Sure, the Bears won on Sunday against the Lions. Arguably, the Bears should have lost.
Regardless of the outcome, defensive tackle Tommie Harris has drawn pointed criticism from former NFL defensive tackle Warren Sapp regarding the extent to which he has -- or hasn’t -- meshed with new defensive end Julius Peppers.
Per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Sapp criticized Harris during an appearance on WSCR-670, calling the veteran defensive tackle “a blind dog in a meat house.” More specifically, Sapp said that Harris played without the necessary awareness or desire to partner with Peppers.
“You can’t do that as an under tackle in that defense,” Sapp said. "[Harris] needs to set the table and have a quarterback sitting right there on the stage for Julius to come around the corner. He doesn’t have a problem with getting up the middle. It was just the awareness of the game that really eluded it for me. From what I know about the position, it just looked bad.”
Sapp knows plenty about the position; it’s the position he played (and became a star playing it) in Tampa.
Harris defended himself later in the day, Briggs reports. “I just got with Peppers,” Harris said. “He had Simeon Rice for like seven years.” (As Briggs points out it was only three.) “Me and Peppers are just learning how to dance with one another.”
Harris said he was “surprised” by Sapp’s comments. Harris also seemed to be grateful for the candor.
“Thanks for saying that on air,” Harris said. “But you can call me any time, Warren.”
Harris would be better served to focus on doing his job; in making his candid and pointed remarks, Sapp as a player-turned-analyst was merely doing his.