By John Mullin
Tribune staff reporter
August 28, 2006, 9:49 PM CDT
As training camp broke this month, Tommie Harris admitted he has too often been afraid to be great or to risk everything trying to be great. The dangers were he would be great and then have to live up to that, or he would fall short and have to admit his best wasn't great.
Monday he took a step to face down his fears. The third-year defensive tackle, a day after preferring that a major 2006 goal remain private, instead declared publicly what that goal was and let himself be held accountable to the standard.
Harris, who went to his first Pro Bowl last season with three sacks, said he would reach double-digit sacks in 2006.
It would be the first time not only in his NFL career, but ever. Drawing constant double teams at Oklahoma and playing in a rotation, Harris had nine sacks in his entire college career.
"Now is the time for it," Harris said. "I've always been the best pass rusher but the guy who's almost there: 'He had the pressure, almost ...'
"Now I would like to finish."
Double-digit sacks for a defensive tackle are usually the province of the interior greats: John Randle, Warren Sapp, Alan Page, Dan Hampton (1980, 1984), all in the Hall of Fame. Jim Flanigan (11 in 1995) and Steve McMichael (three times) are the only other Bears defensive tackles to reach Harris' target in the last quarter-century.
Last season Atlanta's Rod Coleman was the only defensive tackle with more than nine.
"A guy with Tommie's capabilities can do it," defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. "Tank [Johnson] had five last year coming in a reserve role, so it's realistic."
Ogunleye led the Bears with 10 sacks in 2005. He wouldn't mind some serious competition.
"If Tommie gets 10 sacks, we're doing awesome," Ogunleye said.
"And if both of them, Tommie and Tank, get 10 sacks, that means I'm getting 15 or 20."
jmullin@tribune.com
Time to make it public: Harris seeks perfect 10
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