And just like that, they were gone.
The Scooters were hammered in the playoff semifinals, putting up almost nada beyond Pierre Garcon’s 22-point outburst. In a sickening series of misfortunes, the Saints’ Chris Ivory got injured in the second quarter after quickly piling up 47 yards (five points kick in at 50, then a point for every 10 yards after that) and the Chiefs’ Jamaal Charles was sunk by an emergency appendectomy to normal quarterback Matt Cassell, ending up with just 40 yards. The Broncos’ Kyle Orton put up a stellar MINUS 8 points, while the 49ers’ Michael Crabtree contributed a yard—yep, a single yard (that’s hard to do). Completing the Denver debacle, the Broncos put up exactly three points even though they were facing a horrific Arizona team playing a rookie free agent signal-caller.
Suffice it to say that the entire team imploded on the same day; it was just one of those matchups. Yet it can’t completely take the luster off a gutty season that saw an 8-5-1 record, a 7-2 division mark and a Central Division championship -- all despite losing seven starters for multiple games due to injury during the course of the campaign. Wow (luckily, I had a strong draft). So while I’m reduced to wondering what might have been possible with a fully stocked and healthy lineup, I’m still proud of the fellas.
Which means it’s annual (well, at least 2009 and 2007 as well) awards time. Giddyup.
The Annual Clemson Fast Start, Late Implosion Award: Eddie Royal, WR, Denver
Taking a flyer on Royal in the 10th round looked like a helluva move after he tallied 39 points in the first four weeks of the season. Orton was looking his way an awful lot and seemed to be a security blanket of sorts for the quarterback. Little could anyone have known that Royal would go on to score more than two points in only one other week the rest of the way.
Jim Kelly Annual Choker of the Year: Kyle Orton, QB, Denver
Last year’s Comeback Player of the Year is this year’s Choker of the Year; my, how quickly things change in fantasy football. Granted, Orton’s 42 points helped me earn a playoff berth in the regular-season finale, but he followed that up with a combined -10 points (-2 in the first round, -8 in the semifinals) in my playoff run. His disappearance was one of a few in the semis, but it was impossible to overcome at a position where you need around 20 points a week just to remain competitive.
Braylon Edwards Bustout Player of the Year: Kenny Britt, WR, Tennessee
Despite getting in bar fights, being criticized for immaturity from all sides and essentially acting like a bitch a lot, Britt was phenomenal once he got going this season. He racked up five straight games with a touchdown, capped by a 225-yard, three-score outburst before going down with a hamstring injury for a crucial six-week stretch. Which leads us to …
Bo Jackson “What Might Have Been” Award: Britt/Kevin Kolb, QB, Philadelphia
There is no telling the type of numbers Britt might have put up had he not torn his hammy—it is scary what he was doing up until that time. On the other hand, Kolb had the misfortune of getting concussed in the second quarter of the season, and even though he reappeared briefly after Michael Vick got hurt, he quietly disappeared yet again as Vick put up huge numbers. Had Kolb stayed healthy and put up the numbers that I—and most observers—expected, my team would have been almost insanely stacked: Kolb, Frank Gore, Jamaal Charles, Megatron, Britt, Pierre Garcon … wow. Yet because of the rotten Kolb luck, I had to deal Megatron for Orton and Michael Crabtree, which ended up getting me to the playoffs, but still, it is frightening to think of how loaded the Scooters might have been had the injury gods shone on us.
Darrell Jackson Honorary Clutch Player of the Year: Pierre Garcon, WR, Indianapolis
Garcon was a mystery most of the season, but his 22-point outing on the Thursday of my playoff semifinals matchup launched me into the weekend on a high note. Unfortunately, he was the only one of the Scooters who showed up for the ultra-important elimination game, but he was huge when it counted.
Mike Tyson Memorial Manic-Depressive Player of the Year: Orton/Michael Crabtree, WR, San Francisco
After a five-week start to the season that saw him post fewer than 30 points just once, Orton got on the rollercoaster just after I traded for him (not uncoincidentally). The next stretch went 14, 12, 24, bye, 44, 11, 42, -2, -8.
Similarly, Crabtree almost incomprehensibly had SEVEN weeks this year where he had exactly zero points—including the last two, which happened to coincide with my playoff games. Basically, this douche was going to get you 13 points or none, and you just could never tell.
Honorary John Avery Bust/Bitch of the Year: Marion Barber, RB, Dallas
It wasn’t all his fault, but Barber was an unmitigated disaster this season. The staff couldn’t seem to make up their minds when and if they wanted to use him, played favorites with Felix Jones and then relegated him to spot duty before he got hurt. Maybe I should have seen the writing on the wall, but then again, there’s a reason why Wade Phillips got shit-canned during the season.
Most Consistent Player, Sponsored By IRS: Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco
Sure, he got injured at the worst possible time for me, essentially ending my championship dreams, but Gore was a dynamo and a workhorse on a really bad team all season long. He was good for double-digit scoring essentially every week, and though he didn’t score as many touchdowns as one would like, he was a yardage machine all year long.
Curtis Enis Huge Disappointment Award: Vikings, D/ST, Minnesota
When the Minnesota defense/special teams was on the board in the seventh round and other Ds were already going off the board, I thought I landed a coup in the Vikings. Yet injury after injury devastated Minnesota’s back seven (and some migraines for Percy Harvin), turning them into an enormous fantasy liability. A couple of respectable late-season showings were timely, but overall, they degenerated into an unplayable defense at key stretches of the season.
Dan Marino Annual Best Draft Pick: Britt
I actually had a couple of good choices here, which is always a good problem to have for your team. I’m going with Britt because he went in the 11th round as my fourth wideout, and even with his inopportune injury, emerged as one of the more dynamic receivers in the NFL when he was healthy.
Honorary Ryan Leaf Worst Draft Pick: Kolb/Barber
Again, there were extenuating circumstances in both of these situations, but the harsh reality is that this dud duo represented my fourth- and fifth-round picks. I overcame both crappy selections with some nice later-round pickups, but the whole what-might-have-been question raises its ugly head with these guys.
Jim Jensen Unsung Player: Zach Miller, TE, Oakland
He was simply not the same after he suffered a foot injury he tried to play with for weeks, but he had a tremendous five-game stretch early in the campaign that saw him put up 65 points—stellar for a tight end. He totaled exactly six points the rest of the way (ouch), but he joins a long line of Scooters players who were in the midst of stellar seasons until injury waylaid them.
Eugene Robinson Solicitation’s Lesson Learned Player: Reggie Bush, RB, New Orleans
I loved the selection of Bush in the eighth round as my fourth running back as a hedge against Barber. Based on receiving yardage alone, he was worth the pick, and considering how hard he ran at the end of the Super Bowl championship year, I figured he’d get more of an opportunity in traditional sets in 2010. Unfortunately, any and all plans for Bush were ended when he broke his leg in Week 2. All in all, 2010 is not going to be a great year for Bush to look back on—on any level.
Jamaal Charles Waiver Wire Pickup of the Year: Chris Ivory, RB, New Orleans
I snuck Ivory off the waiver wire late in the regular season without any other owner claiming him, which is incredible in our league. He responded with four touchdowns in two weeks for the Scooters, giving my squad a vital boost at a crucial time. Unfortunately, he got hurt after getting off to a great start in the semifinals, yet another Scooters performer to fall victim to the injury curse at the worst possible moment.
Ivory’s ascension was huge at a most important time, which narrowly edged him out over Miami kicker Dan Carpenter. With 10 field goals in a two-week span, Carpenter was a fantasy beast for most of the season, and since his acquisition coincided with the loss of San Diego’s Nate Kaeding due to injury, his was a vital pickup for the Scooters.
Brian Urlacher Team MVP: Jamaal Charles, RB, Kansas City
I scooped Charles off waivers late last year (hence the name of the award above), then made him my third-rounder this year. Despite some rather mind-numbing delegation of carries with Thomas Jones (especially early in the season), Charles was nothing short of beastly all year long. He ripped off yardage on the ground and through the air every week, despite a head-scratching lack of touchdowns. Of course, like the rest of the team, he went into the Scooters’ Bermuda Triangle in the semifinals, but that can’t take the luster off what was a tremendous season for Charles.
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