Roughly four months ago, many of us fastened on helmets and chinstraps as we embarked on journeys we hoped would end with our closest friends and relatives forced to admit that we are better, smarter and superior to them in every way.
Eighteen weeks later, some are celebrating having reached the top of the fantasy football mountain, while others have vowed never again to examine an NFL box score in this lifetime and have shifted their focus to the diamond (pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 14, for those keeping track).
As we break for conference championship game weekend (for the record, Saturday's 49ers-Saints shootout is one of the 10 greatest football games in the history of history), here's a look back at the season that was from A to Z:
A — M, V and P, too, for that matter — is for Aaron Rodgers (4,643 yards passing with 45 touchdowns and just six interceptions in 16 games), who, despite Sunday's loss to the Giants, has Lambeau leapfrogged Brett Favre in the hearts of Packers fans and should be the No. 1 pick in most 2012 fantasy drafts.
B is for Drew Brees, my new best good friend who carried what I honestly felt was the worst fantasy team ever drafted within a stone's throw of a second consecutive championship. Drew, I will tell tales of your wisdom and compassion to future generations for the rest of my days.
C is for consensus first-round draft pick Jamaal Charles, whose torn ACL in Week 2 allowed many owners to return to being productive members of society on Sundays and explore the virtues of getting what many of our wives, including mine, refer to as "a life."
D is for David Akers, the last pick of my draft who delivered an NFL-record 44 field goals and 166 points as my MVP 1A/subset D to Brees. I will never, ever again make fun of kickers.
E is for Eli Manning (4,933 yards, 29 TDs), who stepped out of the shadow of injured big brother Peyton and played his way into the elite quarterback conversation.
F is for Arian Foster, who proved his breakout 2010 was no fluke by rushing for 1,224 yards and 10 TDs while catching 53 passes for 617 yards and 2 TDs in 13 games.
G is for Rob Gronkowski (90 receptions for 1,327 yards and 17 TDs) and Jimmy Graham (99 rec., 1,310 yards, 11 TDs), the new heads of the NFL's tight end class.
H is for homer. I have to get a Raider in here somewhere, so I'm playing the Darrius Heyward-Bey card. DHB's hands can still be a little on the slippery side, but the kid stepped up (64 receptions, 975 yards, 4 TDs) and has gone from draft-day bust to major contributor for Oakland.
I will not be drafting Rashard Mendenhall again next season.
J is for Chris Johnson, who made few fantasy friends in 2011.
K is the chemical symbol for potassium, which has an atomic number of 19. In baseball vernacular, K also stands for strikeout, which Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding did when he tore his left ACL on the season's opening kickoff.
L no longer is for loose cannon when it comes to Marshawn Lynch (1,204 yards, 12 TDs), who has gotten his career back on track in Seattle and will be among the first running backs taken on draft day come September.
M can only be for Megatron, the Lions' Calvin Johnson, the best active wide receiver on the planet (96 receptions for 1,681 yards and 16 TDs) and my first-round draft target next season.
N is for Cam Newton, who was even better than advertised in his rookie season (4,051 yards, and 21 TDs passing; 706 yards and 14 TDs rushing) for the Panthers and is 4,000 yards passing, 1,000 yards rushing and 40 touchdowns waiting to happen in 2012.
RSS
E-Mail
Print
reprint or license
