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

[Jerry Madsen]

Damn straight.  It would have been an ass kicking.

Woulda, shoulda, coulda.

Oh well.

On 6/12/07, Phil DeNomme <pdenomme at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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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