[CBFF] Chicago's Harris Says He Was Only Kidding About Wanting McNabb As Bears' QB

[Phil DeNomme]

He is known to pull fast ones on the media.

Btw, whoever wrote this needs to do some more research...

' Defensive end Tommie Harris'

-----Original Message-----
From: cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com
[mailto:cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com] On Behalf Of Steve Behrens
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 12:51 PM
To: CBFF
Subject: [CBFF] Chicago's Harris Says He Was Only Kidding About Wanting
McNabb As Bears' QB

*Chicago's Harris Says He Was Only Kidding About Wanting McNabb As Bears' QB

*June 19, 2007 10:51 a.m. EST

Christopher Cornell - AHN Sports Reporter

West Palm Beach, FL (AHN) - After his up-and-down regular season and
horrendous performance in the Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts,
Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman has had enough trouble keeping focus
on maintaining his starting role for the upcoming 2007 season.

He certainly doesn't need any distractions from his teammates.

Unfortunately for the University of Florida product, one of his teammates
was in a joking mood over the weekend, which created negative headlines for
him later.

Defensive end Tommie Harris was in Philadelphia over the weekend to appear
at a youth football camp put on by longtime friend Donovan McNabb and the
Philadelphia Eagles when reporters caught up with Harris at the camp and he
created a buzz by commenting that the Chicago would win a Super Bowl title
if McNabb became the Bears quarterback.

Harris told reporters, "'I know if he comes to the Chicago Bears, he can win
the Super Bowl. That's all I'm saying. He comes to Chicago, he definitely
will win the Super Bowl.''

The comments made it look like Harris' intention at the camp was to recruit
his friend to come to Chicago.

Harris insisted to the Chicago Sun-Times that he was only playing around.

''They thought I was serious,'' Harris told the Sun-Times. ''I don't know
why. I wasn't, and I apologized to Rex and the team already. I'll be careful
the next time I joke around.

''Me and Donovan were joking the whole day,'' he said. ''Donovan was behind
the cameras laughing. We [were] joking around.

''It escalated to one thing more than it was, and I apologized to my team. I
was very embarrassed how much it blew up. My team forgave me; that's all
that matters.''

Chicago wide receiver Bernard Berrian was less than amused with his
teammate's comments.

''I talked to Tommie about it,'' Berrian told the Sun-Times. ''I was like,
'What are you doing?' He was like, 'Man, I was just joking, and they blew it
all up.' So it's over, it's done with, it was a joke.''

Grossman chose to stay away from the story, refusing comment, though he did
acknowledge that Harris apologized to him.

Grossman had a Jekyll and Hyde season in 2006. One game he would look like a
Pro Bowler, the next, a rookie backup. When the Bears started out 7-0, he
threw for 1,639 yards, 13 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. However,
he also had six turnovers in Week 6 against the Cardinals and threw three or
more interceptions on five different occassions.

In the Super Bowl, Grossman's inconsistencies were glaring. He threw for 165
yards and a touchdown but threw two costly interceptions and was just not up
to par in the biggest game of his young career.

Grossman is entering a contract year this season and has to prove that he
can be a consistent leader for the team that many believed should have won
the Super Bowl last season.

McNabb also went through his share of drama in Philadelphia last season when
he was injured and veteran Jeff Garcia flourished in his stead. After Garcia
left via free agency to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, McNabb was
further distressed when the Eagles selected Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb
with their second round pick, which made the veteran star question his own
future with the organization.

McNabb is a native of Chicago who attended Mount Carmel High School.
However, the Eagles have said that McNabb is their No. 1 QB and the Bears
apparently still want to give Grossman another chance to prove himself.
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