Lamont Thompson, second round draft pick. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna abruptly stopped signing autographs as he heard a handful of fans discussing the team's prospects for the upcoming season.

        “Thirteen and three?” Kitna repeated, turning toward a couple of young men chuckling at the odds of the NFL's worst team of the 1990s winning so many games. “You're laughing. I'm not.”

        That sense of confidence and optimism was rampant as the Bengals opened training camp with two workouts at Georgetown College on Friday.

        “We made some strides last year, even though we weren't happy the way the season turned out,” said wide receiver Peter Warrick, who had 70 catches for 667 yards. “We know we're not that far away from being a great team.

        “This is a young group of guys with a lot of talent who feel like they have something to prove. We've shown we can be a good team. This year, we want to be a great team.”

        The Bengals, who haven't had a winning record in the past 11 years, surprised even themselves when the entire squad — including all six of this year's draft picks — reported to camp on time.

        Their top two picks — offensive tackle Levi Jones and safety Lamont Thompson — agreed to contracts Thursday and participated in the team's first two workouts on Friday.

        It marked the first time since 1994 that the Bengals had their top two draft picks under contract at the start of camp. Last year, top draft pick Justin Smith missed all of training camp in a holdout.

        “As a left tackle, especially one coming in expected to play right away, you just can't miss any time,” said Jones, a 6-foot-5, 310-pounder who will compete with 13-year veteran Richmond Webb for the starting job.

        “I expressed my feelings to my agent that I needed to be in camp from day one to give me the best opportunity to play. Both sides knew I needed to be here, and we got it done. I had no doubt I'd be here today.”

        Coach Dick LeBeau said getting Jones and the other rookies in camp on time was critical for a franchise with a long, frustrating history of holdouts.

        “It's great,” he said. “I think it's indicative of the atmosphere around this club right now.

        “We want all of our football players thinking successfully, thinking playoffs. We know there's a lot of work involved, but that's why we're all here.”

        The focus of this year's camp, as it was last year, will be on the quarterbacks.

        Kitna beat out Scott Mitchell and Akili Smith in an open competition last August and led the team to two opening victories and a 4-3 mark through October.

        Then came seven straight losses on the way to a 6-10 season that again left team officials searching for answers.

        During the off-season, the team signed journeyman Gus Frerotte and promised him the chance to battle Kitna for the starting job, leaving Smith, the team's top draft pick in 1999, as the apparent odd man out.

        “I don't have any thoughts on a quarterback derby,” said Kitna, who threw for 3,216 yards and 12 TDs last year but finished the season as the NFL's lowest-rated passer. “My attitude is this isn't a competition. I'm preparing myself to be the quarterback for this team for 16 games.”

        LeBeau, however, stressed that both will get at least one preseason start before he makes a decision on a starter.

        “That's a good attitude for Jon to have, but he and Gus are going to get virtually equal snaps down here,” LeBeau said. “I think how Gus and Jon battle it out is going to be interesting to watch.

        “And we'll watch Akili and we'll give him his opportunity when we're sure that he's physically ready to take a full load.”

        Linebacker Takeo Spikes, the emotional leader of one of the NFL's stingiest defenses last season, said he hoped teams would continue to overlook the Bengals based on the team's futility over the last decade.

        “It's going to be a real productive season, especially if people keep taking us for granted,” said Spikes, who had a career-best 173 tackles and six sacks last season. “We have something really special going on here.

        “You can talk the talk all day, but the only thing that matters is wins and losses. I think you're going to see a lot more winning this season.”

Now signed, rookies work on delivering Bengals brimming with confidence Abnormal heart tests send Jackson to sideline Potential unfulfilled, Seahawks' Leaf retires

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