By JEFF PAUR

Now that the season is officially over (Pro Bowl doesn't count), it is time to hand out our fantasy awards. We'll go over the top and flop players from each position as well as picking our Player of the Year, Surprise of the Year, Bust of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

Some of the choices were tougher than others, but there are definitely some guys that got overlooked in some of the categories. It will happen, though, and we are sure some guys were more valuable to your team than others. Hopefully, you had a good season and had many of the guys mentioned on your team - except for the flops.

Player of the Year

Tom Brady, QB, Patriots. Pretty easy pick here. Brady was expected to have a career year with some new weapons at receiver, but few expected anything like this. Brady had a record-breaking 50 touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns. He also finished with eight 300-yard games and had a touchdown in all but a game. Brady had three or more scores in his first 10 games of the season. If you had Brady, your team likely made the playoffs and had a great year. He carried fantasy teams.

Surprise of the Year

Derek Anderson, QB, Browns. Anderson wasn't even drafted in most leagues. Most stayed away from the Browns quarterback situation with it far from settled before the season started. But Anderson grabbed hold of the job and never looked back. He was a top-five quarterback in most formats - not too shabby for a guy picked up off the waiver wire. Anderson had 32 total touchdowns and just fewer than 4,000 yards passing (3,787). You won't find him on your waiver wire this upcoming season.

Bust of the Year

Rudi Johnson, RB, Bengals. Johnson was a top-ten pick, but found his way on most benches or waiver wires by season's end. He had an unexpected season after posting consistent numbers the last several seasons. Johnson had just one 100-yard game and four touchdowns. He also missed time (five games) because of a nagging hamstring injury. And little known Kenny Watson outplayed Johnson most of the year. At this point, we wouldn't count on Johnson for '08. His future is cloudy after this past season.

Rookie of the Year

Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings. We all knew Peterson had talent, but some didn't know if that would translate to the NFL. But Peterson proved those pundits wrong. He missed two games because of a knee injury but still managed to lead the NFC in rushing. Peterson had six 100-yard games, including two 200-yard games. He also had 13 touchdowns. Peterson was a home-run threat every time he touched the ball. He'll be a top-five pick come draft day in '08 - maybe even the first overall in some leagues.

Top Quarterback

Tom Brady, Patriots. We already mentioned some of Brady's accolades from the season. But here are a few more. Brady set a career high in yards with 4,806. He also had just eight interceptions despite attempting 578 passes, which is pretty amazing if you really give that some thought. One last stat - Brady completed an amazing 69 percent of his passes.

Flop Quarterback

Marc Bulger, Rams. Bulger was a preseason top-five fantasy quarterback. He played more like a No. 2 quarterback for fantasy teams, though. He was up and down. Bulger missed five games because of injury and finished with more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (11). He didn't make the throws he normally does and even admitted after the season his mechanics were off, mostly because he was under constant pressure due to injuries along the offensive line.

Top Running Back

LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers. He probably had a down year for his standards, but that didn't keep Tomlinson from being the top point producer at the running back spot. He once again led the NFL in rushing and rushing touchdowns. He finished with 18 total touchdowns. Tomlinson also had 100-yard games in four of his last five, which translated to many Super Bowl victories for teams that had him. Tomlinson is the safe No. 1 pick for fantasy teams next season.

Flop Running Back

Frank Gore, 49ers. We'll go with another player besides Rudi Johnson, who was our Bust of the Year. Gore did have some solid games later in the season, but he didn't perform nearly as well as his draft status. Gore was a top-five pick overall in most leagues. Gore did rush for 1,000 yards, but had just two 100-yard games and six touchdowns. He had six games with fewer than 60 yards rushing.

Top Wide Receiver

Randy Moss, Patriots. Not many saw this year coming from Moss. But he played like the Moss from five years ago. Moss stretched the field with his speed and size and made acrobatic catches in the end zone. Get this, Moss had 23 receiving touchdowns. He had a touchdown in all but three games. And most fantasy teams were able to nab him as a No. 2 or 3 receiver on draft day. The gamble owners took paid off in a big way.

Flop Wide Receiver

Lee Evans, Bills. Owners knew Evans could be up and down, but you didn't expect him to have so many down games. Evans didn't reach the 1,000-yard mark and scored five touchdowns. He had three games with less than 10 yards receiving. Evans just disappeared some weeks, which hurt fantasy teams in a big way.

Top Tight End

Jason Witten, Cowboys. Witten was always a capable No. 1 tight end, but he took his game to a new level. He broke the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career and had seven touchdowns. His numbers looked more like a No. 1 receiver than a tight end. Witten had career highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns. He also had four 100-yard games and two games with double-digit receptions. Witten carried teams some weeks.

Flop Tight End

Vernon Davis, 49ers. Davis hasn't lived up to expectations just yet. He did make it through the season healthy, but finished with only 509 yards receiving and four touchdowns. His highest yardage total of the season was 77. There were many tight ends that finished with better numbers than the highly touted Davis.

Top Kicker

Rob Bironas, Titans. The Titans offense had a tendency to stall, which was a good thing for Bironas owners. He made the most of his chances, making 90 percent of his kicks (35-of-39). Bironas was 9-of-10 from 40-plus yards and 4-of-5 from 50-plus yards. He got a lot of bonus points for fantasy teams because of his long-distance kicks. And we can't forget his monster game in Week 8, making 8-of-8 field goals and two extra points. Kickers don't often win games for fantasy teams, but Bironas did that week.

Flop Kicker

Jeff Wilkins, Rams. Wilkins had 90 points as the Rams offense sputtered this season. He also made just 75 percent of his kicks (24-of-32), which hurt his numbers as well.

Top Defense/Special Teams

Patriots defense. You wouldn't call the Patriots defense dominate, but they were opportunistic. New England had six defensive touchdowns and two special team scores. They also finished with 46 sacks and 19 interceptions, which were both among the league leaders. And don't overlook the 24 forced fumbles and 12 fumbles recovered. This Patriots defense was a fantasy producer, posting consistent numbers from week to week.

Flop Defense/Special Teams

Chicago Bears. Devin Hester gave this unit good value. But if you take him away, the Bears were disappointing for fantasy teams. The Bears ranked just 29th defensively and allowed 22 points per game. Chicago had a hard time stopping the pass, giving up 247 yards per game. You just expected more from a defense that was picked first in most leagues.

Top IDP

Patrick Willis, LB, 49ers. The rookie linebacker was expected to make an impact, but did you expect this? He had 174 total tackles, including double-digit tackle totals in 10 of 16 games. He made plays all over the field for the 49ers. Willis also had four and a half sacks. He'll be a fantasy force for IDP leagues for the foreseeable future.

Flop IDP

Julius Peppers, DL, Panthers. Peppers finished with three sacks and 40 tackles. His numbers were down. Peppers can be an elite pass rusher, but needs to get his motor going once again. He disappeared too many games.

If you have any questions or comments, please email Jeff Paur at jeff@rtsports.com