5. Adrian Peterson, Part I
The Vikings’ 34-31 Week 6 win over the Bears had a lot of memorable moments. 
Chicago’s explosive return man and receiver Devin Hester had two scores of over 80 yards; Bears quarterback Brian Griese threw for 381 yards; and Minnesota kicker Ryan Longwell kicked a game winning 55-yard field goal as time expired.
But following the game, the headlines belonged to Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson.
The rookie back totaled 224 yards on 20 attempts, including touchdowns of 67, 73, and 35 yards against Ulracher, Briggs, and co. Running backs are often able to break out big runs thanks to bad tacking, but in Peterson’s case, he exploited a once-heralded Chicago defense that couldn’t even touch him on some plays, let alone try and bring him to the ground.
Adding insult to injury, Peterson had a near fourth score on a kickoff return that set up the game winning field goal, and “the other Adrian Peterson” of Chicago had two carries for 11 yards.
The scariest part of the Viking rookie’s performance was that this wasn’t even his best game of the year (see No. 3).
4. Westbrook stops, drops, enrages fantasy owners
Westbrook’s infamous goal line fire drill can be found on YouTube under the names “Brian Westbrook ruins my fantasy life” and “Worst Moment in Fantasy Football History.”
We’ll just leave it at that. (2007 Westbrook owners may want to skip the video clip)
3. Adrian Peterson: Part Deux
A Week 9 Chargers/Vikings match up that was framed as a battle between top backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Peterson turned into a one-man show. The Purple Jesus show, that is.
Peterson set a new single-game rushing record with 296 yards rushing on 30 carries. He gained more yards than the entire Chargers offense, and scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter, and on runs of 64 and 46 yards in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Peterson owners sobbed with joy, with those who drafted the Viking rookie in keeper leagues entering seizures of ecstasy. It became clear that Peterson’s show against the Bears in Week 6 was no fluke, and people who believed in No. 28 are still reveling in telling fellow fantasy owners ”I told you so.”
2. Tom Brady. He’s pretty good.
Dec. 16, Week 15, versus the New York Jets.
That’s the game that sticks out on Tom Brady’s 2007 regular season game log, as it’s the only game in which the New England quarterback failed to throw a touchdown pass.
Given Brady’s numbers the rest of the season, fantasy owners that were starting No. 12 each week were probably OK with that.
In a 50-touchdown, 4,806-yard season, it’s too hard to pick one moment that best defined the avalanche of fantasy points Brady tallied each week. It could be any of the 12 games in which he threw for at least three scores (including the Week 8 pummeling of the Redskins when he also ran for two touchdowns); it could be the six-touchdown Week 7 outing against the Dolphins; it could be any of the 23 touchdowns he threw to Randy Moss.
Let’s just leave it at this: If you had Tom Brady on your 2007 fantasy team and you didn’t win your league, you’re never going to win a fantasy football league. Ever.
1. The year of the quarterback crisis
Kurt Warner, Cleo Lemon, Damon Huard, Brodie Coyle, Trent Dilfer, Gus Frerotte, Sage Rosenfels, Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Kellen Clemens, Brooks Bollinger, Kyle Boller, Josh McCown, Joey Harrington and Chris Redman.
All of these guys started, at some point or another, under center for NFL teams desperate to fill the quarterback position, and most (if not all of them) were picked up by fantasy owners faced with a similar dilemma.
And that is why 2007 will forever be defined as the year of the quarterback crisis.
Fantasy owners who (either on purpose, or out of lucky draft position) picked an elite quarterback on draft day had a huge advantage over the competition. Brady was phenomenal, Tony Romo was better than anyone guessed he would be, Peyton Manning was Peyton Manning, and Favre, Roethlisberger and Anderson were all good options. Brees and Palmer were had their high points, but performed below expectations.
Beyond that handful of players, there wasn’t a lot of consistent play at QB1.
Fantasy football experts have long said that drafting running back usually the way to go in the first round of your draft, but following a season when there was so little consistency, and so much mediocrity at the position, doesn’t a top quarterback become a more valuable commodity?
More on that in future posts.
