Dick LeBeau yells onto the field. (Steven M. Herppich photo) | ZOOM |

        By all accounts, Dick LeBeau did not rant. But Bengals players raved about him despite Sunday's 31-16 loss to Miami in LeBeau's head coaching debut.

        What did LeBeau say before the game? Did he yell? Punch any blackboards? Invoke Knute, Woody or Vince?

        “He just said, "Go ahead and do it,'” tackle Rod Jones said.

        That's it?

        “He doesn't speak very loud, but he carries a big stick,” Jones said.

        LeBeau told the players to be professional and carry out their assignments.

FIRST DOWNS

LeBeau is the Bengals' eighth head coach since the team was formed in 1968. Here is how the previous coaches did in their first game:   • Paul Brown, 1968 (lost 29-13 at San Diego)   • Bill Johnson, 1976 (won 17-7 over Denver)   • *Homer Rice, 1978 (lost 21-0 at Miami)   • Forrest Gregg, 1980 (lost 17-12 to Tampa Bay)   • Sam Wyche, 1984 (lost 20-17 at Denver)   • Dave Shula, 1992 (won 21-3 at Seattle)   • *Bruce Coslet, 1996 (won 28-21 over Jacksonville)   *Took over during season

        For a while, it worked.

        “Coach LeBeau had a lot of impact,” halfback Corey Dillon said. “People around here are real hungry. We're fighting, and that's what we need.”

        Whether it was the emotion of playing for a new coach or just the desire to prove they're not that bad, the Bengals throttled Miami for nearly 30 minutes.

        “It was electric in here,” Jones said of Paul Brown Stadium. “That was what we've been working so hard for.”

        The crowd soured when Miami's Jason Taylor scored on his sack/strip/TD play just before halftime. But like Bogart and Bergman will always have Paris, the Bengals will always have the first 29 1/2 minutes of Sunday's first half.

        And LeBeau got some credit for that.

        “I think he handled everything pretty well,” receiver Peter Warrick said. “If we don't execute the plays, I don't care who calls the plays. We just have to make plays, that's the bottom line.'

        LeBeau seems to have had a calming effect on the operation. Bruce Coslet, worn down by losing, had gotten a short fuse in recent weeks.

        “I thought that the players responded very well to me all week,” LeBeau said. “I had no problem with how they reacted to me.”

        More than once, LeBeau said he was proud of his club.

        “We've had a pretty tough week around here,” he said. “I think the team pulled together, but what we've got to do now is sustain that. We've got to be able to handle adversity.”
       

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