The Path to Perfection in Middos

The prophet Yeshayahu calls the flood "the waters of Noach," as if Noach himself bore some blame for it. The Sforno says Noach failed, on some level, to teach his generation to know Hashem. What could that mean for a man the Torah calls righteous? Then comes a contradiction in Chazal: "derech eretz comes before Torah," yet we daven that Torah should improve our character. Which comes first, and what happens when a person learns without the basic middos in place? It sheds light on what Torah can and cannot do for us.