Now that both the 2008 NFL regular season and, more importantly for the sake of this blog, the 2008 fantasy football regular season are in the books, it is time to pass out some hardware.

Every season, players come out of nowhere to make a name of themselves in both league circles and fantasy circles. Fantasy waiver wires are scoured for hours upon hours every week as fantasy owners search from the next diamond in the rough.

The 2008 Wonders will be given out by The Hazean to the one player at each of the fantasy skill positions who found his way from the bottom of the wire to the top of fantasy rosters. This week’s award goes out to the tight end of the NFL who went undrafted in most fantasy leagues, only to become the hottest of commodities during the 2008 regular season.

The nominees

John Carlson, Seahawks: It took a few weeks for the most part, but Carlson became one of the best fantasy tight ends to own by the end of the 2008 season. Despite having to deal with a quarterback carousel in Seattle, Carlson was able to put up solid, consistent fantasy stats at the tight end position. The way he ended 2008 will plant him solidly in the top-10 of all fantasy tight end rankings heading into the 2009 season. Continue reading →

We have been giving out fantasy awards all week long. So far, Matt Cassel, Steve Slaton and Antonio Bryant have walked away with a Wonders award for being the best waiver wire wonders at their respective positions this season.

Today we will unveil the best tight end gleaned off waiver wires this year to finish up The 2008 Wonders award ceremony. Congrats to all the winners so far and I know I speak for all owners when I say that I look forward to next year’s crop of relatively-unknown-talents-turned-fantasy-superstars.

And now for something completely different: The least valuable fantasy football players of the 2008 season. Personally, I would like to thank Jeremy Shockey for getting into the endzone ZERO times despite playing with a quarterback who threw 34 touchdowns. Hard to do, my man, hard to do.

Here are today’s great reads:

• Vote for the most valuable player for the bucks and win a free 42″ Vizio LCD television. [The Fifth Down]
• This weekend’s running back crop looks to favor much better than their quarterback counterparts. [Bruno Boys]
• Georgia’s two most explosive underclassmen have declared for the NFL Draft, and one of them just might end up to the Lions at No. 1 overall. [CollegeFootballTalk]
• In order to set up an early battle for the No. 1 overall pick, Sam Bradford will declare for the NFL Draft as well. [NFL GridIron Gab]
• The Eagles will only go as far as Brian Westbrook will take them. What else is new? [The Fifth Down]
• Would acquiring Matt Hasselback via trade make Minnesota a Super Bowl contender again next year? [NFL GridIron Gab]

For more great reads, check out my Google Reader Shared Items page.

Now that both the 2008 NFL regular season and, more importantly for the sake of this blog, the 2008 fantasy football regular season are in the books, it is time to pass out some hardware.

Every season, players come out of nowhere to make a name of themselves in both league circles and fantasy circles. Fantasy waiver wires are scoured for hours upon hours every week as fantasy owners search from the next diamond in the rough.

The 2008 Wonders will be given out by The Hazean to the one player at each of the fantasy skill positions who found his way from the bottom of the wire to the top of fantasy rosters. This week’s award goes out to the wide receiver of the NFL who went undrafted in most fantasy leagues, only to become the hottest of commodities during the 2008 regular season.

The nominees

Eddie Royal, Broncos: Royal stepped into a starting role thanks in large part to the suspension levied on Brandon Marshall at the beginning of 2009. He put up huge numbers against a normally stout Raiders’ secondary in his very first game and never looked back, instantly becoming one of the top waiver wire adds after the first week of 2008. While he battled injury throughout parts of the season, Royal was a pleasant surprise — especially as a rookie — for fantasy owners at the wide receiver position. Continue reading →

Is there a worse crop of fantasy quarterbacks to choose from for playoff leagues than this weekend’s?

The year’s best fantasy QBs of the group — Kurt Warner and Philip Rivers — both play on the road in hostile environments against teams coming off first-round byes. Not liking that for either of those guys.

Pittsburgh’s Big Ben is banged up, but he gets a soft-ish San Diego secondary which, for the most part, has been playing well lately. Donovan McNabb is playing smart football, but has to go into division-rival New York. And speaking of the Giants, Eli Manning is coming off a bye but has to face the red hot Eagles’ defense, which has been owning quarterbacks of all types lately.

That leaves us with Jake Delhomme, Joe Flacco and Kerry Collins against the Cardinals, Titans and Ravens, respectively. Would it be a huge surprise to see any of these three end up being the best fantasy quarterback this weekend? I think not.

Here are today’s great reads:

• The list of impending free agents is long and full of some interesting fantasy talent. Where do you rank Derrick Ward and Darren Sproles if they get starting jobs somewhere? [NFL GridIron Gab]
• The Tom Brady and Matt Cassel scenario where both are in New England next year is picking up steam. [FanHouse]
• Vincent Jackson must have been drowning his sorrows after posting a good egg in last weekend’s game against the Colts. [Shutdown Corner]

For more great reads, check out my Google Reader Shared Items page.

Now that both the 2008 NFL regular season and, more importantly for the sake of this blog, the 2008 fantasy football regular season are in the books, it is time to pass out some hardware.

Every season, players come out of nowhere to make a name of themselves in both league circles and fantasy circles. Fantasy waiver wires are scoured for hours upon hours every week as fantasy owners search from the next diamond in the rough.

The 2008 Wonders will be given out by The Hazean to the one player at each of the fantasy skill positions who found his way from the bottom of the wire to the top of fantasy rosters. This week’s award goes out to the running backs of the NFL who went undrafted in most fantasy leagues, only to become the hottest of commodities during the 2008 regular season.

The nominees

Pierre Thomas, Saints: Everyone’s favorite sleeper heading into the season took a while to develop. So long, in fact, the Thomas quickly found his way off fantasy rosters just a few short weeks into the season. But it did not take too long after that to watch the effect that shouldering the load took on teammate Reggie Bush as he began to suffer setbacks and ultimately a season-ending injury. Enter the fresh legs of Thomas, who powered his way back onto fantasy rosters after midseason with a flurry of studtastic stat lines, including during the fantasy playoffs. Continue reading →

My wife thinks it is way too early to start planning for fantasy football drafts next summer, especially because she knows how time-consuming the preparation process can be. If I was a smart man, I would avoid fantasy football altogether for the next few months or so just to make her happy.

So with that in mind, Marc and I took some time last week to throw out a first-round mock draft for redraft leagues next summer. And a couple of interesting trends came out of it that I thought I should mention.

First, if we learned anything from 2008 it was that running backs are, and always will be, king. Before this season began, trendy fantasy football owners were jumping ship from running backs to quarterbacks and wide receivers in the first and second rounds of fantasy drafts. But next season already appears to be a resurgence for the running back position in the first round, as you guys will see below.

Another thing we learned is that the top fantasy quarterback continues to change. From Peyton Manning to Tom Brady to now a new front-runner, the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mantra rules when it comes to QBs.

And as far as those uber-popular wide receivers go, I think fantasy owners will avoid them for the most part in the first round of drafts next summer. Getting burned by Braylon Edwards and T.J. Houshmandzadeh all season, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss and Reggie Wayne for stretches of the season and a few others will not sit well with owners next August. But if any wide receivers do creep into the first round, my money would be on Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson and/or Calvin Johnson.

1.01 Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings: No debate between Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson this time around. ADP is the clear-cut favorite to be a consensus No. 1 pick next summer. He has shed the injury-prone label and should continue to improve as a pro running back in his third NFL season. Continue reading →

The standings after the first weekend of The Hazean’s Fantasy Playoff Challenge are up, and here are the results:

Look at me up there at No. 3. You guys have some work to do to earn that Best Buy gift card. Congrats to EZ-Hambone for grabbing the early lead with this lineup: Donovan McNabb, Tim Hightower, Michael Turner, Anquan Boldin, Reggie Wayne, Antonio Gates, David Akers and the Ravens DST.

Here are today’s great reads:

• Both of yesterday’s big names from the MMR — LaDainian Tomlinson and Anquan Boldin — could miss the playoff action this weekend. [ProFootballTalk]
• Speaking of injuries, Ben Roethlisberger returned to practice yesterday for the first team since the end of the regular season. [ProFootballTalk]
• A look back at the top fantasy performers from the first weekend of playoff fantasy football. [Lester's Legends]
• Players that fall just outside the top-50 keeper candidates for the 2009 season. [Pancake Blocks]
• Another blogger is giving away some fantasy hardware, with my boy Drew Brees taking home a nice prize. [Bruno Boys]

For more great reads, check out my Google Reader Shared Items page.

Now that both the 2008 NFL regular season and, more importantly for the sake of this blog, the 2008 fantasy football regular season are in the books, it is time to pass out some hardware.

Every season, players come out of nowhere to make a name of themselves in both league circles and fantasy circles. Fantasy waiver wires are scoured for hours upon hours every week as fantasy owners search from the next diamond in the rough.

The 2008 Wonders will be given out by The Hazean to the one player at each of the fantasy skill positions who found his way from the bottom of the wire to the top of fantasy rosters. This week’s award goes out to the quarterbacks of the NFL who went undrafted in most fantasy leagues, only to become the hottest of commodities during the 2008 regular season.

The nominees

Tyler Thigpen, Chiefs: No quarterback came more out of left field in 2008 than Kansas City’s Thigpen. Buried on the depth chart behind Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard at the start of the season, it took a minor miracle — two season-ending injuries — for Thigpen to get his chance. When he finally got the opportunity, Thigpen improved his game as the week’s passed in turning a once lifeless offense into a legitimate scoring machine. Continue reading →

Even fantasy playoff owners have to deal with injuries.

Despite only eight teams playing this weekend, you had to know that someone major was going to blow up a fantasy playoff team by leaving early with an injury. And it happened twice on Saturday.

First, Anquan Boldin owners watched as Q blew past the Falcons’ secondary on his way to a 71-yard touchdown reception, only to pull up lame after reaching paydirt. Then, in the late game, LaDainian Tomlinson suited up despite not practicing all week and started things off with a 13-yard run on the Chargers’ first play. Other than a goal line touchdown, which saved his fantasy value, LT’s performance was overshadowed by teammate Darren Sproles, who replaced Tomlinson at running back late in the second quarter.

Lucky for fantasy owners that both guys scored a touchdown before exiting the games. But both Boldin and Tomlinson could have had much better fantasy stat lines had they been able to stick around. Continue reading →

NFL.com has not updated the standings for The Hazean’s Fantasy Playoff Challenge yet, but I wanted to thank the 26 readers who signed up for the league.

I told you guys I would give away a free movie to the winner of the league if it reached 30 members. That did not happen, so instead I will give away a gift card of some amount close to or up to $20 to Best Buy. How does that sound?

Here are today’s great reads:

• Seven lessons learned from the 2008 fantasy football season. [Sports Jabber]
• The key to winning fantasy leagues in 2009 is to start preparing right now. [CBS Sports]
• An early fantasy mock draft for a redraft league with no LaDainian Tomlinson in the first round. LT already is looking like a steal in 2009. [Fantasy Football Xtreme]
• Darren Sproles’ performance against the Colts this weekend put money in his pocked this offseason. [Pancake Blocks]
• The Colts could dump Marvin Harrison this offseason to save some cash, which would mark the end of a remarkably era for Harrison. [ProFootballTalk]
• Speaking of the Colts, was Peyton Manning to blame for Saturday night’s thrilling loss to the Chargers? [Deadspin]
• Seriously, Kansas City needs to give the ball to Tyler Thigpen at the start of next season. [NFL GridIron Gab]

For more great reads, check out my Google Reader Shared Items page.