Harris-Conte just latest Bears safety tandem

It has been a heck of a roller-coaster ride for strong safety Chris Harris and rookie free safety Chris Conte.

Harris started in Week 5, was benched in Week 6 and a day later requested a trade, and then he was back in the starting lineup Sunday when Major Wright’s hip injury made him inactive.

Conte was mostly a special-teams player in the first five games, but Sunday was his second straight start.

That combination was the Bears’ sixth different safety tandem this season in seven games.

Harris’ return represented the Bears’ eighth change at one of the safety spots and the 51st change at safety since Lovie Smith became head coach in 2004.

In an excellent first-half defensive performance, Conte had the biggest play when he stuck Bucs wide receiver Mike Williams inches shy of the goal line before he had possession, and then snatched the loose ball for his first NFL interception, 1 of 4 by the Bears.

“You can pretty much look at that turnover ratio each week, and that will tell you who won the game,” coach Lovie Smith said. “But for us defensively we haven’t been getting enough take-aways.”

Starting to click:Jay Cutler#146;s 25-yard touchdown pass to Roy Williams was his first score as a Bear, and his first touchdown in 16 games dating to his 2010 season as a Dallas Cowboy.The score came when Cutler foiled a Bucs blitz, which left Williams in single coverage, and he was able to get behind cornerback E.J. Biggers.#147;He did some good stuff for us,#148; Cutler said of Williams. #147;He#146;s starting to come along. We#146;re starting to get a little bit of chemistry there. Like I said two, three, four games ago, it takes time. It doesn#146;t happen overnight.#147;Finally we#146;re starting to see some steps forward.#148;Williams finished with a team-high 59 yards on 4 catches. Devin Hester also had 4 receptions for 46 yards.Memorable moments:Cornerback D.J. Moore will remember his first trip across the pond for his game-saving interception in the final minute, but he also will remember the fan who ran onto the field.#147;That was exciting,#148; Moore said. #147;I think you need to do that once every game. The guys chasing him were kind of slow. That was bad. Most of the time when you see it on TV, the guy that#146;s real good is tackling him. They were bad.#148;Moore said he had no desire to end the mischief by tackling the fan.#147;I wanted to high-five him,#148; Moore said. #147;It seemed pretty cool to me. I thought he was going to take his pants off and everything.#148;Just missed it:With a chance to tie Nate Kaeding for the most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history, Robbie Gould#146;s 41-yard attempt was wide right with 3:45 left in the third quarter.It was Gould#146;s first miss of the season after hitting 13 straight, but his 25-yard field goal with 1:55 left gave the Bears their final points.ŸFollow Bob#146;s Bears reports via Twitter @Bob LeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.