By sliding Akili Smith up the depth chart one spot behind starter Jon Kitna, the Bengals have put into place their likely quarterback combination for next season.

        “We plan to have both Kitna and Akili back here,” Bengals president Mike Brown said Thursday. “What happens beyond that is cloudy. We're still five weeks from the end of the season, and things change.”

        The club also doesn't foresee investing in a free-agent quarterback or an expensive, high-round college quarterback in the draft.

        “I don't entirely rule it out,” Brown said. “It's unlikely we'll be doing that in the offseason this year.”

        The Bengals gave Kitna $4million in March to sign a four-year contract that's worth between $7 million and $12 million, and they handed Smith a $10.8 million signing bonus in 1999 for his seven-year contract.

        Brown's comments suggest the club is pleased with Kitna's first-year performance and believes Smith still can be its quarterback of the future.

        Twelfth-year veteran Scott Mitchell, who signed a one-year contract in April and threw three interceptions in the second half at Cleveland, apparently is in his final season with the Bengals.

        Kitna has the league's second-lowest passer rating, 64.9, a statistic he says doesn't concern him because he cares only about winning. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions.

        “He's poised. He's got good leadership ability,” Brown said of Kitna. “He has not had an easy assignment.”

        Smith, who lost his starting job after Game 10 last season, had been rumored to be headed to the Houston Texans in the expansion draft. Brown said last week that Smith might get a chance to play this season if the Bengals fall out of playoff contention.

        “What we want to see is for him to go in and be poised, go through his progressions, throw the ball accurately, on time,” Brown said. “We want to see proper decision-making, and when things go a little awry, no overreaction to that.”

        Smith, on Thursday, said he was ready for the challenge. He said he has heard the rumors that he has poor study habits and isn't prepared to play. But, Smith said, he has made good use of his downtime this season, knows the new offense of coordinator Bob Bratkowski and is prepared to run it when called upon.

        “I don't know where these rumors are coming from,” said Smith, who has been in for only four plays this season, in a last-minute mop-up role at Cleveland. “I don't know if it's somebody in the organization trying to save their butts by saying that, or fans — they wouldn't know what I do at home. The coaches don't even know what I do at home.”

        Smith has watched the ironic twist of some Bengals' fans who wanted him benched last season now wanting him to see him play.

        “Me and Jon were just talking about it: You win and the quarterback gets all the glory, but when you're losing, they'll bust you down,” Smith said. “When things were going well for Kitna, everybody was like "We finally found our quarterback.' Now we're losing, and everybody is switching. OK, they wanted Akili out of there, now they want me back in. "Let's give Akili a shot. Put Mitchell in.' Make your mind up.

        “There's still a lot of mistakes out there being made by everybody — the running backs, wideouts, linemen — we're still making mistakes collectively as an offense that Kitna's taking all the blame for. If I get there, and the same mistakes are going to be made, I'm going to take the same heat Kitna has been going through.”

        The criticism of Smith not being mentally ready to play was fueled anew by broadcast reports that he should have been under center at Cleveland two weeks ago when Rich Braham's snap flew over Smith's head. Braham tried to adjust mid-snap when he realized Smith was in the shotgun formation.

        “I was supposed to be under center. I take full responsibility for that,” Smith said. “That wasn't Richie Braham's fault. I should have been there.”

        Bratkowski, who's in his first year with the Bengals, was for the past two years wide receivers coach in Pittsburgh, where quarterback Kordell Stewart struggled and was in and out of the lineup.

        But Stewart has blossomed in his seventh NFL season, leading the Steelers to a 9-2 record by completing 61 percent of his passes and throwing more touchdowns than interceptions.

        “The problem is everyone wants the high-round picks to step in and play right away,” Bratkowski said. “The lights have gone on and everything's slowing down for (Stewart). The same thing could happen for Akili. It could be seven years. It might be two years. You look at the guys who hang in there and make it, it's four, five, six, seven years down the road. To blow them off early and say they'll never do it is not fair.”

        Bratkowski also said Smith handled the demotion to third string well. He has asked good questions about the offense in meetings and watched the game film he is supposed to.

        “He has been mentally ready every week,” Bratkowski said.

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