By Brad BiggsFor the second straight year, Tommie Harris lost $1.5 million in the de-escalating roster bonus for 2012 that is in his $40 million, four-year contract extension.
Harris' contract calls for him to reach the Pro Bowl and be on the field for 74 percent of the defensive snaps. We know he didn't make the Pro Bowl, but he wasn't close on the playing-time lever. According to statistics acquired by the Tribune, Harris was on the field for 56.8 percent of the Bears' defensive snaps in 2009.
The de-escalating roster bonus started at $8 million and now is down to $5 million. It drops by $1.5 million each season Harris does not meet the requirement. He is due a roster bonus of $2.5 million in June that the team is planning to execute.
Photo: Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris again fell far short of reaching playing-time bonuses in 2009. (Brian Cassella/Tribune)
How far was Harris from the playing-time minimum for the 2012 bonus?
The defense had a total of 1,068 plays and he was on the field for
only 607. To reach 74 percent, he needed to be on the field for 791 plays.
That's a difference of 184.
He was benched for the Cincinnati game, so even if he was on the field for 50 plays that game (probably a little high), he would have needed about an additional nine snaps in every other game to reach the magic 74 percent, a figure he's hit once in his career.
Here is how the playing time broke down at defensive tackle (total of 1,068 snaps) for the Bears last season:
Anthony Adams: 580 snaps (54.3 percent).
Tommie Harris: 607 snaps (56.8 percent).
Marcus Harrison: 564 snaps (52.8 percent).
Israel Idonije: 330 snaps (30.9 percent).
Matt Toeania: 3 snaps (0.3 percent).
So while Harris may have not been on the field as much as he would have liked, he still led all defensive tackles in snaps. It will be interesting to see how he will be deployed in 2010.
This is the first time in four offseasons that he is not expected to have surgery. A healthier
Harris could be ready to handle a bigger load, and certainly that would be a benefit to the defense. But the Bears also don't want to burn him out early in the season with high usage and then not have the same player later in the year.
"A dominant player right there, especially for our defense, it makes our defense tick," coach Lovie Smith said. "It's the reason why we paid our defensive tackle more money than we have any other players on our team. So, it's very important to have a disruptive guy there that can cause havoc that will make teams double team him and things like that."
He was benched for the Cincinnati game, so even if he was on the field for 50 plays that game (probably a little high), he would have needed about an additional nine snaps in every other game to reach the magic 74 percent, a figure he's hit once in his career.
Here is how the playing time broke down at defensive tackle (total of 1,068 snaps) for the Bears last season:
Anthony Adams: 580 snaps (54.3 percent).
Tommie Harris: 607 snaps (56.8 percent).
Marcus Harrison: 564 snaps (52.8 percent).
Israel Idonije: 330 snaps (30.9 percent).
Matt Toeania: 3 snaps (0.3 percent).
So while Harris may have not been on the field as much as he would have liked, he still led all defensive tackles in snaps. It will be interesting to see how he will be deployed in 2010.
This is the first time in four offseasons that he is not expected to have surgery. A healthier
Harris could be ready to handle a bigger load, and certainly that would be a benefit to the defense. But the Bears also don't want to burn him out early in the season with high usage and then not have the same player later in the year.
"A dominant player right there, especially for our defense, it makes our defense tick," coach Lovie Smith said. "It's the reason why we paid our defensive tackle more money than we have any other players on our team. So, it's very important to have a disruptive guy there that can cause havoc that will make teams double team him and things like that."
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So every year he doesn't hit that number, the bonus money potential drops...
How many times have we heard about Tommie having a "crisis of faith" when it comes to football, where he can't decide whether tocommit himself fully to football. There was the child out of wedlock fiasco, and at least one other time where he was unsure if he wanted to play football any more that I can remember.
If his heart isn't in it, it doesn't matter how talented he is. He could have been the next Warren Sapp. Right now, he looks more like Brad Culpepper. A few big plays, but mostly anonymous during the game. That is an awful lot of money and faith put on a guy who hasn't delivered in 3 years. Sure, he was injured, but the timing of his surgeries, the length of time to recover, and the lack of passion in his play makes it look like this guy is going through the motions. How often did he get owned by an average guard one on one? How often was he 3-4 yards downfield on a pass rush? How often was he blown off the line by an opponent in the run game? The 3 technique makes all of this defense go, but right now, our 3 technique is gone. A well paid shell is all that is left.
Please tell me that this is a joke Brad:
@Aaron_Nagler That Olsen was on the block by Bears was loudest chatter at the end of the week.