Last year's starter, Jon Kitna, faces his toughest competition from newcomer Gus Frerotte. | ZOOM |

        The biggest question about the 2002 Bengals on the eve of training camp is the biggest question about the Bengals almost every year. With apologies to Abbott and Costello: Who's at quarterback?

        The question is no laughing matter to the Bengals. Inconsistent play from a series of quarterbacks has been a major contributor to the team's 11-year playoff drought, worst in the NFL.

        Bengals coach Dick LeBeau wants to establish stability at quarterback — something the team hasn't had since Jeff Blake was coming off his 1995 Pro Bowl season.

        Jon Kitna, who started 15 games in 2001, will return as the No.1 quarterback, but he will face competition from free agent signee Gus Frerotte during training camp and, possibly, Akili Smith.

        Sound familiar? Scott Mitchell was the third quarterback in a three-man derby last year with Kitna and Smith.

        “The players have to help me make a decision by their productivity on the field,” LeBeau said.

        This year, though similar in some ways, will be different.

        “We went 3-3-3 (in practice snaps) last year. This year it will be more like 2-2-1,” LeBeau said of a rotation that will split snaps between Kitna and Frerotte. “I want to see how Akili is physically, and if he's OK, we'll put him in there with the other two. I think we're stronger at that position than we were last year.”

        Smith is expected to be cleared Wednesday for 100 percent participation in training camp. Smith is recovering from December surgery to repair a torn hamstring suffered in his only 2001 start.

        LeBeau took some heat last year for giving Kitna, Smith and Mitchell one preseason start each before deciding on the starter. Kitna was named less than two weeks before the Sept.9 opener.

        “It could have been a factor in Jon not getting off to a better start,” said LeBeau, although Kitna had two touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 2-0 record after the first two games.

        “I don't beat myself up about it. I made a plan. I made a commitment. I gave my word to those three men and stood by it.”

        LeBeau gave his word to Frerotte that he would be given an equal shot at the job when he signed a one-year contract with the Bengals before the May minicamp. Even though LeBeau has made his position clear that the job is up for grabs, Kitna said he will have a different attitude than last year.

        “I'm not coming to camp to compete for the job,” Kitna said. “I'm coming to camp to get ready for the season.”

        Kitna helped his cause with his performance in the final two games of 2001, victories over Pittsburgh and Tennessee in which he threw for 751 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. with 12 touchdown passes, 22 interceptions and a league-low 61.1 passer rating for regular quarterbacks.

        The team averaged an NFL-worst 14.1 points a game. The Bengals' 26 interceptions thrown were the most in the league. Their 4.90 net yards per pass play were second-worst in the league ahead of only Carolina. And their 10.22 yards gained per completion were lowest in the AFC and fourth worst in the NFL.

        “We want to keep production of the offense where it was the last two games,” LeBeau said of the stretch in which the Bengals scored 49 of their 226 points. “There's no reason we shouldn't be able to.”

        Frerotte is a serious candidate to win the job. The Bengals simultaneously pursued him and Kitna in free agency in March 2001.

        In 1996, two years after he was a seventh-round draft pick by Washington from Tulsa, Frerotte started all 16 games for the Redskins and made the NFC Pro Bowl team (even though his name would be misspelled on his all-star game jersey).

        He set career highs in almost every statistical cate gory: passing yards (3,453), pass attempts (470), pass completions (270), completion percentage (57.3), passer rating (79.3) and fewest interceptions (11). He had the second-lowest interception rate in the NFL that year (2.3 percent).

        Frerotte also has 61 NFL starts, compared to Kitna's 48 and Smith's 16.

        Whoever plays quarterback will have both new and familiar talent at his disposal. Three-time Pro Bowl running back Corey Dillon will return after what might have been his finest all-around season. So will third-year receiver Peter Warrick, who had a team-high 70 receptions.

        Michael Westbrook takes over the No. 1 receiver spot from Darnay Scott, who was released. The top two tight ends are new: second-year player Sean Brewer, injured last year, and rookie Matt Schobel. And rookie left tackle Levi Jones, once signed, should challenge Richmond Webb for playing time, if not the starting job.

        The Bengals defense also is expected to improve on its No.9 ranking last season.

        But all eyes will be on the quarterback position, where seven players have had the chance to secure the job in the past five years, and, with the exception of Boomer Esiason, who retired, not one has.

        The Bengals' pass offense last year was better than the year before, jumping from last to No. 23 with 193 yards a game. More production is expected in 2002 because Kitna and most wide receivers have a year of experience in coordinator Bob Bratkowski's offense.

        “You can't boil it down to just numbers,” Bratkowski said when asked how a starter will be determined. “You have to take into account how the team is being managed, who gives us the best chance to win the first game.”

        E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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