Jon Kitna walks off the field with the game ball and a victory in his first Bengals start. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Jon Kitna dropped back, and then dropped the ball. Fifty-one thousand fans grumbled, their new quarterback seemingly bitten by the Bungle bug. But then Kitna led the Bengals to scores on their next five drives Sunday, and Cincinnati cheered a cool-as-a-cucumber QB.

        “You can't rattle him,” Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said.

        Bratkowski saw the same calm when working with Kitna in Seattle from 1996-98.

        “There are some quarterbacks, making a play like that (lost fumble), that play's going to stick with them a while and lead to maybe two bad series,” Bratkowski said. “One of Jon's strengths has always been his ability to shake things off, forget about it, and go on to the next series and be productive.”

        Kitna was just that against New England, completing 18 of 27 passes for 204 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. He completed passes to five different players. His QB rating was 101.5. It's just one game, but no full-time Bengals starter has had a rating that high for a season.

        More significantly, Kitna excelled in a tough role — as a new player running the team's new offense. And he did so with composure.

        “He's really poised and under control at all times, and it showed out there,” center Rich Braham said. “The first game, sometimes you get things messing up, and we really didn't have that much at all. His leadership, in that way, we benefited from.”

        Kitna, who got a game ball from coach Dick LeBeau, seems to be on a strict diet of humble pie. He deflected all credit for Sunday's victory.

        “At quarterback, in order for you to play well, everyone has to play well,” he said. “Guys making diving catches, the offensive line not allowing you to get touched (just one sack Sunday) ... those kind of things have to happen at QB for you to receive a game ball.

        “We just tried to execute the offense. Coach "Brat' called a great game, and the offensive line did a great job.”

        Kitna has been given the freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage, though he said he didn't do so Sunday. The team also has what it calls “check with me” plays, in which it has two plays when it goes to the line of scrimmage, and the QB calls one based on the defensive alignment.

        Bratkowski said some of Kitna's calls on those plays netted big yardage Sunday. He said Kitna also changed up the snap counts, keeping New England off balance.

        “We preach tempo to our offense — in other words, get the play in, get to the line of scrimmage, get the ball snapped fast,” Bratkowski said. “He kept our tempo very good. We counted six, seven, maybe eight snaps where the defense wasn't even lined up, and we snapped the ball, and we were off and going.”

        After splitting quarterback repetitions equally with Akili Smith and Scott Mitchell in training camp, Kitna was named the starter just two weeks before the opener. Many of the formations and packages of Bratkowski's new offense hadn't been unveiled until Sunday.

        Kitna, though, took immediate control of his huddle. His calm begat a balanced offense.

        “There's different kinds of leaders,” Braham said. “I think he's the kind, he gets on the field and shows what he's capable of doing. He did a good job of it, and we just followed in his footsteps.”

        Kitna praised the running game and its importance in helping set up the pass. Bratkowski said Kitna, like Mitchell, is most effective in such a balanced attack.

        Some of Sunday's success simply comes back to experience. Kitna will turn 29 on Sept.21. He quarterbacked the Seahawks to their only playoff appearance of the 1990s (in '99). He has paid his dues.

        “He's just that much more sure of himself,” Bratkowski said. “He looked in total control (Sunday). He looked in charge.”

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