By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

AP Photo Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl MVP Ray Lewis raises the Super Bowl trophy as he addresses the crowd during the festivities following the Ravens parade in Baltimore.

The Titans and Rams in 1999.

The Giants and Ravens in 2000.

The Patriots in 2001.

The 2002 Bengals?

Is this franchise, which has suffered through 11 non-winning, non-playoff seasons, poised to become the NFL's next team to make the one-year climb from the outhouse to the penthouse?

Well, maybe.

The league's past three champions were a combined 17-31 the year before they won the Super Bowl. The Rams were 4-12 in 1998; the Ravens were 8-8 in 1999; and the Patriots were 5-11 in 2000. Of course, no team, with the possible exception of the Rams, had been bad as long as the Bengals, who were 6-10 last season after two consecutive 4-12 finishes.

Since their last playoff game, the Bengals are 53-123.

But recent history shows that the team's strengths - the running game and rush defense - are the same ones the Titans, Giants and Ravens all rode into the Super Bowl.

With Pro Bowl tailback Corey Dillon working behind a veteran offensive line, the Bengals are capable of controlling the ball.

And with an aggressive, fast defense determined to improve on its No. 9 league ranking of a year ago, the Bengals have proven they can stop the run.

But even teams that run the ball well and stop the run need productive, not spectacular, play from a quarterback to win. Think Steve McNair in Tennessee, Kerry Collins with the Giants and Trent Dilfer when he was in Baltimore.

After failing to sign the real Dilfer in free agency in March, the Bengals turned to Gus Frerotte and are hoping that he can be this year's model: the quarterback who makes few mistakes and does not lose games.

They tried another free agent, Jon Kitna, last season, and he threw 22 interceptions compared to just 12 touchdowns. He was an upgrade but made too many mistakes, especially in the second half.

"If you are a young, inexperienced team that has fallen on tough times and you want to get back in the hunt, that (combination) is the easiest, surest way,'' said Floyd Reese, general manager of the Tennessee Titans. "Solid defense and running the ball, those are the cornerstones.''

They were the cornerstones of the 1999 Titans, who featured tailback Eddie George (1,304 yards) and allowed fewer than 16 points a game in three AFC playoff victories.

Reese was a defensive coach for 17 seasons, and the Titans' head coach, Jeff Fisher, also was a defensive assistant.

That background is one they share with Bengals coach Dick LeBeau, a career defensive assistant until being promoted three games into the 2000 season.

"Defensive coaches tend to think alike,'' Reese said. "They like to run the ball.''

Ravens' reign

In 2000, another of the Bengals' division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, employed the same formula to roll into the Super Bowl.

Rookie tailback Jamal Lewis ran for 1,364 yards. The Ravens defense allowed just 165 points in the regular season, a league record.

Baltimore improved from 8-8 to 12-4.

"I'm from the Bear Bryant school of football,'' Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens vice president of player personnel, said of his college coach at Alabama. "If you can run the football, it allows you to pass and keep your defense off the field.

"And if you can stop the run, you make the opposing offense one-dimensional.''

Rush to glory

In 2001, the Bengals dropped to a tie for 18th in the league in rushing, down from second in 2000 and a tie for sixth in 1999.

The run philosophy has proven successful in Cincinnati. The more Dillon carries the ball, the better the Bengals' chances of winning.

In Dillon's five-year career, the Bengals are 17-9 when he has 22 or more rushing attempts, 10-2 when he rushes for 125 or more yards, and 13-9 when he has 100 or more yards on the ground.

When the Bengals fall behind, Dillon touches the ball fewer times. They pass more often, which is not their strength.

"Corey is one of the top handful of running backs in the league, and their offensive line is as mature and stable as any they've had there in the past 8-10 years,'' said Tennessee's Reese, whose Oilers-Titans teams played the Bengals twice in each of his first eight years as general manager.

Now in different division, the Titans and Bengals play just once this season, Oct. 27 at Paul Brown Stadium.

Stop the run

The Ravens are still division rivals of the Bengals in the AFC North, along with Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The entire division is built on running the ball and stopping the run.

The Bengals' defense was 11th against the run last season, at 104.7 yards a game. And the 302 yards allowed a game were the lowest by a Cincinnati defense since 1983.

Overall, the Bengals' defensive ranking jumped to No. 9. It had come up from six consecutive bottom-third rankings, no higher than No. 22.

"What people fail to realize is we suffered through growing pains with our young linebackers in '97, '98 and '99,'' said Baltimore's Newsome. "The continuity they have on defense with (LeBeau) drafting the linebackers (Takeo Spikes and Brian Simmons) and letting them develop under (linebackers coach) Mark Duffner - they know the system.''

Around the league, player personnel directors are impressed with how the Bengals have assembled their defensive front seven.

Their linebackers - Spikes, Simmons and Steve Foley - all were drafted in 1998. The Bengals finally have found a place for their top 1997 pick, Reinard Wilson, at defensive end, working opposite last year's No. 1 pick, Justin Smith. Wilson and Smith teamed for 17.5 sacks in 2001.

Good defenses have a star pass rusher. The Titans had rookie Jevon Kearse in 1999. Michael Strahan emerged as a top pass rusher in the late 1990s. The Smith-Wilson combination is the threat in Cincinnati.

Tackles Oliver Gibson and Tony Williams anchor the Bengals' defense. They keep interior linemen occupied and away from the ends and linebackers.

Free agents help

Gibson (Steelers) and Williams (Vikings) were free agents. So were defensive end Vaughn Booker (Packers) and starting cornerback Jeff Burris (Colts).

On offense, at least five Bengals starters this season were acquired as free agents: quarterback Frerotte (Broncos), fullback Lorenzo Neal (Titans), wide receiver Michael Westbrook (Redskins), left guard Matt O'Dwyer (Jets) and left tackle Richmond Webb (Dolphins).

Making over their roster with free agents was a tactic used by the Giants in the late 1990s, when they went from 7-9 in 1999 to 12-4 and the Super Bowl. New England did much the same in leaping from 5-11 to 11-5 and last season's Super Bowl title. Bill Belichick signed 17 veteran free agents after the 2000 season.

"We changed the makeup of the team,'' said Ernie Accorsi, general manager of the Giants since 1998. "We had too many people here in 1999 who didn't enjoy playing football.

"We brought in people who rekindled the enthusiasm of our football team. We changed the attitude of our team.''

LeBeau has said the Bengals have done the same.

The Giants also re-established their running game in their Super Bowl season. Tiki Barber, who was drafted in the same round as the Bengals found Dillon, Round 2 in 1997. Barber had his first 1,000-yard season in 2000.

Don't forget QBs

New York also brought in a free agent quarterback, Collins, who had struggled in Carolina and New Orleans.

The Bengals are hoping they've finally found their quarterback in Frerotte - like Collins, a well-traveled player who has known both the ups and downs of NFL life.

"We didn't want to put an enormous amount of pressure on our quarterback,'' Accorsi said. "You can't be putting a quarterback in third-and-20 situations.

"No doubt, the best way to get there is a Hall of Fame quarterback, but they're not that many - (Brett) Favre, (Peyton) Manning, maybe (Donovan) McNabb. But if you don't have one of them, you better be able to play defense and run the ball.''

Collins did have a big year in 2000, throwing for 3,610 yards with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. In Baltimore in 2000, Dilfer and Tony Banks combined for 20 TDs, 17 interceptions and 3,080 yards passing.

But Tennessee's McNair, who started just 11 games in 1999 because of injuries, had 12 touchdown passes, eight picks and 2,179 yards passing.

Frerotte's best season was 1996 with Washington, where he had 3,453 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions - numbers he is capable of duplicating for the Bengals.

Few teams are skilled enough - and lucky enough - to assemble a quarterback the likes of Kurt Warner and three or four premier wide receivers. That's the recipe for success in St. Louis, but not too many other places.

Parity rules

Warner's Rams and Vikings are the only two of the last 16 final four NFL teams to repeat a conference championship game appearance.

In the AFC, home of the Bengals, there have been no repeats in the title game the past four years.

"Everybody's got a chance,'' Accorsi said. "(The Bengals) are that kind of team. They are a lot like we were. They've gotten to the point where they are competitive on the field.''

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com