Parzych's 2009 NFL LVP (Least Valuable Player) Awards: Preseason Week 4

We are less than a week away from the start of the 2009 NFL regular season, which means the 2009 NFL preseason has officially come to an end (it's about time). After taking a look at the Most Valuable Players from Week Four of the preseason, who was the Least Valuable Player at each key position?

Quarterback: Tyler Thigpen, Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs QB Tyler Thigpen started 11 games last season. However, he may only end up playing this season if QBs Matt Cassel or Brodie Croyle ends up on the injury list.

It's hard for a quarterback to compete in the NFL when he throws the same number of completions and interceptions in a game. Unfortunately for Thigpen, he accomplished this feat in week four of the NFL Preseason when the Chiefs played against the St. Louis Rams.

Thigpen was pulled early in the third quarter against the Rams after a disastrous performance in which he finished 2-of-7 for 49 yards and two interceptions. The Chiefs went on to lose the game 17-9.

After Saturday's deadline, the Chiefs ended up keeping four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster (Cassel, Croyle, Thigpen and Matt Gutierrez). Thigpen's performance may not have been one for the memory books, but he will enter the the regular season as the No. 3 quarterback on the team's roster.

Running Back: Antonio Pittman, St. Louis Rams

After spending last season as a backup, St. Louis Rams RB Antonio Pittman will be looking for work from a different team after he was cut earlier this week.

In his first two seasons in the NFL, the former Ohio State Buckeye played in 23 games, rushing for 435 yards on 117 attempts. Unfortunately, he never made the type of impact the Rams were hoping for at running back.

In his first three games of the preseason, Pittman rushed for 64 yards on 16 carries (4.0 yards per carry). In his final preseason game with the Rams, he only ran the ball three times for a total of three yards against a weak Kansas City Chiefs defense.

Now the Rams will rely on RBs Kenneth Darby and Samkon Gado to backup Stephen Jackson.

Wide Receiver: The Atlanta Falcons

Normally, the Most Valuable Player and Least Valuable Player awards are based off of individual performances (except for defenses). However, the committee decided to make a special exception for the performance of the wide receivers for the Atlanta Falcons against the Baltimore Ravens.

It's hard to give a group of offensive players a hard time when playing against a defense with the talent level of the Baltimore Ravens. However, the performance by the Falcons' wide receivers in the team's final preseason game was nothing short of embarrassing.

Between QB's Matt Ryan (who only threw one pass for 13 yards), D.J. Shockley and John Parker Wilson, the Falcons threw for a total of 108 yards against the Ravens. The leading receiver was WR Troy Bergeron (three receptions for 23 yards).

Obviously, this was a preseason game that has little significance on how the Falcons will perform during the regular season, since the game was played by mostly backups. However, the award has to go to somebody each week. Congratulations to the Falcons wide receivers for winning the award.

Defense: Philadelphia Eagles

After the departure of FS Brian Dawkins to the Denver Broncos and the passing away of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, the Philadelphia Eagles knew their defense would face major challenges in 2009. If the preseason is any indication for how things will go for the defense this season, it could be a long season for the Eagles.

In their first three preseason games, the Eagles defense gave up a total of 82 points. This seemed rare from a defense that finished fourth in the league last season by only allowing 18.1 points per game.

Last Thursday's game against the New York Jets was nothing the Eagles defense hasn’t already dealt with this offseason. Once again, the defense struggled to stop the Jets offense, as the Eagles went on to lose 38-27.

In four preseason games, the Eagles defense allowed an average of 30 points per game. This puts even more pressure on new defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, who replaced Johnson during the offseason.

This article was first published at FantasyPros911.com