Monday, August 26, 2002
Daugherty: Bengals QBs
Nod to Frerotte - for now
Good luck, Gus. As the Bengals' fifth opening-day quarterback in the last five years, as their 10th overall in the last 10 years, take some advice: Travel light.
Being a Bengals starting QB is like being an Avon Lady. Other teams, the good ones, draft a QB, give him some help and stick with him, or they sign a free agent that merits full confidence and ride him into a pretty sunset. The Bengals bring guys in and out like they're interviewing crime suspects.
All their QBs should be named Willy Loman.
Dick LeBeau will name his starter today. Since most of the decision-makers wanted Frerotte to win the job, he probably showed them enough Saturday night to take it.
“I think it's going to be very clear,” LeBeau said.
Yup. Until it's not.
To the Bengals brass, Frerotte looks the way a QB is supposed to look: Tall in the pocket, strong arm, reasonably accurate. Jon Kitna suffers from Tom Browning Disease — his fastball couldn't knock over a milk bottle from 10 paces — and Akili Smith tucks and runs too quickly and too often to meet their criteria.
Frerotte likely won the contest in the second quarter Saturday with that 16-yard out to Chad Johnson on a line. Meanwhile, Kitna missed nine of 14 throws, lobbed an interception and drew two penalties on himself. Smith was courageous and inspired. He also looked like Harrison Ford in The Fugitive.
So, probably, Frerotte is the guy. What happens when he throws three interceptions and loses a game? Do they stick with him or do they panic?
The problem isn't that Gus Frerotte can't get the Bengals past 7-9. The problem is, he probably won't get the chance. The first time he messes up and Cincinnati loses, the team will be flooded with questions about The Other Guy. Because the Bengals never hire a QB good enough to eliminate questions, this theme recurs more often than sex jokes in sitcoms.
Nothing reveals the shaky hand of Bengals brass like the way they've mishandled their quarterbacks. The last time the Bengals had even a .500 record, they had just one QB, no questions asked: Jeff Blake, in 1996.
Here's what should have happened: LeBeau should have named a starter in May. Kitna or Frerotte, does it really matter? Is one so much better than the other that such a long process was necessary?
Pick one early. Give him most of the work. Get him comfortable with the offense and cozy with his receivers. Eliminate any fracturing of the locker room by making it clear who's the starter.
Instead, the Bengals have no clearer a QB picture now than they had in May. Kitna was The Man coming into the game Saturday; now, he's not. Gus is. What if Gus implodes Sept.8? Who runs things then? Akili?
Lots of teams have QB questions — all but the good ones. St.Louis has no questions. Philly is set; so are New England, Miami, Oakland, San Francisco and Green Bay. They all know who their quarterback is. They all know what they're doing.
“You guys keep telling me it's coming to an end,” Kitna said of the competition.
It's not, though. It's just beginning. With the Bengals, it never ends.
Nothing changes but the faces. Travel light, Gus.
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Daugherty: Bengals QBs
