Harris ranks 533 on the NFL list of tacklers
Who has more room for improvement in the Bears' underachieving defense than Tommie Harris?
No one.
And finally, after a one-game benching last month and an ejection four plays into last week's game, Harris seems to understand that he needs to be the engine that drives the defense. Starting Thursday night in San Francisco.
"It's a must," Harris said. "We understand the situation at hand. The last two years we haven't been to the playoffs, and we're in position to either make or break (the season). I feel like I have to do my part in order for this defense and this team to make it."
What remains to be seen is how much of a difference Harris can make, even when he's motivated, repentant and filled with a sense of urgency about a 4-4 team at the crossroads.
Assistant head coach/defensive line coach Rod Marinelli believes it's more than a coincidence that Harris was not on the field for the recent lopsided losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals.
"He's a great player," Marinelli said. "He's a factor. Sometimes just his presence creates protection problems (for the offense), there's no doubt. You could see him coming (around) last week just coming off the blocks. The system's built around the under-tackle position."
But Harris hasn't been much of a foundation for the Bears' Cover-2 scheme this season. According to NFL stats, he's tied for 553rd in the league with 9 tackles, although Bears stats credit him with 13 tackles.
"I just have to play better, step it up, and I will do that," Harris said.
After half a season of too much disappointment and too little production, Harris seems anxious to turn things around. He said he sees a "light at the end of the tunnel."
"The dark tunnel is the doubt and the negativity," he said. "It's listening to the media, when you know you've got a good heart, but you hear some of the things people say. You try to like throw stuff out, or you can act like it doesn't bother you, but some of the stuff does, and it's kind of bothering when you know your intent, you treat people well, you do well, and then people come out and say negative things."
Harris says it's taken awhile for him to accept that there's a business side of the NFL that often overshadows the game.
"The light at the end of the tunnel is to truly keep believing and knowing who you truly are and just staying focused on that," he said. "That's what I'm starting to do, beginning to be positive in the midst of darkness. I'm not trying to be a poet. But I think the greatest thing to do when you lose a game is, what people want to see is, how you come back from it."
No one has further to come back than Harris.