We’ve learned a lot in 2006

The NFL is a crazy place these days. Pittsburgh and Seattle, which met in the Super Bowl last February, now are struggling to stay relevant. The left-for-dead Tennessee Titans are proving that you can, indeed, build an offense around Vince Young. Carolina, one of the strongest-finishing teams in recent years, is starting a quarterback in Chris Weinke who has lost 18 consecutive games. And the Philadelphia Eagles have somehow found a second wind, even with team leader Donovan McNabb watching from the sideline.

There’s just no predicting what will happen next. A look at what some of us thought might happen and what actually did:

We thought the San Diego Chargers might regret trading away Eli Manning.

We learned that somehow they’re able to sleep at night, seeing as the swap got them Philip Rivers, Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding, all Pro Bowl selections.

We thought fans were increasingly sophisticated and informed in their Pro Bowl voting.

We learned that kicker Mike Vanderjagt got 62,042 fan votes. Now all he needs is a team.

We thought Vanderjagt might be the only guy who got votes for doing nothing. We learned three-time Pro Bowl pick Larry Izzo led fan voting as the AFC’s special teamer, even though he ranks eighth on the Patriots in tackles on punts and kicks and has neither forced nor recovered a fumble.

We thought that the Jets might be making a mistake in hiring 35-year-old Eric Mangini as coach, seeing as he seemed like little more than a baby-faced caddie to Bill Belichick in New England.

We learned that Mangini is actually an excellent coach, prompting New York headline writers to nickname him “Mangenius.” And he has the chance to do something with the Jets that Belichick couldn’t with the Patriots: lead them to the playoffs in his first season as coach.

We thought Tennessee was toast after losing its first five games.

We learned it isn’t. In fact, the Titans won five in a row and have a chance to finish 9-7, better than any NFL team that began the season that way. Never has a team made the playoffs after stumbling to an 0-5 start.

We thought if your offense generated only 98 yards in a game, you might want to burn that film.

We learned a team can still win that way. The Titans did last Sunday, beating Jacksonville by returning three turnovers for touchdowns. According to STATS LLC, the Titans are only the fifth team since 1970 to win despite gaining fewer than 100 yards.

We thought Joey Harrington had made a remarkable career comeback, winning five of his first six games as Miami’s starting quarterback.

We learned, after his Blutarsky-like 0.0 passer rating in last Sunday’s shutout loss to Buffalo, that he still has a lot to prove.

We thought the Raiders, like the other 31 NFL teams, were reasonably computer-savvy.

We learned from their shrieking news releases that they’re UNABLE TO TURN OFF THEIR CAPS LOCK.

We thought it would get easier by the week for Chicago to switch quarterbacks from Rex Grossman to Brian Griese.

We learned Grossman doesn’t give up easy. He’s coming off a career-high 339-yard passing performance and for the last two weeks has had a triple-digit passer rating. But he also has four games with sub-40 ratings, the most in the league.

We thought, in terms of the single-season scoring record, comparing LaDainian Tomlinson and Paul Hornung was comparing apples to apples.

We learned that Hornung’s long-standing record of 176 points was set in a 12-game season.

We thought that was even more impressive than the feat of Tomlinson, who broke the record in the 14th game.

We learned that if Tomlinson also kicked, just as Hornung did, and was merely average at it, he would have had roughly 251 points through the first 12 games -- 75 more than Hornung -- with 156 points in touchdowns, 54 in field goals, and 41 in PATs.

We thought protecting the football was key.

We learned being able to take it away matters too. Washington, for instance, has committed only 14 turnovers, tied for the fewest in the league. But the Redskins also rank last with 11 takeaways.

We thought Buffalo was only starting whatshisname at quarterback until it could find some whoshewhatsit to replace him.

We learned that J.P. Losman can really play. His rating was better than 140 in each of the last two games, with five touchdowns and no interceptions.

We thought the Saints were taking a big risk in signing Drew Brees, whose injury to his throwing shoulder prevented him from lifting his arm for part of the off-season.

We learned that Brees could wind up being chosen the league’s most valuable player and comeback player of the year.

We thought the New York Giants had a real home-field advantage.

We learned they do: a much bigger locker room. As for their record at the Meadowlands, the Giants have lost three in a row. Before that, they had won 11 of 13 home games.

We thought the star rookie running back from a certain Los Angeles university would take the league by storm.

We learned it was Maurice Jones-Drew, who will make his first start today.

We thought Reggie Bush was a running back who sometimes caught passes.

We learned it’s the other way around. In making his 84th reception last Sunday, he broke the league’s single-season record for catches by a running back, set by San Francisco’s Earl Cooper in 1980.

We thought this might be the year we’d see Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLI.

We learned we will.

In at least 15 of the commercials.

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sam.farmer@latimes.com

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When less is more

Last Sunday, Tennessee became only the fifth team since the merger (and second team this season) to win despite gaining fewer than 100 total net yards. The fewest net yards in a win since 1970:

*--* Date Team Opponent Total Net Dec. 8, 2002 Texans Steelers 47 yards Nov. 4, 1971 Vikings Packers 87 yards Nov. 6, 1977 49ers Falcons 97 yards Dec. 7, 2006 Titans Jaguars 98 yards Oct. 29, 2006 Raiders Steelers 98 yards

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Source: STATS LLC

Los Angeles Times