Johnson steps in; Harris waiting to challenge

LAKE FOREST -- Bears safety Todd Johnson finds himself in a familiar position.

Two years ago he became a starter due to safety Mike Brown's torn Achilles tendon, and now he steps into Brown's starting spot due to season-ending surgery to repair Brown's torn right foot ligaments.

"I felt like I played good then," Johnson recalled Thursday about 2004. "That was my first year of playing professional football and I came away with confidence from that."

Johnson, who has nine tackles this season, has the support of the player he's replacing.

"I would say that there's not going to be any dropoff and I really do believe that," Brown said.

The Bears acknowledge they'll lose Brown's leadership, but drafted Johnson in the fourth round in 2003 out of Florida to be an eventual starter.

"He's a big hitter, very smart, been around a while, knows the system well, has performed well on the special teams for us and we got a chance to see a little bit more of what he can do," coach Lovie Smith said. "He finished the game Monday night and played well in that role. Todd will step up and give us good play at the safety position."

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Johnson spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve with a broken jaw suffered after a big hit in preseason. He started 10 games in 2004 when Brown suffered a torn Achilles tendon. He also started two games in 2005 and replaced Brown in the Bears' playoff loss due to a calf strain.

"I realize I can't be him and I'm not going to try to be him," Johnson said of Brown. "I'm going to just try to go out there and play my game."

Johnson shrugged off the idea he's more physical than Brown.

"I don't know about that," he said. "Mike has had some pretty big collisions. I don't really know how to compare the two.

"I've tried to learn from him and take some traits and just take all I can from him."

The tough decision for the Bears will come if nickel back Ricky Manning Jr. is suspended by the NFL. They'll have to switch the secondary around and use inexperienced players.

"It will get a little shaky," defensive backs coach Steve Wilks said.

Manning appeared Wednesday in New York before league officials to give his account of an incident which led to his no contest plea to a felony assault charge. No verdict was forthcoming Thursday.