NFL’s Fantasy Football Awards

Here are InGameNow’s Fantasy Football Awards

Week 13 marks the end of the regular season for most Fantasy Football leagues. What better time to pass out this season’s Fantasy Football awards. We will hand out ROY, Sleeper of the Year, Bust of the Year, the best player at each position, and finally MVP.

Rookie Of the Year

Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears. Fantasy Football fans knew Forte was for real week 1, when he busted onto the NFL scene with 123 rushing yards and 1 td. Forte rushed for 1,012 yards in the first 13 weeks of the NFL season. Just as important, Forte has all ready seen the end zone 10 times. Chicago fans, and Fantasy Football GM’s involved in a keeper league, couldn’t be happier and this rookie’s performance.

Sleeper of the Year

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers. InGameNow would like to publicly apologize for calling Aaron “Erin” this preseason, our minds were made up that he would fail in trying to replace Hall of Famer Brett Favre. We couldn’t have been more bearish on Rodgers, and he has proven to be the 3rd best QB in the league this season. In fact, Aaron’s 212 fantasy points are only 14 behind Drew Brees, the top scorer in all of Fantasy Football. What helps IGN rest peacefully at night, Rodgers was the 25th QB drafted this season in Yahoo leagues. Rodgers was taken behind players such as Carson Palmer, Brodie Croyle, Tarvaris Jackson, and JaMarcus Russell. While Green Bay fans can’t be satisfied with the Packers poor performance, (and Brett Favre winning with the New York Jets), Fantasy Football GM’s are giddy with there late round pick up.

Bust of the Year

Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco, WR, Cincinnati Bengals. First of all, I am not including injured players in this category. The New England PatriotsTom Brady would obviously be the worst case example, but players who missed significant playing time, such as Joseph Addai, Marques Colston, and Laurence Maroney would be included in the hunt. I want a player who flat out sucked, and Ocho Cinco is the perfect example. Maybe I am bitter that Johnson is on my team (I did drink the “he changed his name, he is going to have a HUGE SEASON” Cool Aid) but this guy was horrible this year. Johnson was the 13th WR drafted this season, putting him as the 33rd player taken over all. He scored 61 fantasy points, ranking him 48th in scoring. Both Roddy White and Calvin Johnson have more than doubled Ocho Cinco’s output. For the year, Johnson has 428 yards and 4 td’s. Last year, Johnson had 442 yards and 3 td’s after THREE WEEKS. This guy needs to spend less time at Best Buy buying his coach Christmas presents, and more time in the gym.

Positional Awards:

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints. Brees is on pace to break Dan Marino’s record of 5,084 yards in a season. With a game left against the very porous Detroit Lions, Brees just might do it. This year, Brees has four 3 td games and one 4 td game. Considering he has done this with Marques Colston and Reggie Bush missing extended playing time, Brees is a lock to win this award. It should be pointed out that IGN recognizes the QB position is watered down this year, with Tom Brady being on IR, and Peyton Manning having a bad wheel.

Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta Falcons. In week 1, when Michael Turner rushed for 220 yards and 2 td’s, the only people more frustrated than San Diego Chargers fans, were Fantasy Football GM’s who passed on drafting Turner. Taken as the 17th running back, and 47th overall pick, Turner has truly come out of LaDanian Tomlinson’s shadow. With 1208 yards, 13 td’s, and 6 100 yard plus games, Turner has helped the Atlanta Falcons forget about Michael Vick.

Anquan Boldin, WR, Arizona Cardinals. Anquan Boldin edges out Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Jennings, Calvin Johnson, and Roddy White in a very tight race to be the top WR in the NFL. Boldin gets the nod for havnig the most points as a WR, despite the fact that he missed games due to a severe head injury suffered week 4. This season, Boldin has 942 receiving yards and 11 td’s in just 11 games. If Anquan had been healthy all season, he would have a realistic shot at being league MVP.

Tony Gonzalez, TE, Kansas City Chiefs. In what might be this season’s least sexy category, Gonzalez proves he is not over the hill at 32. Playing for a very weak Kansas City Chiefs team, Gonzalez has 73 receptions for 806 yards and 6 td’s.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Defense. Playing in the high scoring NFC South, Tampa Bay has scored the most points this fantasy season. What makes this impressive, is that the Bucs have the Carolina Panthers (9-3 this season) Michael Turner’s Atlanta Falcons (8-4 record) and Drew Brees’s New Orleans Saints (4th most points scored in the NFL this year).

Kicker- InGameNow does not see a difference between the top 8 kickers. They have scored between 116 and 110 points. In fact, the 14th best kicker has scored 100 points. This position is not important enough to earn an award!

Most Valuable Player

Kurt Warner, QB, Arizona Cardinals. Kurt Warner has lead the Arizona Cardinals to be the 2nd highest scoring offense in the NFL. Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald are the two best WR’s in the game. Warner is having an MVP caliber season, with 3741 yards, 24 td’s, and only 11 ints. Being drafted the 20th QB, and 113th player overall, Warner has beaten all expectations. Arizona’s only losses this season have been against powerhouses: the Washington Redskins, the New York Jets, the Carolina Panthers, the New York Giants, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Expect Warner to lead his team into to a playoff win this season, something that does not happen for the Arizona Cardinals.