Fantasy Offensive Rookie of the Year
After the season started with several solid candidates for this award, it ended with a clear-cut winner: Anquan Boldin. Here's the stats: 101 receptions, 1,377 yards, 8 TD's, 13.6 yards/catch, 20 receptions for 20 yards or more, 62 first downs, and the only consistent offensive player on a bad team in Arizona. This guy was drafted in the 2nd round, he wasn't even the first receiver taken by his team in that draft, he wasn't a receiver at Florida State (he was originally a QB, and when he was switched to WR he missed the entire 2001 college season with a knee injury), and he left his rookie season with a vastly improved resume. Here's what you'll see if you get a copy of that resume now: unanimously voted the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, record holder for most receptions by a NFL rookie wide receiver, and 3rd in the NFL for receptions for last season. Impressive as a description is an injustice when used for Boldin, and he's the winner of this award without debate.

Honorable Mentions: Domanick Davis, Andre Johnson, Byron Leftwich, Dallas Clark, Onterrio Smith, LJ Smith, Justin Gage, Jason Witten, Nate Burleson, LaBrandon Toefield, Tyrone Calico, Kyle Boller, Charles Rogers

Fantasy Defensive Rookie of the Year
After watching his draft stock fall and amongst fear that he might get lost in the shuffle of top-notch defensive talent in Baltimore, Terrell Suggs put together an awesome season. He led the Ravens, a team overloaded with defensive studs, with 12 sacks, a number that also ranks him 5th overall in the NFL for the season. If you were playing in a league with individual defensive players, Suggs was a nice player to own. He didn't gather too many tackles (only 19), he didn't pick up too many interceptions (1), but he added 6 forced fumbles to those sacks, and those numbers are enough to earn Suggs this award.

Honorable Mentions: Terence Newman, Dan Klecko, Marcus Trufant, Boss Bailey, Michael Haynes, Troy Polamalu, Tyler Brayton, Sammy Davis, Charles Tillman, Ken Hamlin

Fantasy Kicker of the Year
You might be able to debate this one a bit, but the numbers point to a winner in St. Louis: Jeff Wilkins. He was 27 of 29 under 40 yards, 8 of 9 from 40 to 49, and a perfect 4 of 4 from 50 yards and over. Kicking in a dome never hurts, but Wilkins got the job done on the road as well. I know Vanderjagt was perfect this year, and his leg can't be denied on most days, but the numbers give this one to Wilkens. In a league with traditional scoring, Wilkins put up 179 fantasy points this year, opposed to 171 for Vandy. Let's give it to Wilkens based on that alone, and if you really want to spend your time debating kickers then feel free.

Honorable Mentions: Mike Vanderjagt, Matt Stover, John Kasay, Gary Anderson, Jason Elam, Ryan Longwell, David Akers, Josh Brown, Paul Edinger

Fantasy Defensive Team of the Year
The year started off horrible for the Patriots. The team was drummed by Buffalo, 31-0, and the rumors were abound that this team hated their coach and would crawl through the season pouting about the loss of Lawyer Milloy and fighting to keep all comers out of the end zone. Well, guess we had that one a bit misjudged. New England put together a fabulous season defensively: ranked #1 for points allowed per game (14.9), ranked #4 for rushing allowed per game (89.6 yds/game), ranked #7 for total defense, and ranked #1 for traditional fantasy scoring with 208 points. If the Patriots go all the way, it will be on the back of their defense, and their efforts give them the award for this season's best Fantasy Defensive Team.

Honorable Mentions: Baltimore, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Miami, Kansas City, Tennessee, Dallas

Fantasy Tight End of the Year
Once again, the award goes to Tony Gonzalez. This guy has become the elite TE in all of football. He does it all for his QB and has been the best receiving option in Kansas City since he was drafted. Where do you want to start the comparisons? He was: #1 in receptions amongst all NFL TE's (71), #1 in yards amongst all NFL TE's (916), #2 in average yards per game amongst all NFL TE's (57.2; Shockey was #1 by 2 yards/game, and it would be unfair to consider him when you consider he missed 7 games this year), and he was #1 in the NFL amongst TE's for TD's scored with 10. With traditional fantasy scoring, he picked up 144 points this year, beating the #2 guy for that stat (Shannon Sharpe) by 25 points. Give it to Gonzo again, and he's likely to pick this award up for years to come.

Honorable Mentions: Shannon Sharpe, Todd Heap, Randy McMichael, Boo Williams, Alge Crumpler, Marcus Pollard

Fantasy Surprise of the Year
I'm giving this award in a positive light, because I'm sure many of you would consider Donovan McNabb's struggles a "surprise." So, in the spirit of awarding a player for stepping up without the support or belief that he could do it, this one goes to Quincy Carter. For starters, I don't want to consider any rookies for this one (they have their own damn award). Second of all, before you all bombard the Message Board with the "what about…" takes, realize this is a fantasy award. How many of you had any thought of selecting Carter as a QB for your fantasy squad during your preseason drafts? The guy wasn't even the firm starting QB when the season began! It didn't take long at all for Carter to assume the role of starting QB for Dallas, and he surprised many fantasy addicts by turning in numbers that ranked him as the #14 fantasy QB and the #24 overall fantasy player at the end of the season. #24 may not sound so good, but he's got plenty of names behind him that might surprise you, such as Ricky Williams, Edge James, Travis Henry, Stephen Davis, Marvin Harrison, Chad Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Hines Ward, and Marshall Faulk. Carter put up some good games and he managed to surprise every Dallas fan out there that was wondering when Bill Parcells was going to trade for Marc Brunell. This one goes out to Quincy, and he hopes to play well enough in the playoffs to earn the chance to surprise us again next year.

Honorable Mentions: Jake Delhomme, Santana Moss, Keenan McCardell, Darrell Jackson, Brian Westbrook, Steve Smith, Rudi Johnson, Anthony Thomas, Peter Warrick

Fantasy Bust of the Year
This is a tough one. There are a nice group of players out there deserving of this award, and it's hard not to sway towards any guys I had on my teams that spent all year screwing me over! I'm going to give this one to Plaxico Burress. For a guy with (a) such amazing talent, (b) a team that relies heavily on the passing game, and (c) two amazingly capable and talented WR's on the field with him (Hines Ward, Antwaan Randle El), Burress wasn't able to take advantage of any of those factors. He struggled to hold on to passes, he struggled to get open looks, and he struggled to become the player he is capable of being. 860 yards and 4 TD's is very disappointing for a WR that many were taking very early in the draft at the WR position. Burress gets the award this year, but I don't expect you'll see his name here again.

Honorable Mentions: Drew Bledsoe, Koren Robinson, Corey Dillon, Charlie Garner, Brian Griese, Eric Moulds, Trung Candidate, Willie Green, Rich Gannon, Josh Reed

Fantasy Wide Receiver of the Year
I'm sure many of you would love to debate this one, but it's hard to argue with Randy Moss and the numbers he has put up this year. Based on yards alone, you would go with Torry Holt, but this is a fantasy award, and we fantasy buffs are all about touchdowns. Moss ranked, amongst his fellow NFL WR's this year, as follows: #2 in receptions (111), #2 in receiving yards (1,632), #2 in yards per game (102), #1 in TD's (17), #1 in receptions of 20+ yards (27), and #2 for receptions of 40+ yards (6). The guy had a great year, and although he still battles with his "effort" demons, he's as solid a fantasy WR as you can ask for your squad. In leagues with traditional scoring, whether he was sporting the braids, corn rows, or blowout afro, he picked up 262 points for his owners. This beats out Holt by 26 points for the year, so let's give it to Moss. Hopefully he won't run us over for doing so.

Honorable Mentions: Torry Holt, Chad Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Marvin Harrison, Hines Ward, Derrick Mason, Santana Moss, Keenan McCardell, Darrell Jackson, Terrell Owens

Fantasy Running Back of the Year
If you like touchdowns, and I know you like touchdowns, then picking the winner for this one is easy. He only set the records for both rushing TD's in a season as well as total touchdowns in a season. Priest Holmes is a guy many of us passed on with our early draft picks this year, and we spent the entire season kicking ourselves for doing so. He was unaffected by last season's late hip injury, and he spent this year racking up huge numbers: 1,420 yards rushing, 690 yards receiving, 27 touchdowns, and 361 traditional fantasy points. That's about all you can say, except "I wish I would have taken him with that first pick!" Oh well, there's always next year (don't worry, I won't be taking him next year either!).

Honorable Mentions: Ahman Green, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jamal Lewis, Clinton Portis, Shaun Alexander, Deuce McAllister, Fred Taylor, Ricky Williams, Edge James, Travis Henry, Stephen Davis

Fantasy Quarterback of the Year
Great, yet another award up for grabs and I know my pick will get me plenty of hate mail. Sorry Indy fans, but Daunte Culpepper gets the award this year. At first glance you might wonder, "How did he come up with THAT pick?" Manning had 800 more yards, 4 more passing TD's, 5 less fumbles, and one less interception. Well, you have to add in the fact that Manning will only leave the pocket when he's got defensive ends tearing at his jersey. Culpepper put up some nice rushing yards once again this year (though they were not as big as seasons past). Here's how he breaks down: 3,479 passing yards, 25 passing TD's, 11 interceptions, 422 rushing yards (compared to Manning's 26!), 4 rushing TD's (for Manning, 0). The numbers are close, but with traditional fantasy scoring, Culpepper beats out Peyton by 13 points, and that's enough to take the honors. Well Indy fans, at least your guy is in the playoffs and is a favorable candidate to win an award he actually KNOWS he will receive and cares about, the NFL MVP trophy. But Culpepper's all-around game and great year give him the virtual trophy in this house.

Honorable Mentions: Peyton Manning, Matt Hasselback, Trent Green, Marc Bulger, Brett Favre, Steve McNair, Aaron Brooks, Brad Johnson, Jon Kitna, Jeff Garcia

Fantasy Overall Player of the Year
It's not going to surprise any fantasy owner that Priest Holmes is the winner of this award. Touchdowns are next to godliness, and Holmes did nothing but score TD's this year. He's going to put the trophy for this one right next to his other… wait, Rich Gannon stole the NFL MVP trophy from Holmes last year. I guess the trophy FFToday will be sending him will sit alone on top of his…. we aren't sending him a trophy? AT LEAST Holmes will get the respect he has earned amongst the fantasy head of this great…. you won't take him with your first pick next year? Well, Holmes is the winner. I'm sure he'll cherish it as much as the football he broke the season TD mark with. Thanks for tuning in, and I hope you had some of these guys on your team. If not, there's always next year!

Honorable Mentions: Ahman Green, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jamal Lewis, Daunte Culpepper, Peyton Manning, Matt Hasselback, Trent Green, Clinton Portis, Marc Bulger, Randy Moss, Brett Favre, Shaun Alexander, Steve McNair