Thread: Bears to bench safeties Harris, Meriweather

Bears to bench safeties Harris, Meriweather

By Vaughn McClure, Tribune reporter

1:16 p.m. CDT, October 13, 2011

Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith hinted at change after Monday night’s 24-13 loss at Detroit, and it appears the safety position will undergo a major facelift.

Veterans Chris Harris and Brandon Meriweather are expected to be benched in favor of Major Wright and rookie Chris Conte for Sunday’s game against the Vikings, according to multiple team sources. Wright and Conte are expected to get the first-team reps at strong and free safety, respectively, during Thursday’s practice.

Harris and Meriweather started and struggled against the Lions. Harris, who returned after missing three games with a hamstring injury, was a few steps behind in coverage when Lions receiver Calvin Johnson caught a 73-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford. Harris also made a few other costly errors, including one that helped lead to Jahvid Best’s 88-yard touchdown run.

Meriweather played a bit reckless throughout the game, opting for big hits rather than wrapping up for the tackle. The former New England Patriot seems to be having a tough time adjusting to a new defensive system.

If Wright and Conte perform well in practice and start Sunday, as expected, it would be the fifth different safety combination in six games.

The coaches might be asking a lot out of the inexperienced Wright and Conte with the Bears set to face arguably the league's best running back in Adrian Peterson. This would be Wright's fourth career start and Conte's first.

Cornerback Charles Tillman was asked Thursday how the Bears could establish continuity at the safety position.

"Play harder, fix the mistakes, go back to fundamentals," Tillman said. "And the most important part is to have fun."

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