by Neil Hayes, The Chicago Sun-Times , Chicago Sun Times

The Bears' $40 million defensive tackle, the one who claims he doesn't have anything to prove to anybody, burst through the line to find only a red carpet between himself and Browns quarterback Derek Anderson. Harris making impact plays like the one he was on the brink of has been rare indeed. Too often the past couple of seasons, games come and go without anybody noticing a player who once stood out like a blinking neon sign in the middle of Bears' defensive the line. On this play, Harris hit Anderson a glancing blow and the ball squirted into the air only to have Anderson catch it before quickly tossing it out of bounds.

No sack for Harris, but an incompletion, which summed up a Bears' performance in a game best described as a qualified success.

They won big but didn't look good doing it. The final score was 30-6, which seems impressive enough coming off last week's 45-10 caning in Cincinnati, but it was at the expense of a worthy-of-your-pity opponent. A defense that was shredded by the Bengals held Cleveland to 191 total yards and a meager 74 passing. Those numbers would be impressive against a team other than the Browns, who employ a quarterback who struggles to post a passer rating higher than his jersey number.

In other words, this wasn't a game that answered many of the burning questions raised in last week's 35-point loss. We'll have to wait for next week's sure-to-be revealing showdown with the Cardinals to know exactly where the Bears stand. What Sunday's win did was help restore confidence and boost the morale of a defense that will have to carry a bigger-than-anticipated load if the offensive line can't prevent Jay Cutler from spending Sunday afternoons tasting his own blood.

''Last week that wasn't us,'' Danieal Manning said. ''I don't know who those guys were. This week we showed up. We have to match that intensity every week.''

PLAYERS MAKE THE SCHEME

The Bears need Harris, even if he has been a shadow of himself for the past two seasons. For all the grief that coach Lovie Smith and his ''Tampa-2'' defense have taken since the loss to the Bengals, much of which was richly deserved, few mentioned that that scheme needs a dominant three-technique tackle, which Harris hasn't been even when healthy. It requires a middle linebacker like Brian Urlacher who is fast enough to drop deep into the zone and still come up for run support if need be. It requires a veteran, ball-hawking safety to play the role that Mike Brown played here and John Lynch played in Tampa.

Having quality players at those positions is not a luxury but an absolute necessity. With Urlacher hurt, Brown gone and Harris mostly ineffective, Smith has none of the above. That's on general manager Jerry Angelo as much as Smith. The Bears have depth at middle linebacker. Hunter Hillenmeyer and Nick Roach have filled in admirably. But there either aren't enough playmakers on the roster at the other two critical spots or Smith hasn't properly developed the talent Angelo has obtained.

That's why Smith needs Harris to start making more plays like the one he almost made Sunday.

The man is an enigma wrapped inside a 6-foot-3, 295-pound frame. In his latest diatribe, he insists that he doesn't have anything to prove to anybody other than himself, which would be perfectly fine if he held himself to a higher standard.

''That's who I play for. I proved all I had to do to get this job, my starting position, everything for the city of Chicago, I have nothing to prove to anybody. They know what I can do and it is just for me to get back to that level. You've see it before. So if I go out there and have three sacks it's not a great game, it's what he does. If I have one sack, that's not good enough for people. My standards are different than everybody else and I know that. I have nothing to prove to anybody. I have to just do it for myself.''

LOST IN THE EXCITEMENT

Smith had two tackles and no sacks against the Browns. He has 11 tackles and no sacks this season, which should fall below his or anybody's standards for a three-time Pro Bowler. But any negatives were overshadowed by a combination of relief and satisfaction in the postgame locker room after the Bears forced five turnovers and held the Browns to 1-for-11 on third down. The matchup was so one-sided that Cleveland running back Jamal Lewis pondered retirement afterward.

It made everybody feel better about where the Bears are and where they might be headed, but not much. It will take a higher-caliber opponent than the lowly Browns to know for certain whether this defense has truly turned the page on the Bengals.

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