Now a hallowed tradition in Rotoworld's Waiver Wired series, Week 17 brings us the third annual Waiver Awards. To better prepare for the 2010 season, it's fitting that we take a step back and examine the highlights of 2009. It's with that spirit that we bring you this year's award winners.
Readers seeking actual Waiver adds for this week should scroll to the last page of the article for an abbreviated list.
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QUARTERBACKS
The "Outhouse to the Penthouse" Award
Goes to … Vince Young! Written off for dead after his opening-game meltdown last season while Kerry Collins' garnered unwarranted MVP consideration, V.Y. rewarded owner Bud Adams' faith in bringing the 0-6 Titans to the brink of a Wild Card berth. Starting in Week 5, Young was a Waiver Wired mainstay throughout the second half of the season. He finished as a borderline Top-10 fantasy option over the final six weeks.
The "Schizophrenic Offense" Award
Goes to … Alex Smith! Coordinator Jimmy Raye and head coach Mike Singletary spent the entire offseason preaching a run-heavy offensive game plan. Smith's mid-season elevation to the starting lineup dovetailed with Michael Crabtree's debut while Vernon Davis emerged as an elite playmaker, leading to a change in philosophy. With Smith struggling under center, the Niners moved to the "Raye-Gun" spread attack. The only problem was they couldn't bring themselves commit to it as the base offense as the Chiefs did with Tyler Thigpen in the Pistol spread last season.
The "Tale of Two Seasons" Award
Goes to … Jason Campbell! At the helm of the league's most punchless offense through the first six weeks of the season, Campbell found himself benched for Todd Collins at one point. Even with a crumbling offensive line, a fifth-string running back, and a play-caller brought out of retirement, though, Campbell finished as a Top-10 fantasy quarterback over the final five weeks.
RUNNING BACKS
The "What Took So Long, Haley" Award
Goes to … Jamaal Charles! Larry Johnson, running in quicksand behind an anemic offensive line, averaged an embarrassing 2.7 yards per carry over the first seven weeks of the season. We first began calling for Charles in Week 4 and again in Week 6 before he finally got his chance thanks to the harebrained Twitter tirade that led to LJ's ouster. Forced, kicking and screaming, to install Charles as the starter behind the same disastrous line, head coach Todd Haley watched his emerging star's best Chris Johnson impression as the league's No. 2 fantasy back over the final seven weeks.
The "Billy Volek" Award
Goes to … Jerome Harrison! Also considered for the "Mangini, You're an Evil Penguin" Award. Thanks to head coach Eric Mangini's machinations, nobody saw Harrison's late-season breakout coming until it was too late. Harrison was alternately unused and injured at mid-season while a plodding Jamal Lewis carried the load. The fantasy playoff season brought a backfield quagmire with Josh Cribbs threatening to steal carries and Chris Jennings bypassing Harrison in Week 14. Ultimately, Harrison's 286-yard, three-touchdown monster performance in Week 15 went to waste. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Mangini.
The "Enjoy the Playoff Race From Over There, Fast Willie" Award
Goes to … Rashard Mendenhall! It's easy to forget the early-season reports out of Pittsburgh. Mendenhall looked "ordinary" in preseason action, and the coaching staff had zero confidence in him by Week 3 when the 2008 first-rounder went without a carry. Fast Willie Parker had turned into "fair to middling" Willie even before he developed a turf toe injury, allowing Mendenhall to step into the void and never look back. Mendenhall finished as the No. 13 fantasy back despite going unused the first three weeks.
The "Voodoo Doll" Award
Goes to … Justin Forsett! We first started sticking pins into Julius Jones way back in Week 3 when it was obvious that Forsett was far more explosive on a per-play basis. By the time Forsett busted out for 151 yards and a touchdown in Week 10, Jones' body was ridden with pin pricks. All of our voodoo action went to waste, however, as Jones kept coming back from the dead to ruin Forsett's chances at this year's "Billy Volek" award over the final month of the season.
The "Biggest Tease" Award
Goes to … the entire Texans backfield! Steve Slaton, a change-of-pace back masquerading as a first-round fantasy pick was a fumbling, line-dancing mess from the get-to. Potential waiver hero Ryan Moats developed fumbling issues of his own while losing carries to the plodding Chris Brown. We finally had the backfield solution figured out with Arian Foster in Week 15, only to see the rookie glued to the bench for his own first-series fumble. Foster will, of course, go off in the season finale, now that it's too late for any of us to reap the benefits.
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