Harris looking to end sack slump
LAKE FOREST — With each word, the frustration Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris feels over his sack drought became more and more apparent.
"I don't want to be selfish," Harris said Thursday. "I could see if we were losing because I didn't get sacks, but we're winning right now and I'm not getting sacks.
"So, I don't want to have that, 'I'm selfish,' part, but this is the NFL. This is a business and it does help to have reasonably good stats at times."
Harris started the season fast with five sacks in four games. He hasn't had a sack the past five games and he's searching for reasons.
"That's what I've been trying to figure out the past four weeks," Harris said. "I've been doing a lot of studying, trying to find out whether it's your body, if my body is not the same way. Everything feels, like, all right.
"I'm lifting the same weights, doing the same thing every week. But two plus two is not equaling four right now for me. So, hopefully I can go back and fix everything."
Harris does get double-teamed regularly and even said he's been triple-teamed, but he beat double teams in the past.
"I mean, like, New York blocked me three times one-on-one and I didn't beat it," Harris said. "So, I have no excuse, man. I've just got to get to the quarterback and help this team out and continue to keep winning."
Harris had made it clear he wanted 10 sacks this season.
"I usually don't tell my goals but that's something that I would be disappointed if I did not reach this year," he said. "I want 10 and I'm going to get there. I don't know how I'm going to get to 10."
It would help Harris from another standpoint to get as many sacks as possible.
The Bears would like to target him for an off-season contract extension because his deal expires after 2007 and stats mean leverage.
His immediate concern, though, is sacking quarterbacks to help the defense.
"Tommie is playing good football," coach Lovie Smith said. "Sometimes the sacks don't come for some reason. He's getting good pressure. He's disruptive still.
"Again, we don't have any complaints against Tommie Harris. He's playing good football. The sacks will come a little bit later on."
Defensive line coach Don Johnson cited opposing offensive tactics for some of Harris' frustration.
"It's not his game, it's the offense's game," he said. "They're getting rid of the ball quick. They're not going to sit back there and hold the ball. They're using a lot of three-step drops and quick throws."
Johnson sees offenses trying to match up to stop the Bears' pass rush, and wants Harris to just keep pursuing in order to help other ways.
"And you can't get frustrated," Johnson said. "You've got to just keep working. We got a couple real good hits on Eli (Manning Sunday) even though we only had two sacks.
"Sometimes you can get enough hits on him so it can affect his throws. So, I think that helped."
Neither Harris nor any of the other Bears' defensive linemen can count on sacks this Sunday because the New York Jets' offense is based on short throws and getting rid of the ball without taking sacks.
It's rare when Chad Pennington looks deep down the field after setting up in a seven-step drop.
"I think we saw in meetings that they have thrown it maybe down the field 22 times over 20 yards this season," safety Chris Harris said.
Pennington's arm strength had been called into question even before he had a serious shoulder injury and surgery.
"Coming off the injuries he had to come out and prove himself and I think he's been playing it safe and hasn't made too many mistakes," cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. said. "He has a touch on the ball, he's not a guy who will throw the ball 60-70 yards. He makes good decisions."
|
