In some ways, it's as though Justin Smith never held out. Other times, he has looked like a rookie who did miss all of training camp and the preseason.

        The Bengals rookie defensive end has started two games and played in four more. He has two sacks among his 20 tackles plus the first interception he can remember on any level of football. He even has a nickname, his defensive linemates tagging him “Cowboy” because of his penchant for wearing cowboy boots.

        Smith has shown the speed and intensity that caused the Bengals to make him the fourth overall pick in the draft and to give him a six-year contract worth up to $40.5 million.

        He could be the Bengals' first dominant pass rusher since Coy Bacon, who had 22 sacks in the 14-game 1976 season.

        “I've heard the name,” Smith said when asked about Bacon, who visited Bengals training camp to address the defensive linemen in August, while Smith still was holding out.

        “He's exceeded expectations for a guy who got here when he got here,” coach Dick LeBeau said of Smith. “He's got a lot to learn, but his talent is such, he has contributed from the first moment we put him on the field.”

        Besides his physical ability, Smith is a good student of the game. He has willingly spent a great deal of time studying the defense with line coach Tim Krumrie.

        “We do a lot of things with our linemen,” LeBeau said. “There's a learning process. It's the technique of how to do things. Justin has done as well with the limited exposure he's had to our defense as anyone I've ever seen. It's a testimony to his innate talent.”

        Said Bengals president Mike Brown, who drafted Smith, “He's doing fine. He still has things he has to get a handle on. They aren't obvious, where the things he does well are obvious. His speed and quickness show up when he makes plays. But there are still times when he has responsibilities he has to carry out, and he'll be getting better at that as he plays more.”

        Smith's big plays are, well, big. He has sacked Doug Flutie and Tim Couch, and Smith followed up the latter by forcing Browns left tackle Roman Oben to hold him.

        Last week at Detroit, Lions rookie left tackle Jeff Backus tried to cut-block Smith, who quickly got back up, intercepted Charlie Batch's screen pass and rumbled 21 yards on the return.

        Other times, Smith has dropped back in pass protection, looking more like an oversized linebacker at 6 feet 4, 270 pounds, than a defensive end.

        But he has made mistakes, most noticeably on a 23-yard touchdown run around left tackle by Anthony Thomas in Chicago's 24-0 victory two weeks ago.

        “That happened once. It was a mistake on my part,” Smith said. “I thought I had the inside gap. I was pushing the tight end out. And I pushed him all the way to the sideline. I was keeping my inside gap. But I really had the outside gap. It was just a missed assignment on my part.”

        Smith disagrees with analysts who credited Bears left tackle Blake Brockermeyer for getting the best of Smith and limiting him to two tackles.

        “I've never been beat physically out on the football field,” Smith said. “I haven't made too many mistakes.”

        Smith needs 6.5 more sacks to kick in the key escalator clause in his contract.

        He knows he was drafted to get to the quarterback.

        “Nobody ever feels like they're off to the start they want. But I feel like I'm off to a pretty good start,” he said. “I've got nine games left. I've just got to pin my ears back and get there.”

DAUGHERTY: Parity looks pretty good to Bengals Bacon was Bengals' sackmaster Smith chasin' Bacon Mark Curnutte's NFL picks Mark Curnutte's NFL power ratings

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