Sunday, September 09, 2001
Kitna era begins, by God
We don't write about religion much on the sports page, because God isn't on ESPN. He doesn't have sponsors or shoe deals. He can't possibly break Mark McGwire's home run record. He flies like Michael Jordan. But only in our reveries.
There's also a chance The Man has projects bigger than deciding who wins and loses ballgames.
But God is hard to ignore when the most important player on the local NFL team wears a ballcap with a cross on the front, includes a Bible verse with every autograph and says remarkable things such as, “God called me to Cincinnati.”
He did what? Oh my ... goodness.
Jon Kitna's start today against New England will make him the 10th quarterback to begin a game for the Bengals in the last, lost decade. No two have been alike.
Boomer Esiason was born to be a quarterback. David Klingler was born to duck. Jeff Blake hit home runs but struck out too much. If Dave Kingman played football ...
Jay Schroeder was here. At some point. I think.
If Kitna's “era” lasts as long as the others, it'll be a bus ride to Columbus. And yet ...
Soured relationship
The offense suits him. He used it to lead Seattle to a 7-1 start in 1999. He has weapons, from Darnay Scott and Peter Warrick to the unsinkable Corey Dillon.
Kitna has a head coach with whom he has actual conversations. In Seattle last season, Mike Holmgren wanted Kitna to be Joe Montana, Holmgren's first superstar pupil: short, smart throws. No turnovers. Kitna wasn't Joe Cool. Who is?
“I got frustrated at times because Jon wouldn't let me help him,” Holmgren told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently. To which Kitna replies: “He thought I didn't want to hear anything from him. I wanted to hear more. When Coach Holmgren signed, there was no one more excited than me. The guy is a guru. But once things soured between us, they never got repaired.”
Holmgren taught Montana, Brett Favre, Mark Brunell and Ty Detmer. If Kitna couldn't play for Holmgren, who could he play for? Talk about a presence, standing in judgment.
Finding peace
Coach and QB spent half of last year not speaking. Kitna blames that for his mediocre 2000 season. “I'm not one who likes to live with tension between myself and anybody I have to deal with on a constant basis,” Kitna said. “The Bible tells me to make every effort to be at peace with everyone.”
He's peaceful with LeBeau and offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. Bratkowski “won't be calling a play because it's the easiest play for me not to mess up. (When) the guy calling the plays believes in you, you get plays that exploit your strengths,” Kitna said.
Will Kitna last longer than his predecessors? Will he have better results? Mike Brown says you can't win without a good quarterback; Brown has never had one. Does he now?
Kitna says his faith “helps me remain calm, poised and humble. I wouldn't be in the NFL without it.” He says of his prospects, “Whatever happens is God's will.”
The Bengals' season begins today. Heaven help them.
E-mail: pdaugherty@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/daugherty.
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Kitna era begins, by God
