By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

INDIANAPOLIS - Unlike the draft, in which the Bengals say they will pick the best available player, free agency allows the club to target specific needs.

The free agent signing period begins Friday, and players who could help the Bengals will be on the market.

Although coach Marvin Lewis declined to name specific players who interest him - "It doesn't help us a bit to tell anybody about anything," he said - the Bengals are expected to seriously consider free agent upgrades on the defensive line and in the secondary.

Defensive ends Hugh Douglas of Philadelphia and Vonnie Holliday of Green Bay are top defensive ends on the market. One of Lewis' former Washington defensive tackles, Daryl Gardener, is available, too.

Expect the Bengals to make a run at Raiders defensive tackle Sam Adams, who is likely to be released this week for salary cap reasons. Adams, who played for Lewis in Baltimore in 2000 and 2001, visited Cincinnati last year as a free agent.

Cornerbacks Dre' Bly of St. Louis and Kevin Mathis of Atlanta probably will test the market, and former Bengals Pro Bowl cornerback Ashley Ambrose was released Friday by the Falcons in a salary cap move.

On offense, Arizona wide receiver David Boston and quarterback Jake Plummer are the two most attractive free agents at their respective positions, but both are unlikely to sign with the Bengals.

Help also might be available through trades. Eagles cornerback Al Harris, stuck playing behind Pro Bowlers Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent, might be interested in reuniting with his former position coach, Bengals defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.

Although Buffalo designated Peerless Price as its franchise player, the wide receiver from Dayton might consider coming home if a deal can be struck.

"We're doing our work right now," Lewis said. "Who are the best fits? Who are the guys that from Day 1 we'd be interested in? On Day 1 we approach their agents and representatives and get a few guys into town early on and go from there.

"We're going to try to fill some needs that way and supplement it with the draft picks."

Of course, the Bengals have some internal business to tend to during free agency. On Feb. 11, they designated Takeo Spikes as their transition player, giving them a seven-day window to match any offer sheet the linebacker might sign in free agency.

Spikes is guaranteed a one-year deal from the Bengals of $4.85 million, the average of the top 10 linebacker salaries around the league.

The market for linebackers might have climbed this past week when Atlanta re-signed Keith Brooking and gave him a $10.5 million signing bonus.

"I don't know if that affects much," Lewis said of the Brooking deal. "We'll see. It's a good thing for Atlanta and Keith. One way or another, it's going to set some sort of market."

Regardless of the position, Lewis is looking for some common traits in players he pursues.

"We've got to have better athletes," he said. "We've got to have guys who can think and run and be able to react and change and retain knowledge. We have to make sure we get guys with substance and character and some things we can count on."

Lewis said the Bengals are five or six players away from competing for the division title and making the playoffs - a number he does not consider unusual or unreachable.

"Most teams probably feel like they're in that situation," he said.

Including the $4.85 million offer to Spikes, the Bengals are roughly $9.1 million under the projected $74.8 million salary cap.

"We don't have a great deal of space, and we got to make sure we're right," Lewis said. "We're not going to get ahead of ourselves because there is an affection there. It has to be the right fit."

Lewis' job is to work with the front office in putting a value on individual players.

Last year, the Bengals put value on cornerbacks - re-signing their own free agent, Artrell Hawkins, and luring Jeff Burris from Indianapolis. Burris was ineffective, but Hawkins continued to improve. The Bengals also re-signed another of their own, defensive end Reinard Wilson, who led the team with nine sacks in 2001. He had none in 2002.

The 2001 free agent class has been more productive for the Bengals. It produced starting quarterback Jon Kitna, defensive tackle Tony Williams and fullback Lorenzo Neal - who appears willing to sign a new free agent deal with the team because of Lewis' hiring.

Despite state-of-the-art Paul Brown Stadium facilities and Lewis' hiring, the Bengals are fighting to erase their tight-fisted reputation and their losing stigma.

"It's opportunity that you're selling," Lewis said when asked if he could sell the Bengals to free agents. "I think we can provide the opportunity for them to showcase their talents and become a better football player and to help us win football games.

"Hopefully, we can fill some slots and make some positions competitive through free agency."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

They're available

Free agency will begin Friday. The Bengals aren't revealing which players interest them, but there are top free agents available at positions of need for the Bengals.

Player	Position	Team	Comment
Daryl Gardener	DT	Redskins	Had 52 tackles, four sacks and two fumble recoveries while playing for defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis last season.
Hugh Douglas	DE	Eagles	Top defensive lineman available, earned second All-Pro berth in 2002 with 12.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss.
Vonnie Holliday	DE	Packers	Active player with six sacks, one interception and four passes defensed last season.
Dre' Bly	CB	Rams	Had two interceptions and 54 tackles last season; is good at stripping ball from ballcarrier.
Kevin Mathis	CB	Falcons	Was productive in just 10 games, with three interceptions and 16 tackles.
David Boston	WR	Cardinals	Limited last season by knee tendon injury and had just 32 receptions; had 98 catches for 1,598 yards in 2001.
Jake Plummer	QB	Cardinals	Threw 18 touchdowns and 18 interceptions last season with 65.7 passer rating; Arizona trying to re-sign him; expensive.

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