Hello, and welcome to this year's virtual awards banquet. I made
the playoffs in both of the leagues to which I belong, but no paydirt
this year. Oh well, it gives others hope. Now, on to the celebration:
2000 Fantasy Pro-Bowl Team:
Quarterback
Daunte Culpepper: Won by a close but clear margin. Led the league
in TD passes, not to mention his running threat. I counted only one
clunker game all year. Runners up: Manning, who is again only the
second best quarterback in the league; Garcia, who was splendid (fantasy-wise)
and Kurt Warner, who would have easily won again were it not for the
injury. Rams qbs combined for 37 touchdowns and over 5000 yards. Too
bad this feat was matched by the Rams-D.
Running Backs
Breaking with tradition, I am selecting three instead of the usual
two. Marshall Faulk is way in: Despite injury, he made, I mean Made,
many Superbowl Champion teams. The "second" spot is a tie
between Edgerrin James and Eddie George. When I looked at stats alone,
James was superior, but not by much. Eddie George had nearly as many
receiving yards as James this year (a testimony to a Titans offense
that can only throw the ball 3 yards downfield). On stats alone, I
would have given it solely to James, but there were some intangibles.
As the season closed and in the playoffs, in every crucial game James
underperformed, and George overperformed. Way to go, Eddie. Robert
Smith stayed injury free (at least during the fantasy season) and
was a close runner up.
Wide Receivers
First, the Mortal Lock: Terry Glenn. This stud receiver, spurned by
most owners in all leagues, powered my teams to the playoffs in both
leagues. His value as trade bait was outstanding, too. Okay, just
kidding. The real selections are Isaac Bruce and Randy Moss. Boring
selections, I know, but the numbers don't lie. Both receivers had
dud games but piled on yards and touchdowns. Close consideration was
given to Rod Smith, who had his once-every-three-years good season,
Torry Holt, Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison and Derrick Alexander,
of all people. And by the way, Terry Glenn did get over 1000 yards
and 7 TDs, so there.
Tight End
Tony Gonzalez. Absolutely no doubt about it. With Walls going down
with injury, there was no competition.
Kicker
Matt "Russell" Stover. Led the league in scoring. Enough
said. The only area where I draft very well is the kicker spot.
The 2000 Fantasy MVP
Marshall Faulk. Money. Money. He was the margin of victory for many
Superbowl victors. In every important playoff game, he just piled
on the numbers. Five touchdowns? No problem. 200 combined yards? No
problem. Emmitt Smith in my way? No problem. He won games during the
year which should have been lost. He wears his hat backwards. What
more can you say?
And Now... the Vaunted Jim "Name Concealed to Protect the Innocent
But You Know Who You Are"/Adrian Murrell All-Bust Team -- 2000:
2000 Fantasy All-BustTeam:
Quarterback
Can Jake Plummer be considered good enough to bust? Brad Johnson did
zero. McNown was worse -- all hype, no performance. (Rams Fan Note:
He looked pretty good on fourth down this week!). McNair sucks. But
the bust of the year at qb? Beuerlein (hey, note the correct spelling).
From Hero to Zero in nothing flat.
Running Back
Levens, Enis and Jamal Anderson get votes, but how about Ron Dayne?
I didn't expect 1,300 yards and 10 TDs, but talk about hype. He basically
sucked, with some good games sprinkled in. He gets the nod for ruining
my team.
Wide Receiver
Galloway, Westbrook and Robinson all qualify, but they are spared
humiliation due to injury. The bust of the year here goes to Keyshawn
Johnson, who put up ok numbers but basically fell off of the face
of the earth. Unless he played the Rams, of course.
Tight
End
Rickey Dudley. That is all.
Kicker
Can there be a bust in this category? We'll pin the bust on Todd Peterson,
who was drafted and signed as a free agent despite being unable to
hold a roster spot. Special consideration was given to the ghost of
Pete Stoyanovich.
Thanks go out to Mike at FFToday and all those who suffered through
this column. Hopefully, you'll get more of the same next year. By
the way, I have Kurt Warner, Curtis Martin, Marvin Harrison and Wesley
Walls in the keeper league I'm in, so the offseason will be fairly
enjoyable. Anybody want Ron Dayne?
