Back Page: 2003 Fantasy award winners

By Bob Harris, Special to SI.com

Priest Holmes has scored 51 TDs the past two seasons. AP

With the 2003 regular season behind us, it's time to hand out the hardware and announce this year's Back Page Fantasy Award winners.

Those of you who haven't been following along the past three seasons will find a full breakdown of the award criteria included with this year's First-Quarter awards.

And without further delay, this year's winners are:

Fantasy MVP: Priest Holmes, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Make it two in a row for Holmes, who pulled down this same honor last season. And it's very hard to argue for anybody but Holmes in this spot.

After all, we're talking about a player who finished the season with an amazing 27 rushing touchdowns, breaking the record of 25 set by Emmitt Smith in 1995.

It's worth noting that Holmes' record-setting day against Chicago in the regular-season finale was even more significant, given the Bears' obvious desire not to let him get the 26th and 27th TDs -- which also broke Marshall Faulk's record for single-season touchdowns -- against them.

"It was pretty clear to everybody that they were overplaying the run," Kansas City quarterback Trent Green said after the game. "We were laughing about it a little bit, saying if we ran some bootlegs or nakeds we'd really have something. But it was important to get [Holmes] as many opportunities to get the record as we could."

Holmes was drafted lower than he might otherwise have been in many fantasy leagues after missing the final two games last season with a hip injury. The concerns leading to the devaluation were, of course, misplaced.

He not only finished the season with three more TDs than in 2002, but also carried the ball seven more times (320 this year) and pulled in four more passes (74) than last year.

Fantasy Flop: Kurt Warner, QB, St. Louis Rams

If you'll remember, Warner actually opened the season as the Rams' starter of record. All the preseason data from team headquarters over the offseason and throughout the summer was very positive.

Even though he was ostensibly replaced due to injury -- a concussion suffered against Philadelphia on opening day -- Warner was informed the Monday before the Week 3 game against the Seahawks that he would be the No. 2 man behind Marc Bulge, despite being medically OK to play.

And that was it.

The two-time MVP, winless in his last eight starts dating to the 2001 Super Bowl, was relegated to clipboard and ball cap duty for the rest of the year, finishing the season with just 365 total passing yards, one touchdown pass and an interception.

Ambush Award: Anquan Boldin, WR, Arizona Cardinals

Boldin's surprising emergence provided the Cardinals with one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dim season. Despite working within the confines of a horrific Arizona offense and being the obvious target of opposing defenses, Boldin kept making plays.

He finished third in the NFL with 101 catches, tying the Cardinals' franchise record and easily breaking the NFL rookie record of 90 set by Terry Glenn in 1996. Boldin's 1,377 yards receiving were the most by a rookie in 43 years.

All of which prompted a panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL to make Boldin, the only rookie selected to this year's Pro Bowl, a unanimous choice as The Associated Press offensive rookie of the year. Not bad for the sixth receiver chosen in the draft.

It didn't take Bolden long to make his mark. In the opener at Detroit, he caught 10 passes for 217 yards, an NFL record for a rookie in his first game. And he continued to produce nearly every week, earning praise for his toughness and playmaking ability.

Even though it's very early in his career, I think it's worth noting that Boldin has started much faster than the 17 receivers of the modern era who are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Among the Hall of Fame receivers, Steve Largent had 54 catches in 1976, and Paul Warfield had 52 in 1964. Warfield's 920 receiving yards was the best of the Hall of Famers during a rookie season.

One of the reasons Boldin was such a surprise is because just-fired head coach Dave McGinnis -- realizing early on what he had in the youngster -- went out of his way to keep him under wraps during the preseason.

But from the first pass he threw to Boldin in rookie camp, Jeff Blake knew the Cardinals had something special.

"It's not about speed, it's about making plays," Blake recently said. "So many scouts look at speed and strength and forget about playmaking ability, and that's why guys like Anquan always slip through the cracks.

"It's a lesson learned on judging talent. It's not how big you are, it's not how strong or fast you are, but it's character and will and drive and the size of a person's heart. Those things you can't measure."

Thanks for keeping all that to yourself, guys.

Fortunately, we'll all know better next year, especially with Boldin working under new head coach Dennis Green -- a man with a track record for taking full advantage of top receiving talent from his days with Randy Moss in Minnesota.

Top Comeback Player: Stephen Davis, RB, Carolina Panthers

Even though he matched his 2002 touchdown output with eight this year, it's hard to call Davis' journey from forgotten warrior to almost over-used workhorse anything but a comeback.

While his punishing running style -- as well as his $11.4 million 2003 cap figure -- didn't make for a good fit in Washington under then-head coach Steve Spurrier's Fun-N-Gun offense, Davis emerged as the cream of this year's crop of free-agent running backs during his first season as a Panther.

Don't let the touchdown total fool you -- Davis went from carrying the ball 207 times for 820 yards as a Redskin in 2002 to 318 carries for 1,444 yards this season. His previous best was 1,432, set with Washington in 2001.

Even though he missed two games this season due to injury, I'd suggest his 4.5-yard per carry average this year is an indication Davis isn't necessarily wearing down.

The Candy Bone Award: Michael Vick, QB, Atlanta Falcons

Perhaps the most obvious winner among this year's honorees, the fractured fibula Vick suffered during an Aug. 16 preseason loss to Baltimore -- an injury originally expected to keep him off the field from six-to-eight weeks -- ultimately limited him to just four starts and five total appearances this year.

Even though he finished up strong, leading the Falcons to three victories in those four starts, it was far too little, much too late for fantasy owners unfortunate enough to burn early picks on Vick -- in many cases just days before the superstar-in-waiting was injured.

More than that, Vick's absence diminished the overall value of players like Peerless Price, Alge Crumpler and to a lesser degree Brian Finneran, players who entered the season with considerable fantasy juice, thanks in large part to high expectations pinned to Vick.

But of course, the offseason brings renewed hope. And as I always say, "Hope is cheap; indulge yourself."

In the meantime, I'll remind you it's never too early to get a jump on the 2004 season. Keep your eyes open, keep on top of developing news and remember: The most successful fantasy owners are usually the best informed.

And as always, SI.com and the Back Page will continue to do everything in our power to help you achieve that objective.

Bob Harris is Editor and Webmaster of the TFL Report and Senior Editor for Fantasy Sports Publications.