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2008 Fantasy Football....Recap and Awards
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Updated: Tue 12/30/2008 11:49 am
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On many fronts, the 2008 Fantasy Football season will go down as the best ever. In WCOFF land, Poochie Bennish won the $300,000 grand prize by a grand total of 0.85 points. As was predicted four weeks ago, the crowning of our champion came down to the last play of the Packers/Bears week 16 game. The incredible balance and parity amongst the top fantasy football teams created a historic race to the finish. A race that had many fantasy players on the edge of their seats even if they weren't in the running. And the balance even extended  beyond the WCOFF. In one little old home league in New York, both semifinal games were decided by less than one point, coming down to Dawson and Akers on Monday Night Football. One team lost by 0.7 points and I'll give you all one guess on who lost by 0.1. And who says fantasy kickers don't matter?
So as we all reflect on this great season, what's in store for 2009? Clearly 2009 mocks will be the most varied set of predictions ever. There will be a camp of players that will consider '08 a fluke and stick with traditional selection strategies and there will be those that will rely on the trends of '08 as the new norm. This year, there was no LaDainian Tomlinson or Tom Brady running away with the scoring title. Instead, we see the top 6 scorers being QBs, of which all but Drew Brees and Peyton Manning could've been had after the 6th round. The balance of the QB position and the fact that there are enough serviceable ones around negates their early round value. That shouldn't change much even with their statistical dominance. What will be immensely interesting is the breakdown of the first few rounds. Positional top 20 scorers this year that weren't QB's were Matt Forte, DeAngelo Williams, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Maurice Jones-Drew, Thomas Jones, Anquan Bolidn, Brian Westbrook, Michael Turner and Roddy White. Only four of those guys had ADPs of top 20. Talk about a freak year. Is anyone really going to be comfortable spending pick #1 on any of these guys?
With this fantasy season in the books, it's time to give out some year end awards. In some cases, a clear cut winner could not be decided so the honor is being shared.
Fantasy Football MVP-
 DeAngelo Williams- What an interesting story. Highly regarded out of college by many fantasy experts, he actually had a great YPC average in his first years with the Panthers but never saw consistent goal-line touches with DeShaun Foster tops on the depth chart. But the combination of an improved offensive line and dedication to holding off James Stewart, Williams reincarnated into LT2 for the fantasy playoffs. 11 touchdowns in the last four weeks (20 total) and 30 points per game over the same stretch seals the deal.
Top Fantasy WR-
Andre Johnson - I'm sure I'll get some grief for this but I gotta give my boy a little love here. It's close but he gets the nod over Boldin, Fitzgerald, Little TO and Moss. 8 games of 20 points or more (avg 19) and full year of health gave Johnson his best season of his career. A case should be made for Johnson being the top WR selected in next year's drafts.
Top Fantasy Rookie-
Matt Forte- Forte also wins the 'the most consistent award'. Rookie running backs often have a better chance of success than QBs or WRs but Forte even surprised his biggest supporters. Coming into the year, Forte was considered by many a tier below Kevin Jones, Darren McFadden and the afore mentioned James Stewart. So much for that! Forte led all non QB fantasy players in total points. His worst week was 13 1/2 points and averaged 20. He was never flashy but consistently found the endzone, caught 60 balls and most importantly, was THE GUY all year in Chicago. He carried the load and never shared touches and stayed healthy.
Honorable Mention-
Steve Slaton, Chris Johnson- There a tons of fantasy experts out there that will be targeting Slation and Johnson ahead of Forte when  2009 roles around. Both were a tad less consistent than Forte yet displayed more flash. Still, three rookie running backs in the top 25 in points of all fantasy players surely tells the tale of a changing game.
Top Holy Crap, How Great Of A Fantasy Player Is This Guy Gonna Be Award-
Calvin 'Megatron' Johnson- Move over Andre, there's another Johnson around that's gonna give you a run for your title next year. In many ways, Calvin reminds me of Andre, in terms of his early year development. While Andre was compromised by David Carr and the porous Texan's O Line, Megatron has had to deal with constant double coverage along with having to manage receiving balls from a mixture of Dan Orlovsky, Daunte Culpepper, Jon Kitna and Drew Stanton. Only time will tell if the situation can improve, but if it does, Megatron will be more of a beast than he already is.
Top Holy Crap, Where The Hell Did That Come From Award-
Chad Pennington, Antonio Bryant, Matt Cassel, Matt Ryan---
There were so many QBs that posted respectable numbers this year but no three were more surprising than Pennington, Cassel and Ryan. Pennington struggled with simple 10 yard patterns as a Jet last year yet has led the Dolphin's amazing turnaround and finds himself in the top 30 in total fantasy points. Cassel has grown into the leadership role as the Pat's QB and has really excelled down the stretch. Ryan has demostrated tremendous poise as a rookie QB and has all the makings of being a top tiered QB for years to come. However it is Antonio Bryant that has really turned heads. He averaged 30 points per game over the last three weeks. This is the same talented Bryant who wore out his welcome in Dallas, San Francisco and Cleveland and burned many fantasy fans over the years. Those who stayed the course have been rewarded.
 Fantasy Bust of the Year Award-
Oh, so many to mention here. Addai, James, Holt, Edwards, Romo, Parker, Perry, Young. The list is endless. But it's Larry Johnson that gets the award. Coming into the season, Johnson was still viewed as a tremendous value pick, as he fell into the 2nd round of many drafts. In the end, he had only one exceptional game in a year filled with complaining, controversy, suspensions and underperformance.
Congratulations to all the winners this year. The countdown to next year has officially begun. Happy holidays and a happy new year to all!
Other Larry Goldstein Articles
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Updated: Tue 12/30/2008 11:49 am
On many fronts, the 2008 Fantasy Football season will go down as the best ever. In WCOFF land, Poochie Bennish won the $300,000 grand prize by a grand total of 0.85 points. As was predicted four weeks ago, the crowning of our champion came down to the last play of the Packers/Bears week 16 game. The incredible balance and parity amongst the top fantasy football teams created a historic race to the finish. A race that had many fantasy players on the edge of their seats even if they weren't in the running. And the balance even extended beyond the WCOFF. In one little old home league in New York, both semifinal games were decided by less than one point, coming down to Dawson and Akers on Monday Night Football. One team lost by 0.7 points and I'll give you all one guess on who lost by 0.1. And who says fantasy kickers don't matter?
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Updated: Thu 11/27/2008 11:23 am
With Thanksgiving Day here, 119 WCOFF Team Owners will have one added item on their list to give thanks for. They all begin their four week quest of $300k and title, World Champion Of Fantasy Football. Some well known fantasy players find themselves in the hunt. Jules McLean, Shawn Childs, Glen Schroter are just a few of the skilled players in the running. But while the big guns compete for the big dough, many of us are looking to finish strong whether it be in consolation brackets, online championships, One and Done or even home league playoffs. Let's take a look at some key players down the stretch that may play a factor in crowning our World Champion or break fantasy owner's hearts.
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Updated: Fri 11/14/2008 3:56 pm
So it's the middle of November 2008. We are just a few hours away from the NY Jet vs. New England Patriot game that kicks off week 11 of the NFL season. This is the last chance for WCOFF teams to position themselves to make it into their league championship games. This is also the last week for waiver wire pick ups and final team adjustments. For some, this part of the season is thrilling given the potential to win the WCOFF main event and all that comes with it. For the rest of us (raise your hand with me), it's a time to reflect on what went wrong with our teams and to start thinking about 2009.
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Other Site Articles
2008 Fantasy Football....Recap and ...Fantasy Studs and Duds In The Race ...Time Warp With Me To 2009Coach Doesn't Always Know BestFantasy Edges Getting ThinnerThe Great Debate
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