Who is the fantasy MVP? Surprise? Dud? Vote and tell us

Thirty-nine touchdown passes. Just 4 interceptions.

Multiple TDs in every game, and eight 300-yard performances.

Do those facts make Packers QB Aaron Rodgers the slam-dunk fantasy MVP of 2011?

Well, it’s not up to me to decide — it’s up to you.

For the 13th straight year, welcome to the Herald’s fantasy football awards column where you, the reader, have a voice. Send me an email to jdietz@dailyherald.com with who you believe is the winner in each category and include a comment if you like for possible publication.

As always, try to remove personal bias from your choice. In other words, who is TRULY the biggest bust of the entire season … not YOUR personal biggest bust.

MVP

ŸRodgers could easily be the winner here. His games propelled many teams to victory with little help needed from the rest of your roster.

ŸBut what about Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski? Here we have an undrafted, or late-round pick, finishing with more points than any WIDE RECEIVER, let alone a tight end. With 15 TDs and 1,088 receiving yards, he also ranks in the top 15 among all players and has nearly double the points of the fourth-ranked TE.

ŸEagles RB LeSean McCoy (1,482 yards from scrimmage, 17 TDs) has scored in all but one game and is the No. 1-ranked tailback.

Biggest surprise

(Numbers in parentheses is where I player preseason; then where they rank after Week 14).ŸGiants WR Victor Cruz (unranked; 3rd). The second-year pro out of UMass is averaging 107 receiving yards the last seven games.

ŸBills RB Fred Jackson (35th, 5th). Before getting hurt, Jackson ranked third among running backs with 1,376 yards from scrimmage and 6 TDs.

ŸSeahawks RB Marshawn Lynch (38th, 7th). The bruising back has 10 TDs, has gone over 100 yards rushing in five of the last six weeks and is the No. 1-ranked RB since Week 9.

ŸPanthers QB Cam Newton (28th, 4th). The rookie out of Auburn has 28 total TDs, including a QB-record 13 rushing.

ŸPatriots WR Wes Welker (21st, 1st). The super-slippery Welker already has 100 catches for 1,339 yards and 9 scores.

ŸPackers WR Jordy Nelson (49th, 4th). Nelson has 6 TDs in the last six games and 10 for the season.

ŸPats TE Rob Gronkowski (UR, 1st). Gronk has six games with 2 TD catches.

Biggest bust

ŸChiefs RB Jamaal Charles (5th, UR). This is your call #8212; how much blame should we place on players who are hurt?

ŸTexans WR Andre Johnson (1st, 61st). Just like Charles, how much ire does Johnson deserve for missing seven games? In four of the six games he played in, Johnson was over 90 yards and scored twice.

ŸTitans RB Chris Johnson (3rd, 15th). He#146;s come on lately, but Johnson gave owners single-digit points in five of his first seven games.

ŸEagles QB Michael Vick (2nd, 17th). Taken first in some fantasy drafts, Vick (12 TD passes, 12 INTs, zero rushing scores) put up solid numbers just four times.

Comeback player

ŸDolphins RB Reggie Bush. After an 8-TD season in 2009, Bush scored once last year. His resurgence began in Week 8, and he#146;s seventh among RBs since that time with 5 scores and four games of 100 or more yards from scrimmage.

ŸBroncos RB Willis McGahee. He#146;s been somewhat erratic, but McGahee has six 100-yard games and 5 TDs.

ŸCowboys QB Tony Romo. Injury cost Romo the second half of last season, and this year he ranks seventh among QBs in fantasy points.

ŸPanthers WR Steve Smith. The brash wideout scored 6-9 TDs from 2006-09 before a 2-TD stinker last year. In 2011, he has 67 catches for 1,217 yards and 5 scores with three weeks to go.

Rookie of the year

ŸSafe to say this award should go to Cam Newton (nine multiple-TD games), but if you#146;d like to cast a vote for the impressive DeMarco Murray (second among RBs from Weeks 7-12) or WR A.J. Green (55-891-7), feel free.

My teams: The regular-league team continued its run of bad luck in a 131-119 first-round loss. The best team I#146;ve ever put together just kept running into juggernauts at the wrong times. The roster: Drew Brees, Darren McFadden/Michael Bush, DeMarco Murray, Calvin Johnson, A.J. Green, Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Rob Gronkowski and the Ravens defense. And it finished 7-7. Unreal.In my unit league, that bad luck seemed to do a complete 180. After a 2-4 start, I went 6-1 to claim the third seed, only to play the team with the most points in the first round. In a game with more twists and turns than any roller coaster you#146;ve been on, I eeked out an 82-81 victory. How close was it? Eli Manning (400 yards), Greg Jennings (20) and LeGarrette Blount (80 yards from scrimmage) all finished EXACTLY on the number I needed for that all-important point. And no, I didn#146;t have the tiebreaker. Oh, and my opponent had Wes Welker (dropped TD), Mike Wallace (overturned TD) and Marion Barber (lost fumble on Bears#146; final offensive play). Crazy, huh? Were there any finishes in like this in your leagues? Email me and let me know.Good betsŸCowboys RB Felix Jones at Tampa Bay. Let#146;s start with an obvious name, if for no other reason than the Bucs have allowed a league-high 19 rushing TDs. I would play Jones over a ton of tailbacks this week, including LeGarrette Blount and Rashard Mendenhall.ŸTitans defense, QB Jake Locker, WR Nate Washington at Indianapolis. Assuming Matt Hasselbeck is out, Locker figures to score 20-plus fantasy points. Washington#146;s production has been all over the place, but he#146;s worth a shot as your third WR.ŸPackers WR James Jones and RB Ryan Grant at Kansas City. If your list of third wideouts is uninspiring, throw Jones in there and hope for a 125-yard day. With Greg Jennings out, it#146;s certainly possible. As for Grant, he#146;s a nice flex play vs. a defense that allows 132.5 yards per game on the ground.ŸRedskins QB Rex Grossman at New York Giants. It#146;s the fantasy semifinals. Are you really going to trust Grossman with a berth in the title game on the line? Well, if my starter is Philip Rivers, I just might. I like Grossman to throw 2 TD passes for the fourth time in five games against a Giants defense that#146;s been shredded by high-end QBs the last month-and-a-half.ŸBroncos QB Tim Tebow and WR Demaryius Thomas vs. New England. I#146;ll take Tebow over Rivers, Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger and maybe even Matthew Stafford this week. ŸBengals RB Cedric Benson at St. Louis. With just 67 rushing yards per game over the past seven weeks, Benson hasn#146;t given owners much to cheer about. That changes against the porous run defense of the Rams, however. Watch for 110 yards and a score.ŸRams RB Steven Jackson vs. Cincinnati. Get this: the Rams have scored 12 offensive touchdowns all season, and Jackson has half of them. The Bengals do have a solid D, but have given up 12 rushing scores, so this matchup isn#146;t all that bad for Jackson.ŸBucs WR Mike Williams vs. Dallas. He fell off a bit last week, but I like Williams to continue his late-season surge.ŸDolphins TE Anthony Fasano at Buffalo. Total flier here. Fasano has been decent lately and has a decent shot to find the end zone against a Bills team that#146;s allowed 32.3 points the last six weeks.Bad betsŸBucs RB LeGarrette Blount vs. Dallas. We can hope Blount gets an early score like last week, but if he doesn#146;t, about 4-6 points is all that#146;s likely.ŸEagles WR DeSean Jackson and QB Michael Vick vs. New York Jets. Rex Ryan#146;s squad has allowed just 12 passing TDs all season.ŸChargers TE Antonio Gates and QB Philip Rivers vs. Baltimore. Three QBs have managed to go over 300 yards on the Ravens but not one #8212; NO ONE #8212; has had a multiple-TD game against them.ŸNiners WR Michael Crabtree vs. Pittsburgh. Four catches for 50 yards. That#146;s Crabtree#146;s ceiling this week.ŸSteelers RB Rashard Mendenhall and WRs Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace at San Francisco. This is no bold prediction on Mendenhall, but if Ben Roethlisberger is out with an ankly injury, just how are Brown and Wallace going to rack up any numbers with Charlie Batch throwing the ball? They#146;re not. The problem is this game is on Monday night, so if we don#146;t have a clear picture by Saturday, you#146;ll probably have to roll the dice and leave Brown and Wallace in your lineup.ŸGiants RB Brandon Jacobs vs. Washington. Ahmad Bradshaw should see significantly more playing time this week, so using Jacobs (2 TDs last week) is certainly playing with fire.ŸBills RB C.J. Spiller vs. Miami. Buffalo#146;s given up.jdietz@dailyherald.comFBN20011528Aaron Rodgers has thrown 39 TD passes this season with just 4 INTs.Associated PressFBNFBN25332522Patriots tight end Ron Gronkoski has 15 receiving touchdowns, a record for his position. No wide receiver has more fantasy points than Gronkowski.Associated PressFBNFBN15232086Rob Gronkowski has scored 2 TDs in six different games this season.Associated PressFBN