Brady -- who else? -- our fantasy MVP

Normally when this time of year rolls around, I allow our readers to pick the studs and duds of the fantasy football season.

But when it came to naming an MVP in 2007, there was really no point in posting candidates.

And that's because the season Tom Brady put together was second to none.

His numbers are so ridiculous that he virtually guaranteed a playoff berth to fantasy teams who had him on their roster.

Brady has 50 total TDs (48 passing), 4,450 passing yards and only 8 interceptions. He opened the season with 10 straight games of at least 3 TD passes, and in the first game in which he failed to hit that mark, he threw for 380 yards!

And are you ready for the best part? If your league is holding fantasy championships this week, he's a great start because Peyton Manning's record of 49 TD passes is there for the taking, and the Pats are shooting for a 16-0 season.

As for next year, Brady will be ranked No. 1 among quarterbacks on most expert's lists, and there will be plenty of debate over whether or not he should be the top overall pick ahead of Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson.

Comeback player of the year: Here's another category readers didn't get a chance to vote on because the winner was so obvious. Step up to the platform, Mr. Randy Moss, and claim your hardware.

Here's a guy few owners (including me) wanted to touch this year after seeing what happened to him in Oakland. Sometimes, though, it would behoove us to remember that Moss was a product of his environment. Bad quarterback play almost always equals bad numbers for receivers, no matter how talented they are (see Carolina's Steve Smith this year).

Put Moss with a top-two QB and -- WA-LA! -- out comes a 21-touchdown (and counting) season with seven 100-yard games.

Assuming the Patriots keep him, Moss -- like Brady -- figures to be the top-rated player at his position.

Rookie of the year: Again, no debate here. The Vikings' Adrian Peterson broke the single-game rushing record this year, was on pace at one point for a 2,000-yard season, and is in the top three among RBs in almost every fantasy league.

While there's no doubt Peterson deserved this award, he nonetheless had a somewhat uneven season. Entering Week 17, 40 percent of his rushing yards and 46 percent of his touchdowns came in two games (296 and 3 vs. the Chargers; 224 and 3 vs. the Bears).

There have been a few dud games along the way (he had 3 yards in Week 14 and just 27 last week), but Peterson's big-game potential makes him an awesome back to have in 2008.

If I had to guess, I'd say he's the second back taken off the board in most leagues come draft day.

Biggest surprise QB: OK, now the Daily Herald voters get to speak. Taking this award with 69 percent of the vote was Cleveland's Derek Anderson. As a player unranked and undrafted in probably 99.9 percent of all leagues, Anderson burst onto the scene with a 5-TD performance in Week 2, then proved he could be an every-week starter in Weeks 4-6, when the threw 7 TD passes and averaged 245 yards.

Anderson's 28 passing TDs are fifth in the NFL and his 3,635 passing yards are ninth.

Biggest surprise RB: While Jamal Lewis, Earnest Graham and Ryan Grant all received support, it was the Vikings' Adrian Peterson who took this award with 44 percent of the vote.

"This guy's a rookie?" wrote Mike Miller of West Chicago. "OUCH!"

Biggest surprise WR: This was the closest race of the six categories our readers voted on. Green Bay's Greg Jennings (25 percent) and Cleveland's Braylon Edwards (31 percent) couldn't quite beat out Randy Moss (38 percent).

"Not many fantasy football owners were willing to get burned by him AGAIN by drafting him early," wrote Cory Jenkins of Lake in the Hills. "Although Braylon, T.J. (Houshmandzadeh) and Greg had good years, Moss takes it."

As a measure of how big a surprise Moss was, in my unit league Terrell Owens went for 35 units, Marvin Harrison 46, Javon Walker 39, Chad Johnson 43, Torry Holt 33, Roy Williams 25, Lee Evans 26 and Houshmandzadeh 22.

Moss? He went for 16!

Biggest bust QB: Ranked fifth in my preseason chart, St. Louis' Marc Bulger has been practically worthless all season. He won this award, but Detroit's Jon Kitna and Cincinnati's Carson Palmer also received plenty of support.

Bulger's putrid numbers were tough to ignore. He has 10 TD passes and 13 interceptions entering Week 17.

Biggest bust RB: It's not often a league MVP turns into a monumental bust just two years later. But that's what happened in Seattle with 2005 NFL MVP Shaun Alexander (3 rushing TDs, 1 since Week 2).

Alexander's star fell so far that coach Mike Holmgren decided midway through the season to unleash Matt Hasselbeck and practically ignore the running game. It would be no surprise if fantasy owners do the same next year and ignore Alexander.

Biggest bust WR: When the top-rated receiver on many draft boards manages just 1 TD and one 100-yard game since Week 6, he's almost a lock for a biggest bust trophy. Some readers chose to give Carolina's Steve Smith a pass because one of his quarterbacks will be collecting Social Security checks soon, but over half the voters weren't so kind.

"He was the No. 1 receiver selected in our league," said Jim Zaucha of Elk Grove Village, "and has not produced any memorable numbers all year!!!"

Well, until last week. And by then, it was too late for almost all of Smith's owners.

My teams: In what had to be one of the craziest championship games in memory, my regular-league game ended in a 105-105 tie! My opponent needed 3 more rushing or receiving yards out of LaDainian Tomlinson for a title, but the Chargers pulled L.T. in the third quarter. My foe also had Donovan McNabb, who had 40 rushing yards before taking knees at the end of the Eagles' victory and losing a point. So who won? I did, thanks to having a better seed (we award 1 "homefield advantage point" to the better seed only in the event of a tie). … In my unit league, I took the third-place game 54-48.

See you next year: I want to thank everybody who voted and everybody who wrote in this year and say a special thanks to WSCR 670-AM for expanding my role on the station to include Sunday mornings. It was a great year, and I know we're all looking forward to another one in about eight months. Take care, everybody.