NFL Fantasy Football Awards

By Craig Rondinone
SportsTicker Contributing Writer

The Grammys, Golden Globes and Oscars are not the only awards announced this time of year. Every year I hand out the RBTN Fantasy Football Awards to the best (and worst) players in fantasy football from the past season. Now normally I allow you, the fantasy football owners of the world and the devoted readers of my columns, to choose the winners and losers. But this year with how lopsided all the voting would have gone because the top guys in each category easily stood out, I figured I would save everybody the e-mail typing and just make the choices myself. Hope you do not mind. So without further adieu, here are this season's RBTN Awards winners!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Tom Brady, New England Patriots: You might as well call him Mr. Perfect, even though he did have the nerve to throw eight interceptions in 578 pass attempts. Brady singlehandedly won millions of fantasy leagues for people around the world. No player dominated football more than he did in 2007. It did not matter how injured your running backs were or how inaccurate your field goal kicker was if Brady was your fantasy QB. The man threw for 4,806 yards and 50 touchdowns, easily best in the league in both categories. The guy was so much better than other premier fantasy quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Carson Palmer that the advantage fantasy owners had was astounding. That sounds like an RBTN MVP to me.

WIDE RECEIVER OF THE YEAR: Randy Moss, New England Patriots: A change of scenery normally works wonders for a player's fantasy value, and you can double that when the player's new team is New England. Just ask Wes Welker owners. As soon as Moss donned a Patriots jersey he became Superman again, catching an NFL-best 23 touchdown passes while finishing second in the league with 1,493 receiving yards. Moss may have disappeared during the playoffs, but he was consistent during the regular season. In 14 of his 16 games he either had 100 yards or a touchdown, and most of the time he did both. Glad to have you back, Randy!

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Adrian Peterson Minnesota Vikings: This horse race was over by the midway point of the season. Even a knee injury and a couple bad games at the end of the year could not cost Peterson this award as he coasted home to victory. Peterson was not only first among rookie running backs with 1,341 rushing yards, but he was second overall in rushing, trailing only LaDainian Tomlinson. He could have won the rushing title if he did not get hurt. Peterson averaged 5.6 yards per carry, scored 13 touchdowns and added 268 receiving yards for good measure, and his 296-yard explosion against San Diego certainly set some fantasy league records for sure. Looks like a bright future ahead for A-Pete.

TOP TIGHT END OF THE YEAR: Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys: Bill Parcells virtually ignored Witten in 2006 when the talented tight end only had 754 receiving yards and one lousy touchdown. But new coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett found ways to get the ball into Witten's sure hands early and often this season, and No. 82 responded with 96 receptions for 1,145 yards and seven touchdowns all career highs. When fantasy owners get wide receiver numbers out of their tight end, it makes them happier than Donovan McNabb gets when he eats Chunky soup.

BEST DEFENSE OF THE YEAR: San Diego Chargers: No defense had more interceptions or takeaways than fantasy football's favorite lightning bolts. In fact, no other defense was even close. Led by All-Universe cornerback Antonio Cromartie, the Chargers picked off 30 passes. No other defense had more than 22 INTs. San Diego had an astounding 48 total takeaways. Indianapolis was second with only 37. And it was not like Shawne Merriman and his California cohorts slacked in sacks and fumble recoveries. The unit was ranked in the top five in those categories as well. This was a defense that looked lost earlier in the season when it allowed 30-plus points three games in a row, so fantasy owners are overjoyed that they turned things around.

TOP KICKER OF THE YEAR : Rod Bironas, Tennessee Titans: Vince Young should get as much thanks as Bironas for this award considering he was the one who engineered so many drives that stalled in field goal territory. Bironas' banner year consisted of a league-high 35 field goals, ranking third in points among kickers with 133, connecting on 89 percent of his field goal attempts and 100 percent of his extra point tries, and a remarkable record-setting eight-FG game which made fantasy football history. You cannot ask for much more out of your kicker if you are a fantasy owner.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars: Remember when all the Jaguars did on offense was run the ball? Remember when their receivers were the laughingstock of the league because of all the dropped passes? And remember how Garrard struggled so badly the season before that it looked like a given that Byron Leftwich would be the starting signal caller in 2007? My how things change. Garrard not only won the starting gig, but he was one of the most underrated quarterbacks in fantasy football, throwing 18 touchdown passes while getting picked off just three times. He completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,509 yards and would have easily broken the 3,000-yard barrier if not for an ankle injury during the season.

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers: Two years ago Big Ben was a Super Bowl hero. Last year he was a fantasy zero thanks to his motorcycle accident, his appendectomy and his tons of interceptions. And now this year the pendulum has swung back again in Roethlisberger's favor as the linebacker-sized quarterback lit up the scoreboard and the boxscores with 3,154 passing yards, 204 rushing yards and 34 total touchdowns. Pittsburgh has changed its ways offensively, relying more on Roethlisberger's aerial attacks and less on the famous pound-it-out running game. Roethlisberger owners hope this trend continues.
THANKS FOR NOTHING AWARD: Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks and Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs: 2007 will not go down in fantasy football history as the Year of the running back, and this non-dynamic duo symbolized the problems at the position. Alexander and Johnson were first-round choices in probably 95 percent of the fantasy drafts in the world, and most likely both were taken within the first five or six picks. So what did these franchise fantasy players give their owners? How about a combined 1,375 rushing yards, nine touchdowns, five 100-yard games and 11 games missed due to injuries. Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook beat those numbers (except for the games missed) all by himself. Alexander looked tentative and a step slow. Johnson looked like he had no room ro run thanks to an inexperienced offensive line and defenses that stacked eight guys in the box against him. Neither even had a 125-yard rushing performance, let alone anything in the 150-yard range. Question marks hover over both of their heads entering the 2008 season. Neither are top five locks like they were for this past year's fantasy drafts.