The black cloud that seems to hover above the Bears produced still another stroke of bad luck Monday when test results revealed torn cartilage in the left knee of starting cornerback Walt Harris.
But the injury might not necessarily mean the end of the season for the starting cornerback. After hurting his knee in the first half of Sunday’s 26-20 loss at Green Bay, Harris played the second half and, in fact, picked off a Brett Favre pass and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown.
“He’s questionable for this week,” said Bears trainer Tim Bream of Sunday’s home game against Baltimore, the second-to-last game of the season. “We’ll see how it progresses. He may possibly need arthroscopic surgery at the end of the year.”
Starting tailback Edgar Bennett, who had a 43-yard run on the Bears’ first offensive play of the game, also injured his left knee, though MRI results were negative. Bennett is listed as day-to-day.
And quarterback Moses Moreno may have seen the last action of his rookie season. Bream reported “a lot of instability” in the ankle he sprained on the final play of the Bears’ loss to Tampa Bay two weeks ago.
Thanks for the vote: Bears coach Dave Wannstedt said he appreciated the supportive comments Sunday by Mark Hatley, the Bears’ personnel vice president.
“I plan on Dave being back,” said Hatley, who pointed out that it will ultimately be the decision of team President Michael McCaskey. “That’s how I approach it, and he should be (back).”
Replied Wannstedt: “I appreciate the comments or the respect that Mark has for me. We’ve worked well together. But I’m just really thinking about Baltimore. That’s where I’m at right now.”
Asked if he ever considered the possibility that circumstances would prevent him from being able to accomplish what he would like to with the Bears, Wannstedt nodded. “That’s been the case,” he said. “It’s been difficult, very difficult. Some things you can control and some things you can’t. That’s the toughest part about this thing. When things happen that you can’t control, you just have to deal with them and move on.”
It’s still Steve: By default, Steve Stenstrom, despite a painful thigh bruise, will start his sixth game of the season Sunday when the Bears host the Ravens.
Stenstrom is 76 for 138 passing for 851 yards (55.1 completion percentage), two touchdowns and four interceptions for a passer rating of 66.4. A combination of poor protection and slow reaction time by the scramble-challenged Stenstrom has resulted in 17 sacks in five games.
“Everybody can improve, but I think Steve’s making good decisions,” Wannstedt said. “We’re not turning the ball over, he’s not throwing interceptions, but there are some things physically that he’s somewhat limited at, as everybody is.
“Your first reaction would be that he doesn’t have the arm strength to throw the deep ball, but that hasn’t been the case. Ever since he has started, he’s put the deep ball out there in position to make some plays. I think we’re seeing the type of quarterback Steve is, and there’s room for improvement every week.”
Conway crisis: Wannstedt said he is just as disturbed by the recent crisis of confidence by Curtis Conway as the veteran receiver is himself.
“It’s definitely all mental because he sure as heck is physically capable of making those plays,” Wannstedt said about two catchable deep balls Sunday that went for incompletions. “It just seems like we’re in a situation where one week is carried over to the next. He hasn’t been able to put last week’s game, good or bad, behind him and move forward, and you can’t have that happen, particularly for (him).
“We don’t have enough guys who are capable of making those type of plays. He’s one of the few guys we have, and nobody knows that more than Curtis. . . . The guy’s out here every day working hard. He’s not pointing fingers, he’s taking responsibility. Right now, we’re just struggling and it’s a disappointment for everybody.”
