Harris may miss game, but will Bears D miss him?
Defensive tackle Tommie Harris did not participate in Friday's practice inside the Walter Payton Center and is listed as "doubtful," meaning he has a 25 percent chance of playing on Sunday.
Harris didn't practice all week, and in most cases players who don't practice don't play on Sunday.
Harris is frequently excused from Wednesday practices because of chronic soreness in his surgical left knee, but he's usually able to have limited participation by Thursday. He declined to speak with the media about his status after Friday's practice, but coach Lovie Smith did, reluctantly.
"Tommie still has some (knee) soreness from the last game," Smith said. "I can't spend a lot of time concerned about guys that can't (play) right now. I just want them to continue to get treatment and get better. That's what Tommie is doing."
Smith added that he is not concerned with Harris' future health beyond this week.
"I'm concerned about the Cincinnati Bengals, and I'm excited about all of the guys that are ready to go," Smith said of the 3:15 game at Paul Brown Stadium.
At one time, Harris was a dominant player, and he was voted to three straight Pro Bowls (2005-07), but his production has dropped precipitously since then. He has rarely been a factor this season. According to the Bears' stats, Harris is 12th on the team with 9 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and an interception, and he has no sacks.
"Tommie hasn't dominated yet," Smith said. "But eventually some day he will. There's nothing else really for me to go into about Tommie's health."
The former first-round draft pick missed two games last season, one because of the knee and another when he was suspended for chronic tardiness. In three of his first four seasons, Harris played in all 16 games, but those days appear to be over.
Backups Marcus Harrison and Israel Idonije will fill in for Harris Sunday. The 6-foot-3, 312-pound Harrison saw his most extensive playing time of the season last week, mostly at nose tackle for Anthony Adams, who was slowed by a toe injury. But Harrison also has experience playing Harris' 3-technique tackle spot. He played a season-high 35 snaps last week against the Falcons and had 2 tackles plus a tackle for negative yardage.
"I've had a good week of practice, trying to prepare," the 2008 third-round pick out of Arkansas said. "Tommie's been helping me out, and now it's just kind of go out there and play."
Harrison showed promise as a rookie but got off to a poor start this year when he was forced to sit out the first several training camp practices because he reported overweight. Smith has said that he needs to take another step in his development.
"Maybe (that's) because my talent and stuff, just what I'm capable of doing," Harrison said. "I just need to go out there and play and not worry about anything. What I do in practice, I need to transfer it over to the game field."