A look back at the 2007 fantasy football season, with a dollop of Week 17 help for players still in need:

MVP: Tom Brady. No-brainer here. He was more than 100 points better than any other player in most fantasy league formats. That's what nearly 4,500 passing yards and 50 TD passes does for you.

Waiver-wire pickup of the year: Derek Anderson. Leapfrogged Charlie Frye and Brady Quinn to become a top-five fantasy QB.

Bust of the year: Laurence Maroney. There are numerous candidates, but injury cases like Larry Johnson and Shaun Alexander get a pass. Maroney was a first-round pick in many leagues and acquired by owners elsewhere hoping to cash in on the Patriots' offensive gravy train. But Maroney hasn't even cracked 800 rushing yards. The 260 yards and two TDs he amassed the last two weeks — nearly a third of his production this season — came long after he and pass-happy coach Bill Belichick had torpedoed fantasy squads counting on Maroney.

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RB of the year: Brian Westbrook. Gets the nod over LaDainian Tomlinson for leading the league in yards from scrimmage (2,005), and his 86 catches were huge in points-per-reception leagues.

WR of the year: Randy Moss. Obviously meshed well with Brady and leads the league with 21 TDs to go along with 92 grabs for 1,393 yards.

TE of the year: Jason Witten. Easily bypassed mainstay Antonio Gates with 94 catches, 1,121 yards and seven TDs.

K of the year: Mason Crosby. Narrowly beats out fellow rookie Nick Folk on the strength of 29 FGs and 44 PATs.

Defense of the year: Patriots. Seattle and San Diego were close, but it's tough to beat New England's mixture of sacks (46), takeaways (30), TDs (8) and the 227 points allowed (15.1 per game).

All-fantasy first team: QB — Brady, RBs — Westbrook, Tomlinson, WRs — Moss, Terrell Owens, Reggie Wayne, TE — Witten, K — Crosby, Def. — Patriots.

All-fantasy second team: QB —Tony Romo, RBs —Joseph Addai, Adrian Peterson (Vikings), WRs —Braylon Edwards, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Larry Fitzgerald, TE —Tony Gonzalez, K — Folk, Def. — Seahawks

All-value team: QB — Anderson, RBs —Earnest Graham, Ryan Grant, WRs —Wes Welker, Brandon Marshall, Bobby Engram, TE —Donald Lee, K —Rob Bironas, Def. — Colts

All-bust team: QB —Marc Bulger, RB — Maroney, Frank Gore, WR —Reggie Brown, Lee Evans, Darrell Jackson, TE —Vernon Davis, K —Olindo Mare, Def. — Ravens

Keeper alert: San Diego RB Michael Turner, an unrestricted free agent at season's end, looks to be the crown jewel of the fantasy free-agent market. He could be a top-10 back next year, depending on where he lands. Marion Barber III is likely to be the feature back in Dallas in 2008 with the Cowboys unlikely to re-sign both him and Julius Jones. Justin Fargas is also set to hit the free-agent market. Carolina's DeAngelo Williams, Atlanta's Jerious Norwood, Cincinnati's Kenny Irons and Oakland's Michael Bush could all carve out major roles with their teams next season.

On the quarterback front, watch what the Browns do with restricted free agent Derek Anderson. Do they keep both him and Brady Quinn? Or do they move one to a team in need to stockpile players and/or draft picks? Donovan McNabb's future in Philadelphia seems tenuous, meaning Kevin Kolb could be a good keeper playing in Andy Reid's pass-heavy offense.

Wideouts like Jerry Porter and Bryant Johnson could make large impacts elsewhere in 2008. It's hard to imagine the Patriots not re-signing Moss, but they may not have salary-cap room for Donte' Stallworth, too.

Incoming: Provided he declares for the draft, Arkansas junior running back Darren McFadden looks like the player most likely to make an impact on par with what Adrian Peterson did this season for the Vikings. McFadden is an explosive runner who also played quarterback for the Razorbacks at times — meaning he can throw that halfback option that has served Tomlinson owners so well over the years.

Others to watch are Boston College QB Matt Ryan and Louisville QB Brian Brohm and WRs WR Early Doucet (LSU) and WR DeSean Jackson (California), another junior.

Week 17 notes

For leagues that are still playing or use a Roto style format, here are some nuggets for the upcoming weekend:

The Redskins, Titans and even Texans (seeking their first .500 season) all have something at stake against opponents — the Cowboys, Colts and Jaguars, respectively — who do not. Start players in the former trio of teams and bench those playing for the latter troika. … Lions RB T.J. Duckett, in for injured Kevin Jones, is in a similar situation and is a good play against Green Bay, which should be focused on resting its players. Ditto Carolina's DeAngelo Williams at Tampa and Atlanta's Jerious Norwood vs. Seattle. … It's now or never for Vikings RBs Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. They face Denver's 30th-ranked rush defense on a short week as Minnesota makes its final bid to reach postseason. … In his last three games, 49ers QB Shaun Hill has six TDs (5 passing, 1 rushing) and one INT; his counterpart Sunday, Derek Anderson, has four TD and five picks during the same span. … Bengals running back Kenny Watson should start again coming off his 130-yard performance. Musa Smith could get a lot of work in light of Willis McGahee's broken ribs in Baltimore. Expect to see more of Giants rookie Ahmad Bradshaw, too, as Brandon Jacobs nurses his bum ankle. But don't be shocked to see the Colts use Clifton Dawson and preserve Kenton Keith with Joseph Addai. Same goes for Gary Russell, who could quickly spell new starter Najeh Davenport for the Steelers. … The Jets' Kellen Clemens and Kansas City's Brodie Croyle are likely to start Sunday, barring any setbacks. Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell will make his first start against a San Diego team still trying to lock up the AFC's No. 3 playoff seed. Expect LaDainian Tomlinson to play long enough to help the Chargers to a healthy lead as he clinches the rushing title; Darren Sproles and Michael Turner should play after that. …Donovan McNabb could be playing his finale in front of the home crowd in Philly. A signature performance (the good kind) could be in the offing against the battered and undersized Bills. … New Orleans' Reggie Bush may return from his knee injury, but he's not worth putting in your lineup.

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