The Bengals have gone 10 years without making the playoffs, the longest dry spell in the NFL, but continue to bring in players with postseason experience to help end the drought.

        They have added seven free agents who have played in 43 playoff games.

        Three of the playoff-tested veterans — left tackle Richmond Webb, defensive tackle Tony Williams and fullback Lorenzo Neal — are projected starters. A fourth, quarterback Jon Kitna, is listed on the team's depth chart as sharing the starter's job.

        And the other three — defensive linemen Kevin Henry and Bernard Whittington and kicker Richie Cunningham — are listed as second-stringers.

        “It's got to help,” coach Dick LeBeau said Tuesday of the infusion of playoff-tested veterans. “It helps all of us. It will certainly help me. Webb and our fullback (Neal) are coming from teams that have been continually successful. These are pluses.”

        With training camp opening Friday, the Bengals have 16 players who have appeared in 79 playoff games. Among them, Neal played five postseason games with the Titans and Webb 13 with the Dolphins.

        “These are the guys who are free agents by definition,” Bengals president Mike Brown said. “Often times, they are the ones who are attractive because they've been with successful teams.”

        The team has gotten older. The Bengals started last season with only five players 30 years or older. They now have 12 players who are at least 30, a number that will

        grow to 13 when Whittington turns 30 next month.

        Whether age and playoff experience translate into victories remains to be seen.

        “We are, talent-wise, a better group of athletes,” LeBeau said. “Now we'll have to become a better football team.”

        Of the eight unrestricted free agents the Bengals signed, only cornerback Carlton Gray is not a playoff veteran.

        The Bengals also signed five of their own eight unrestricted free agents, and three of them — guard Matt O'Dwyer, quarterback Scott Mitchell and tackle John Jackson — have playoff experience.

        “I'm surprised some of these guys aren't insane,” said Jackson, whose 13 postseason games for Pittsburgh include a Super Bowl. “I've only been here a year, and some of these guys have been here their whole career. You wonder why half of the team's not going to a psychologist.”

        Newcomers Henry and Neal also have played in a Super Bowl each.

        The Bengals are 11-37 the past three seasons, 47-113 since their last playoff appearance. Does losing beat down players emotionally?

        “I'm sure that plays into their mindset sometimes,” said Mitchell, who played in the postseason for Miami and Detroit. “You hear comments from time to time. But I think: "Gosh, I've been to other places. But, really, this isn't hell.' I mean, it's no fun not to win.”

        The Bengals went after players they thought could help the team.

        “The reason we wanted these players was because, as a talent base, we thought they would improve our football team,” LeBeau said. “That exceeded my expectations, the strides I thought we could make toward building that base.”

        Said Brown: “We will be better. Will our record be better or enough better? We certainly are trying.”

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