Sunday, August 18, 2002
Bengals QBs
One's as good as the other
INDIANAPOLIS — It's not as if the Bengals are picking between DaVinci and Da Bears. Jon Kitna versus Gus Frerotte is a question of style, not substance. They're different kinds of quarterbacks — Frerotte throws fastballs, Kitna change-ups — but they produce about the same results.
Do you want Kitna, whose career has been spent in Bob Bratkowski's offense? Or Frerotte, who has started 15 games in the last four years?
Kitna, who could be a charismatic leader if he weren't throwing more interceptions than touchdowns? Or Frerotte, a quieter guy who in nine seasons has never thrown more picks than touchdowns?
Kitna or Frerotte? Mathis or Sinatra? Crest or Colgate?
Sly or Arnold? (Neither. Vin Diesel.)
The Bengals want an answer quickly. They were looking for hints Saturday night in their preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts. What they got was more indecision. If they base their pick on what transpired Saturday, they knew who they wanted before the game began. Because in the matter of Jon-vs.-Gus, Curtis Keaton had a heckuva night.
Before he fumbled, the third-year halfback ripped off runs of 7, 16, 5 and 5 yards, against Indy's first-team defense. In so doing, Keaton became a serious player in Cincinnati's ongoing QB chaos, moving ahead of someone named A. Smith on the depth chart.
Nobody stands out
As for the other guys ... Frerotte was OK. It was only partly his fault the interception he threw in the 1st quarter was returned 77 yards for a touchdown. Frerotte moved the Bengals well enough in the middle of the field. He threw a nice fastball down the middle for 10 yards to rookie tight end Matt Schobel, he smartly beat a Colts blitz by checking down to Rudi Johnson for 11 more.
Frerotte may have made some points. But he didn't produce any.
Kitna took the Bengals from their 32 to the Indy 10 late in the first half, completing six of eight passes. But just when you thought it was safe to open your eyes and watch him run the offense, Kitna threw one of those what-the-heck-is-he-thinking? passes he perfected last year. On 3rd-and-8 from the Indy 10, Kitna threw across the middle beautifully, to a Colts linebacker who somehow dropped it.
Compared to Frerotte, Kitna throws beach balls. But his effort did produce a field goal.
"Don't blow us up'
The Bengals have a chance to win more than they lose if their quarterback is better at throwing to his guys than to the other team's guys. They'd love a quarterback who can win games; what they'll take, for now, is one who won't lose any. As one team insider said, “The thing you want from Jon is, don't blow us up.”
What did Saturday offer, then, besides further confirmation that football in August is as satisfying as warm beer in Death Valley? Frerotte can make some throws Kitna can't: Deep outs, off his front foot, back across the field. Defenses will have to respect that. Kitna has better command of the offense.
Neither will make you forget Jeff Blake. Unless you already had.
Contact Paul Daugherty at 768-8454; e-mail pdaugherty@enquirer.com.
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DAUGHERTY: Bengals QBs
