BALTIMORE - As the Bengals persevered to their 12th non-winning season in a row Sunday, it was good to know they "met the adversity" against the Baltimore Ravens. "That's a sign of progress," decided Dick LeBeau, the coach.

"I'm proud of the guys, the way they kept fighting," said LeBeau. The Bengals came here and lost by only 11. Miracles never cease. "If we keep growing, we're going to win our share," LeBeau added.

The coach didn't elaborate as to what their "share" might be, though with a few more gallant shows like the one Sunday, they might get all the way to three wins, or four. Five Ws would be positively Valley Forge-like.

The way LeBeau spoke of "handling adversity," you'd have thought some terrible natural disaster befell his men. "Bengals Rally From Hurricane to Keep Ravens Close!" You'd have believed they overcame a terrible affliction that had nothing to do with their own performance.

"Bengals Persevere Through Smallpox Epidemic; Players Get Vaccine at Halftime."

It's like smacking your head silly with a hammer, then praising yourself for overcoming the headache.

"The situation our players were in," LeBeau continued, "I think they did the types of things that you have to do to win at this level."

Great. One small problem, coach: They didn't win.

They were down 18 until 2:28 remained, when they scored a meaningless, cosmetic touchdown. Another large running back ran through them like rain through watercolors. It had been Jerome Bettis and Eddie George. On Sunday, it was 235-pound Jamal Lewis.

What if Corey Dillon played for the Ravens? Think of the possibilities.

Against a team they needed to defeat to convince anyone they could "handle adversity" and "make progress," the Bengals were beaten and beaten up. Yet, according to the coach, his troops "(kept) coming back (and) making plays."

They also allowed a rookie return man to gouge them for 201 yards and a 95-yard TD. But they were hard-fought yards, against a stiff Bengals line of steady progress and adversity-handling.

OK. We understand what LeBeau is doing. He's trying to keep his team from total meltdown. He thinks if he smacks the dog too hard, it won't hunt. Not that it's hunting much, anyway. It's too busy overcoming adversity and fighting hard.

"He's just trying to be positive," Brandon Bennett explained. Otherwise, some players might "start tuning him out, shutting it down for the year."

Yeah, that would be awful.

"Sometimes, morally, you've got to find something that's good," Lorenzo Neal said. "We scored points, we played with passion."

Point taken. But how bad is it when, week after year after decade, the best you can say about yourselves is you played hard? Another noble L for the scrappy local 11. And those are the good weeks.

The Bengals should have lost by more than 38-27. A goofball rookie safety cost the Ravens points when he started celebrating an interception return 6 yards shy of the Cincinnati end zone. The Bengals freed Jeff Blake. He answered their kindness by fumbling on first down on the Bengals 1. It could have been 52-27. What a progress opportunity that would have been for our adversity-overcomers.

Here's what ought to happen, but won't:

At the end of another Hindenburg season of making progress, Dick LeBeau should stand at the podium and tell the truth. Which is:

Management won't go the extra mile to sign quality free agents at crucial positions. Management's meddling interferes with the coaches' ability to coach. Management needs to fire some people who are clueless and hire some who aren't, starting from the top and working down. Management needs to add to the locker room more character and fewer characters.

LeBeau, a good man in an impossible job, ought to keep his dignity, if not his sanity, and not offer any more praise for trying hard. It sounds lame. Then again, 38-27 did bring us back to normalcy. Another couple Sundays like last week in Houston and we'd be worrying about the future of the world.

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