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Post by CRASHER on Jan 7, 2005 17:31:32 GMT -5
By John Tuvey, Senior Editor
January 3, 2005 6:00 PM ET
Peyton Manning is fantasy football's MVP for 2004.
Peyton Manning is fantasy football's MVP for 2004.
The members of Fanball's 2004 All-Fantasy Team don't earn a trip to Hawaii, but their award is something far more enduring: the eternal respect of those who rode their hot hand (or legs or feet or what have you) to fantasy success this season.
The 2004 campaign saw a bevy of great performances, and in many cases it was extremely difficult to winnow a position down to one or two representatives. Whenever conflict arose, we turned to the true indicator of fantasy success: points.
So without further ado, here is Fanball's 2004 All-Fantasy Team:
Quarterback
Peyton Manning, Colts - Something about an NFL record number of touchdown passes cements Peyton's place on this squad. Oh, and it didn't hurt that Manning threw for better than 4,000 yards—a career-best 4,557, in fact—for the sixth consecutive season.
Lesser known is the fact that Peyton and his brother Eli set a new record for touchdown passes by brothers in a single season, as their 55 shattered the old mark of 48 held by Dan and Don Marino.
Manning's monster year overshadowed a stellar campaign by the Vikings' Daunte Culpepper, who made this a closer race than you might think. Daunte's pair of rushing touchdowns and 406 rushing yards, along with a league-high 4,717 passing yards, earned him a spot on the secont team.
The Eagles' Donovan McNabb also had a strong season, though his numbers positively paled in comparison to those of Manning and Culpepper. His playing one series through the final two weeks of the season didn't help his case, either.
Running Back
Shaun Alexander, Seahawks: There's really no better way to state your case for a major pay hike than by posting the best season by anyone at your position, and that's exactly what Alexander did in 2004.
Shaun may be upset at losing out on the rushing title, but he'll have millions (and million$) of reasons not to sweat it in the coming months. Fantasy owners will show him plenty of respect as well, following his fourth straight season of 16 or more touchdowns and a career-best 1,696 rushing yards.
LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers: The battle for the second back slot on this squad was as heated as any other race. Tomlinson clocks in as the winner despite his week 17 absence because he put a touchdown on the table every single week from week four on. Like Fred Flintstone punching the time clock, L.T. found the end zone week after week after week. His yardage tailed off a bit, but we'll gladly trade that small wrinkle for the career-high 18 touchdowns and the comfort of knowing that every week L.T. would put points on the board.
Tomlinson's competition came from the Giants' Tiki Barber, who may have put up the quietest 15-touchdown, 2,096-combo yard season on record. Sneaky Tiki's touchdown production suffered with Eli Manning's on-the-job training, but 14 times Barber managed at least 100 yards rushing or receiving (not combo, a flat-out century-mark milestone) or score at least one touchdown.
Several other backs put up credible numbers that warrant at least a mention here, including the comeback campaign of the Jets' Curtis Martin (1,697 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns), the Texans' Domanick Davis (1,776 combo yards and 14 scores), and the Patriots' Corey Dillon (1,635 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns).
And special mention goes to the Chiefs' Priest Holmes, who was on pace for 2,158 yards from scrimmage and 30 touchdowns before injuries cost him half the season. Yes, you read those numbers correctly: in eight games, Priest had 15 touchdowns and 1,079 combo yards. And his backups didn't fare too poorly, either.
Wide Receiver
Muhsin Muhammad, Panthers: Say what? Muhammy? The oft-injured, much-maligned pass catcher who wasn't even supposed to be the best receiver on his own team, let alone in all of fantasy football?
Oh, it's twue, it's twue. Thanks in no small part to injuries to the Panthers' No. 1 receiver, Steve Smith, and the first four running backs on the depth chart, Muhammad ingrained himself into Jake Delhomme's consciousness. With just two touchdowns and one 100-yard game through the first seven weeks of the season, Muhammad was probably in your free agent pool when he launched his second-half assault.
Over the final 10 weeks of the season, Muhammy failed to score only twice while tallying multiple touchdowns five times en route to 14 six-pointers. He also topped the century mark six times and hit 94 or better thrice more.
It should surprise you not that Muhammad is about to become a very rich man this offseason, thanks in no small part to his 2004 salary push. The Panthers hold an option for the coming season at his current cap figure of $12.5 million, and he's also due a $10 million roster bonus in March. Yes, despite the fact that he's had the best year of his career, the Panthers or some other squad are virtually assured of overpaying for his services. Hope you enjoyed the ride.
Terrell Owens, Eagles: As tough as the Tomlinson/Barber call was, this one was even more difficult.
On the one hand is Owens, who kicked off the season with a three-touchdown salute and ran roughshod over the entire league, rolling up 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns before an ankle injure brought his first year in Philly to a premature end—the result being that you got nothing from your premier producer in the fantasy playoffs.
On the other hand is the Colts' Marvin Harrison, who had what was for him another down year, with only 86 catches and 1,113 yards (yes, when you've had 143 grabs and 1,722 yards, that's a down year). Nonetheless, Marvelous was the prime beneficiary of Peyton Manning's march to Marino's record, totaling 15 touchdowns and scoring in six of the final seven games of the season.
In the end, we gave the nod to Owens, in part because he was more productive per game and would have easily outdistanced Marv had he stayed healthy, and in part because he stopped short of the 15 touchdowns which would have forced us to witness Andy Reid in Spandex.
Also clocking in for honorable mention are the Packers' Javon Walker, who finally gave Brett Favre a target of note and finished with 1,380 yards and 12 scores; the Saints' Joe Horn, who answered those critics who called him streaky by scoring or topping 100 yards (or both) 12 times in 2004; the Vikings' Randy Moss, who scored 13 touchdowns in 13 games; the Colts' "other" receivers, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokley, who teamed with Harrison to provide the NFL's first every trio of 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown receivers; and the Titans' Drew Bennett, whose numbers with Billy Volek at the helm all season would have projected to an astronomical 1,942 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Tight End
Antonio Gates, Chargers: You could pretend there was a jump ball for the tight end crown between former hoopsters Gates and the Chiefs' Tony Gonzalez… but you'd be wrong.
Gates won this one running away, unless you play in some bizarre scoring system where touchdowns mean nothing. His 13 touchdowns were an NFL record for tight ends and, in a season where tight ends were scoring as often as R. Kelly at a junior high dance, nearly doubled his closest competition—including Gonzo, who was one of three tight ends with seven scores. And while Antonio's yardage trailed Gonzo by almost 300 yards, it was still good for third-best at his position despite sitting out the final game of the season.
Gates and Gonzo were head and shoulders above the field, rendering even solid seasons from the likes of the Cowboys' Jason Witten (980 yards, six scores), the Falcons' Alge Crumpler (774 and six in 14 games), and even the Giants' Jeremy Shockey (an errie 666 and six) almost invisible.
Kicker
Adam Vinatieri, Patriots: The best clutch kicker in the business, at least when he's not wearing red leather pants or trying to kick a ball from the roof of one parking garage to Donald Trump standing on another (and no, we're never going to let him forget that) stepped it up a notch with a career year across the board. Vinny tied or set personal marks in field goals, field goal percentage, PATs, and total points, making his inclusion here a no-brainer.
The only caveat is that the NFL's scoring champion never repeats, so don't put Vinny atop your draft board next season. Instead, slot runner-up Jason Elam as your top kicker.
Defense
Baltimore Ravens: While the Ravens may seem like an obvious choice, depending on your scoring system they're anything but. Led by Ed Reed, the Ravens took five interceptions and two fumble recoveries to the house, topping the defensive touchdown charts. They also mixed in a pair of punt return touchdowns for those who include special teams scores in their defensive mix, all of which is certainly enough to warrant their selection to this squad.
But the Buffalo Bills had four interception return touchdowns, two punt return scores, three kickoff return scores, and mixed in a blocked kick returned for a touchdown to boot. They also generated 39 takeaways (to the Ravens' 34), recorded 46 sacks (to the Ravens' 39) and notched a safety as well.
Another unheralded challenger to the Ravens' throne is the Chicago Bears' defensive unit. They recorded a league-high three safeties and had seven touchdown returns (five interceptions, one fumble, one punt).
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