GEORGETOWN, Ky. - Akili Smith has all the tools to be a quality quarterback, but he's still having a hard time with the instruction manual.

        Jon Kitna has seized the early lead in the Cincinnati Bengals' quarterback competition because he reads the defenses more fluently and responds more decisively.

        Smith is raw talent. Kitna is reaction time. In the National Football League, this is the difference between shell-shock and success.

Jon Kitna and Akili Smith (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        “When I first came into the league, it was almost as if metamorphosis was happening at the snap,” Kitna said Thursday night. “As a young quarterback, you want to go through progressions, but you're not used to seeing things at that speed. You're just looking for
the first colored jersey that's yours.”

        Kitna has been where Akili Smith is now. He has known the panic of third-and-long with no receivers in sight and an unfriendly behemoth closing in on his blind side. He has forced passes toward impossible targets. He has made all of the typical mistakes of a novice quarterback, but he has lived to learn from them.

Why Kitna is ahead

        Acumen gives Kitna a leg up on Smith. Accuracy moves him a toenail or two ahead of Scott Mitchell. He has yet to be designated the Bengals' starting quarterback, but he will get the first snaps in tonight's preseason opener in Chicago.

        Maybe it means nothing, but that's not the way to bet.

        Bengals coach Dick LeBeau is so determined to project an open mind that the team's depth chart lists three quarterbacks as first-string. The names appear in alphabetical order: Kitna, Mitchell, Smith.

        The conceit is that the three candidates are so close they are virtually indistinguishable at this stage of training camp. The fact is Smith already lags far behind his older rivals, but his bosses keep hoping for a breakthrough.

        “Since Saturday, I think Akili's been much more decisive,” said Bengals' personnel executive Jim Lippincott, who has been Smith's most ardent advocate.

        “Is the light coming on?” Lippincott was asked.

        “It could be.”

Cultivating Smith

        Since the Bengals are not prepared to cut Smith, they have no choice but to cultivate him. What this probably means is the former first-round draft choice will spend most of the season with the scout team while Kitna and Mitchell call signals on Sunday.

        Considering how Smith might react to such a division of labor, it makes sense to delay the ultimate decision. There's no point in offending a player who might be needed in the event of injury. It costs nothing to cross your fingers and pray for an epiphany. For now.

        In two more weeks, though, indecision will be counterproductive. The Bengals will want to determine their starting quarterback at least a fortnight before the regular season to afford him more time with the first-team offense.

        Kitna's initial advantage was his history with offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski, and his familiarity with Bratkowski's scheme. His enduring edge is that he is a quarterback who makes up his mind.

        “He has some knowledge of the system from a couple of years ago, but it goes beyond that,” Bengals President Mike Brown said. “He knows the ropes of playing quarterback in the NFL. He's a smart kid. He's quick in his decisions. He anticipates.”

        Where he is is where Akili Smith wants to be.

        E-mail tsullivan@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/sullivan.

Winning only one of Bengal goals tonight SULLIVAN: Kitna is where Smith wants to be Farmer fighting for a job

Reds 9, Padres 2
Reds fans contributing to Paul Brown Stadium
Reitsma gets velocity back after rest
Pitching has been good, too
Boone putting it all together
Reds box, runs
Masters Tennis will open with a bang
Rinaldi in Senior tennis finals again
Tennis qualifier begins today
Lebanon, Mason to kick off prep season
XU's West, UC's Logan Wooden candidates
Softball is manager Wildt's life
Metro softball scores
Bonds Watch: No homers
Ohio State QB on the spot
St. X swimmers to be honored
XU product Marr wins Ohio Public Links
Boys City Junior Open golf scores
Girls Junior Open golf scores

• Return to Bengals front page...