web
site.

While he is not yet at full speed, Harris said his left leg is strong
and he anticipates no problem being recovered for the start of
training camp late next month.

"It felt good and I wasn't even pushing it really hard yet," Harris
said after an organized team activities (OTAs) session.

The team's first-round draft choice in 2004, Harris, only 24, is
generally acknowledged as one of the NFL's premier interior linemen,
and was voted to a second straight Pro Bowl appearance despite playing
in only 12 games in 2006. In those dozen appearances, the former
Oklahoma star had 48 tackles and five sacks.

Harris' return is critical to the Bears as they attempt to become the
first NFC team since Green Bay in 1996-97 to win consecutive
conference championships. Chicago will begin the season without its
top three tackles from Super Bowl XLI only four months ago.

Tank Johnson was suspended by the league last week for at least the
first six weeks of the season. The starter next to him in Super Bowl
XLI, Ian Scott, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in April as an
unrestricted free agent. The club's No. 3 tackle in the title game,
Alfonso Boone, departed as an unrestricted free agent as well, joining
the Kansas City Chiefs.

Chicago signed one unrestricted free agent tackle, Anthony Adams of
San Francisco, a four-year veteran and former second-round draft
choice. The Bears did not use any of their nine picks in this year's
draft for reinforcements at the position. Nor did Chicago officials
try very hard to retain Scott or Boone.

The talent drain means that coach Lovie Smith will have to rely on
untested youngsters such as Dusty Dvoracek, Antonio Garay and Israel
Idonije, a talented but inexperienced trio with only two
regular-season starts among them, to log significant playing time. So
having a fully healthy Harris back in the lineup would be a huge
boost.

Monday, Harris said he expects to be 100 percent.

The three-year veteran explained to the team Web site and Chicago-area
reporters that his injury was not the standard hamstring problem, but
rather a torn tendon. The chances of re-injuring the tendon, he said,
are negligible.

"Nothing's wrong with my hamstring," Harris said. "It's the tendon
that popped, just like if I tore my biceps or [pectoral]. I don't have
any defects in my hamstring. [The injury] can't come back. They put
sutures in my bone and hooked [the tendon] back. ... [It] will never
pull again. It's more likely for the right one to pull than the left
because this one should be there for life now because of the screws
and stuff. So I should be faster, and I should be stronger, so we'll
see."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.

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