OwnersBoxSports.com

So, we've come to the end of the Fantasy Football 2007 season and what a bizarre season it was. We normally see some surprises, both good and bad, but I don't think fantasy leaguers have ever experienced a season this unpredictable. We watched several top 10 picks disappoint and some players that were all but written off, come to the rescue of some fantasy teams.

My fellow writer Jets gave out his awards in our forum (check it out if you haven't already) and now it's my turn. I've based these on performance mixed with fantasy draft position. Those are the two factors that determine value to me and the better value you get; the more likely you are to win it all.

Fantasy Player of the Year: Tom Brady
I think Brady is the consensus choice of every sane fantasy owner for player of the year. Teams with Brady at the helm rarely missed the playoffs.

Fantasy Bust of the Year: Travis Henry
Three guys came to mind for this award. The other two nominees were Larry Johnson and Frank Gore. Gore at least showed some signs of life towards the end of the season so he was out. My colleague Jets called LJ's demise from the beginning of the season and the only reason he doesn't get this "honor" was because of his risk factor. So, I give this to Henry who very few, if any, projected as a potential bust. After producing very well for the Titans in 2006 and going to the RB factory known as the Denver Broncos, he has no excuse for such a pathetic performance. He didn't even finish in the top 30 in most leagues. For weeks 1, 2, and 4, he amassed nearly 400 yards rushing. He had 691 for the 11 games he played in. That's an average of 36 yards in the other 8 games.

Comeback Player of the Year: Jamal Lewis
Jamal Lewis went as late as the 7th round in some leagues I was in and turned out one of the best performances in his career. He finished the season as a top 10 RB.

Best Surprise of the Year: Ryan Grant
When the season started, fantasy owners spent roster spots on Vernand Morency, Brandon Jackson and a few even picked up Noah Herron. No one even knew who Ryan Grant was. For the owners that were fortunate enough to pick him up, Grant put up #1 RB numbers and was a huge find.

The Tough Break Award: Ronnie Brown
Ronnie Brown came to life under the coaching of Cam Cameron. He showed everyone why the Dolphins spent a second overall pick on him in the NFL Draft. He was drafted in many leagues in the 3rd or 4th round and was the #1 fantasy RB for half the season. He then sustained a torn ACL and his season was lost. He looked to be on pace to be the NFL's top rusher and fantasy's top scorer next to Brady. At the pace he was on, in a PPR league, he would have finished with around 400 fantasy points.

POSITIONAL AWARDS

Fantasy QB of the Year: Derek Anderson
I've already given Brady his due, so I'm going a different direction here. This could have gone to Romo or Manning, but I'm choosing Anderson because he was a top 5 QB that was on most waiver wires at the start of the season. Romo would be my second choice as he was taken as late as the 11th round in some drafts, providing exceptional value to the lucky few that got him that late.

Fantasy RB of the Year: Adrian Peterson
Peterson was not even projected as a top 20 RB in most leagues and was picked up as a #3 or #4 RB by many owners. Playing with "starter" Chester Taylor, not a lot was expected. Peterson displayed extremely rare ability and made every team that passed on him in the draft look foolish. He gave many fantasy teams a second #1 RB.

Fantasy WR of the Year: Randy Moss
After slacking in Oakland for two years, Moss decided that he liked being on the Patriots and decided to play this year. He showed the same ability he showed with the Vikings and was simply unstoppable in several games. Moss could have easily been the Comeback Player of the Year, but I'm giving one award per player.

Fantasy TE of the Year: Jason Witten
Last year, Witten caught only 1 TD. That lack of production sent Witten's stock way down. Those who knew what kind of talent he was and what kind of explosive offense he played on knew to target him and they were well rewarded. His 2007 performance was among the best in NFL history for TE's.

Fantasy K of the Year: Mason Crosby
This was very close call between Crosby and Folk, but Crosby gets the nod due to having more attempts. Some leagues that penalize harshly for missed attempts would give this honor to Folk. The oddest part of this is that both of these kickers are rookies and will more than likely, only get better.

Fantasy D/ST of the Year: Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings were drafted late in some leagues, and completely undrafted in others. They were one of the most explosive defenses in fantasy and made any team that had them nerve-racking to play against.

TEAM AWARDS
Each year, I'll name the two teams that helped and hurt fantasy owners the most.

Best Team for Fantasy: Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys were the #2 offense in the NFL, but they were the best offense for fantasy owners as they provided more studs than any other team. Romo at QB, Owens at WR, Witten at TE, Barber at RB, and Folk at K provided many wins for fantasy owners. Even their D/STs held it's own in many weeks; although, I would have preferred to see another version of Doomsday over the solid-yet-unspectacular performances they gave.

Worst Team for Fantasy: Cincinnati Bengals
That's right, it's not the Niners. I'm awarding this to the Bengals because they let the most fantasy owners down. Palmer finished with 26 TDs and over 4,100 yards on the season. Normally, that would be great for fantasy; however, he got 6 of those TDs in one game and 3 in week 17 when most leagues were done. During those two games, he threw for over 700 of his yards as well. So, without those two performances, you're looking at 17 TDs and 3,400 yards over 14 games. Palmer was the second or third QB taken in most drafts and those numbers certainly don't justify that. Then you come to "Oucho Stinko" Chad Johnson. Take away those same two games mentioned above and he has 4 TDs on the year (3 in one game). At RB, I warned everyone not to draft Rudi Johnson because he was inconsistent, but even I had no idea he would be this bad. Rudi gave his owners less than 500 rushing yards and 3 TDs. These three guys were all very high picks and severly underperformed. Even the Bengals' lone bright spot, TJ Houshmandzadeh, flamed out with a third of the fantasy season left. I won't even discuss the defense. The Owner of the Cincinnati Bengals needs to figure out how to fix this and soon. There is WAY too much talent on this team for this much underachievement.

So with these awards, I'm wrapping up my take on the 2007 season. I hope 2008 is easier to predict, because too many more years like this will make me go crazy! Don't forget to keep checking out OwnersBoxSports.com during the offseason. We'll be providing our insights to offseason moves, the NFL Draft, and all things football.