| Fantasy Football Picks That Hit the Target | ||
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| 2007 NFL All-Star and All-Bust Teams |
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| Written by Phil Unwin | |
| Monday, 07 January 2008 | |
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Without further ado, my choice for the 2007 Fantasy All-Stars… QB: Tom Brady. Easy choice here: when you set a record for passing TD, and lead the league in passing yards, too, you’re not just a fantasy all-star QB, but the fantasy MVP. Brady’s VORP was higher than any other player, assuming a standard stat system, and a 10 team, 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR league. RB: LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook. Even in a down year, for him, Tomlinson was the best back in fantasy, and by a good margin: first in rushing yards, first in rushing TD, and in the top three in receptions, receiving yards and receiving TD. It’s those last three categories that give Westbrook an ever-so-slight edge over Adrian Peterson. Westbrook actually had more total yards from scrimmage than Tomlinson, and his 12 total TD were plenty respectable. WR: Randy Moss and Terrell Owens. Moss is an obvious choice. In fact, a friend of mine made a powerful argument that Moss was actually the league MVP this year (an award Brady is nearly certain to get), citing the twofold increase in passing TD for Tom Brady. I don’t agree with him, but it’s certainly an interesting argument. The second spot on the all-star team is a little tougher: Braylon Edwards, Owens, and TJ Houshmandzadeh are all worthy candidates. In fact, in a PPR league, Houshmandzadeh’s 112 receptions give him a points edge over the other two. However, I’m going for Owens, since his stats are nearly identical to those of Edwards, but came in 14 ½ games. TE: Jason Witten. Witten gets it by a sliver over perennial favorites Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, and perennial injury risk Dallas Clark. Witten was second among TEs in receptions and yards, and tied for fourth in TD, and beats Gates by 4 points in a standard scoring format, and more in PPR leagues. K: Mason Crosby. Crosby led the league with 141 points, a 4 point edge over Steven Gostkowski. You can make a case for Gostkowski or Rob Bironas, given that both were more accurate on field goals, but Crosby’s edge in total points carries the day. Defense: San Diego. After a couple down years on defense, the Chargers made a triumphant return to the elite defenses. The Chargers led the NFL in turnovers by a wide margin, were fifth in sacks, tied for fourth in TD, and allowed the fifth fewest points. Honorable mention to the Colts and Patriots. And, what year-end recap would be complete without the flip side; the All-Bust Team? QB: Vince Young. In a league where many teams had a revolving door at QB, Young stood out as crippling his fantasy owners every single week. Young started every week but one, yet posted just a 9/17 TD/INT ratio. His vaunted running skills weren’t nearly enough to pull his lousy fantasy stats out of the fire: 395 yards rushing and 3 TD. Throw in the fact that he was probably one of the first 10 QB picked in your draft, and you have the definition of a bust. RB: Shaun Alexander and Rudi Johnson. This was, by far, the toughest category to pick, given the plethora of injuries at the position. In the end, these two provided the best (or worst) combination of injuries and ineffectiveness throughout the season. At least Ronnie Brown and Larry Johnson owners got a few weeks of big numbers, and had the opportunity to pick up replacements when they went down. Both Alexander and Rudi Johnson played most of the year (13 games for Alexander, 11 for Johnson), and barely ever did anything to justify their first round draft standing. Both were outplayed by guys on their own team; decisively in Johnson’s case. And yet, because of their impressive track record, their owners were often stuck playing them and hoping for a turnaround. WR: Marvin Harrison and Devery Henderson. It’s not Harrison’s fault that he was injured, but when a guy is a top 15 pick, and gives his owners a big bowl of nothing all year, that’s a bust. That’s doubly true when the guy in question has developed a reputation for durability and consistency over the years. As for Henderson, the spot could have just as easily gone to Mark Clayton or Vincent Jackson; all were players who should have had huge, breakout years, and were picked by fantasy owners to do just that, and yes, they wound up on the bench quickly, and were probably cut loose after a few weeks. TE: Alge Crumpler. Not a lot of great picks in this category; the tight end position pretty much held to form this year. Crumpler gets the dishonor of making the team, given the huge dropoff in his stats (780 yards in 2006, down to 444 this year, a 43% drop, and from 8 TD to 5). Unlike some others (Jeremy Shockey, Vernon Davis, LJ Smith), Crumpler didn’t have a serious injury as an excuse. K: Adam Vinatieri. It’s not that Vinatieri is a huge bust; there’s nothing to be ashamed of when you put 118 points on the board, but he was generally the first kicker chosen and picked by many owners in the middle rounds of the draft, yet he wasn‘t even a top 10 kicker in many formats. I’ll keep shouting this until at least one cow comes home: leave the kickers to last. Even if Vinatieri had a good season, it still wouldn’t have been worth passing up some of the potential bargains available in the middle of your draft. Defense: Miami. Well, an all-bust list wouldn’t be complete without at least one reference to the NFL’s worst team. The Dolphins were picked by many to field a top 5, or at least top 10, defense. Instead, they were one of the worst units in the NFL; they couldn’t stop the run, and their pass defense numbers only looked respectable because it was so easy to run on them. On the rare occasion that a team needed to pass against the Dolphins, they were able to do so with ease. |