Bears No. 1 draft choice Tommie Harris is going to be a fine player, according to coach Lovie Smith. New Orleans Saints No. 1 draft choice Will Smith already is, according to the Saints.
In Chicago, the two players will be compared for years because Oklahoma defensive tackle Harris was chosen 14th and Ohio State defensive end Smith 18th in the first round.
The Saints think Smith already may be their best defensive player. While that may say as much about the Saints as it does Smith, the Saints aren’t afraid to say a lot about him.
“Will already is the consummate player,” Saints defensive line coach John Pease said. “He looks like a five-year veteran. Right now he’s probably where most normal guys are at the end of their first year.”
Although Smith is primarily an end, the Saints had him playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme last week against the Bears just to get him onto the field. In pass-rushing situations, Smith is bouncing between the right and left sides.
“Will’s as fast as any of the linebackers we have and as smart,” Pease said.
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But pass rushing remains Smith’s strength.
“The dumbest thing I could do is drop him all day in pass coverage,” Saints defensive coordinator Rick Venturi said.
If Smith proves better than Harris, the Bears still could have had Marty Booker and saved a few bucks in the Adewale Ogunleye trade.
No fantasy
Bears fans who base hopes on fantasy football charts can’t be too optimistic.
According to statistical projections to determine player value ranking, Sports Illustrated listed Thomas Jones as the 25th running back, two spots below Detroit Lions rookie Kevin Jones.
Rex Grossman was the 24th quarterback.
Among 59 receivers, David Terrell was 58th, behind ex-Bears Bobby Engram (40th), Dez White (46th), Marcus Robinson (47th) and Booker (51st). In an online rating by the magazine, however, Justin Gage was 45th, ahead of Kansas City Chiefs starters Eddie Kennison (another ex-Bear) and Johnnie Morton.
Desmond Clark was 19th among tight ends.
Ratings for kickers depend partly on scoring chances offenses provide, but Paul Edinger has to feel left out. He was ranked 21st, behind Minnesota’s 18th-ranked Aaron Elling, who was cut last week.
Elling was so off this summer that Vikings coach Mike Tice yelled after one missed short kick: “It’s a 32-yarder. I can get [Randy] Moss to make one of those.”
Replied Moss: “I’m here for you, Coach!”
Welcome to the pros
Dallas rookie running back Julius Jones of Notre Dame, brother of the Bears’ Thomas, tapped his helmet late in the third quarter against Tennessee last Monday night, indicating he needed a break.
“I wouldn’t let him out,” coach Bill Parcells said. “That’s the way it is, man. Don’t tap your helmet with me. I told him that.”
Said Jones: “Unless you’re lying out there and an ambulance has to get you, you’re not going to come out. It’s a lesson learned, and I’m fine.”
But three days later, on Thursday night, the Cowboys played another game against Kansas City and Jones had to sit out with bruised ribs. Still no sympathy from the boss.
“If this were the regular season, there would’ve been a lot more pressure on him to play,” Parcells said. “He’s going to have to suck it up.”
Simms sizzles
Second-year quarterback Chris Simms has been battling Brian Griese for Tampa Bay’s backup job to Brad Johnson.
“I’m really excited about him,” coach Jon Gruden said of Simms. “He has great ability. He has a great arm and mobility. He can be quite flashy. And he has a charisma about him that I think everybody loves.
“He has polished his game, and he’s so much further along than he was a year ago. His upside is off the charts, but until you put a guy in and he spends six or seven weeks as your starter, you never know. But the players have a great sense of confidence in him.”
Johnson on Simms: “This system’s not for rookies, and it takes a while to get on the same page with Jon. . . . The best thing for him is to get Jon’s confidence. Jon’s not going to turn over the keys to Chris until he’s confident Chris can do what he wants. Chris is earning his confidence daily.”
Wasn’t Simms a third-round pick?
Nice touch
The Jets re-signed cornerback Jamie Henderson last week, not big news except Henderson may never play again. After his third season last year, Henderson was offered a one-year contract of $628,000 but hadn’t signed it when he suffered a severe head injury in a near-fatal motorcycle accident in Carrollton, Ga., on April 3.
Henderson has re-enrolled at the University of Georgia and is working toward his degree while he continues to rehabilitate his injury.
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“We’re cautiously optimistic Jamie will participate in our 2005 off-season program,” general manager Terry Bradway said. “He is part of our organization, and we felt signing him was the right thing to do.”
Agent Pat Dye said: “The Jets are a first-class organization that did something they didn’t have to do.”
That’s his opinion
Oakland safety Ray Buchanan, a former Proviso East player, on the new emphasis on flagging illegal contact and pass interference beyond the 5-yard contact zone: “It’s getting real bad. Right now, they’re treating the wide receivers like sissies. You’re running down the football field, you turn back and look at the ball, and if you have bad breath, they throw the flag.”
No worry
The Arizona Cardinals signed linebacker Justin Smith and wide receiver Derek McCoy soon after St. Louis released them. Rams coach Mike Martz was asked whether he feared they would disclose any secrets to Cardinals coach Dennis Green because the Cards and Rams play in the opener.
“One of the reasons they were cut is they couldn’t figure out what we were doing,” Martz said.