Harris shuts out Bears WRs

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Al Harris defends against a pass intended for Chicago's Devin Hester Sunday in Green Bay.

As we noted last week, Al Harris entered Sunday’s game with an amazing streak: He had not allowed a completed pass to his side of the field since returning from a lacerated spleen in Week 8.

And 3irty1 continued his streak Sunday vs. Chicago, using his signature physical style of play, his speed and his smarts to help take Devin Hester, Rashied Davis and Brandon Lloyd completely out of their games.

In fact, Bears QB Kyle Orton did not complete a pass to a Chicago WR until the nine-minute mark of the third quarter.

Chicago wideouts finished the game with a measly four receptions for 60 yards and no scores. And Al Harris extended his streak of not allowing a completed pass to four games and counting.

Afterwards, the Bears showed a healthy amount of respect for the job the Packers secondary performed. Brandon Lloyd:

“I’m a huge fan of Woodson and Harris,” said Lloyd, who was back on the field after missing five games with a sprained knee. “I think those guys are awesome. They get paid a ton of money to do what they do. So it is a lot of work to get open against them.”

And Bears GM Jerry Angelo:

“They’re very good. They’re tough to throw on. If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to execute well.”

Executing “well” is proving to be inadequate against this Packers “D”. In Al Harris’ mind, if opponents want to get anything done on offense, they must execute to perfection:

“If you get pressure when you’re playing press coverage, balls have to be perfectly thrown balls,” said Harris. “That’s the goal. For them to complete a pass, it has to be a perfect pass.

“That’s how I look at it.”

As you know, teams have learned to not throw in Al’s direction and as a result, his stats don’t look impressive on paper. Sunday’s totals: One tackle. No interceptions. But the game isn’t played on paper. It’s played on the field, and fans, coaches and opposing WRs know no stats can describe the effectiveness with which Al Harris is playing on the defensive end.

Just ask Devin Hester, Bernard Berrian and Justin Gage.

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