The “All-Bust” Team of 2009

It seems a lot of the articles that are coming out have been about the “good” and “surprising” fantasy options that have popped up through nine weeks of the regular season. But what about the losers? You know those guys. The players you pine after during the offseason, only to see them fall right in your lap come draft day. You pat yourself on the back, not knowing that you now owned a ticking timebomb that will drag your team to mediocrity. If you own one or more of these guys, i’m sorry. If you were able to avoid all of them, congrats. I hate you.

QB: Jay Cutler (2046 yards, 14 TDs, 12 INTs) – Owners finally got something out of Cutler this past weekend after he threw for three touchdowns in a loss to the Cardinals. But his previous performances were less than stellar. Coming into Week 9, Cutler’s eleven touchdowns to eleven interceptions was abysmal, but it isn’t his entire fault. Wide receiver Devin Hester doesn’t really scare defenses and the only other legitimate weapon in the passing game is tight end Greg Olsen, who probably could have made this list as well. The running game with Matt Forte hasn’t helped much either. Hopefully the Bears realize they need another weapon in the offense next offseason. If not, Cutler is going to have a rough career in the Windy City.

RB1: LaDainian Tomlinson (91 carries, 289 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3.2 ypc average) – Tomlinson wasn’t ranked that high in the offseason fantasy rankings, but I did see him ranked as high as No. 5 in many mock drafts. Is it safe to say that LT’s days as a bonafide fantasy option are over? Oh yeah. We would be very surprised to see the Chargers retain Tomlinson for the 2010 season. He just doesn’t have that “wow” factor anymore. Expect the Chargers to address the running back position through free agency or the draft.

RB2: Steve Slaton (116 carries, 369 yards, 3 touchdowns, 3.1 ypc average) – Craig won’t like this one. After being a Slaton supporter all offseason and the beginning of the regular season, Craig’s loyalty diminished after Slaton’s fifth lost fumble in Week 8, his seventh overall. After being benched for Ryan Moats in Week 9, he redeemed himself somewhat with a touchdown run against the Colts, but the damage is already done. Can owners really expect this guy to keep from fumbling away the ball again?

WR1: Calvin Johnson (24 receptions, 352 yards, 1 touchdown) - It was hard to give Megatron the “bust” label, but it’s easier when I remembered that I drafted this guy as a WR1. If you take out his 8 reception/133 yard receiving week against the Bears in Week 4, Johnson is averaging just above 43 yards per game. His lone touchdown reception doesn’t help either. Between injuries and major question marks at quarterback, it’s going to be rough having Megatron for the rest of the year.

WR2: Dwayne Bowe (27 receptions, 375 yards, 4 touchdowns) - If you looked up inconsistency in the dictionary, you will see Bowe’s mug staring right back at you. He can go from 6 catches for 109 in Week 6, to just 2 catches for 11 yards the next week. The Chiefs’ offense does look better recently, but Bowe isn’t the WR2 we had thought he could be in the offseason.

Flex: Derrick Ward (283 total yards, 2 total touchdowns) - Ward wasn’t a super high fantasy prospect, but the fat contract he signed in the offseason led us to believe that he would be a big part of the Buccaneers’ offense. Then something happened: Cadillac Williams came back. What was thought to be a career ending knee injury turned out to be something Caddy got over quickly, having racked up 97 rushing yards in Week 1 against the Cowboys. I rank Ward with total yards since he was drafted primarily for his rushing and receiving yardage. But 283 total yards later, Ward is making the Bucs front office, and fantasy owners, queazy.

TE: Jason Witten (44 receptions, 391 yards, 1 touchdown) - I was sure this year would be a “Tony Gonzalez” type year for Witten, especially after the team cut wide receiver Terrell Owens. But so far, Witten’s lack of scores has killed his value. Witten is still getting his receptions and yardage, but his lack of touchdown catches really worries me as we begin the second half of the season. Witten is money every time he touches the ball. But once Dallas gets near the endzone, Witten disappears.