Having played on some real dogs during his 16-year NFL career, I asked Carolina wideout Ricky Proehl a while back what it was like to play the final month of the season with no reason to get out of bed in the morning. The fans hate you. Your body aches. The locker room is a nightmare. Who's ready for some football? But to my surprise, Proehl said those were some of the most enjoyable months of his career.

Why?

Human nature, he said. With nothing to play for, a player's real character comes out. And so does a team's. Many future championship teams have been formed during the meaningless December games of a losing season, when guys play for nothing more than pride and love for football. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. "You find out really quick who takes pride in their work, who is a professional and who is going to pack it in," he said. "This time of year is the best time to find out who you want to go to war with."

Which made me think: They should give out an award for guys who do the toughest thing in sports -- play great, scrappy, tough-nosed, inspired football for horrible teams that are going nowhere.

In other words, the best players on the worst teams. Guys who excel with nothing to motivate them, other than a pure love for the game. Not the prettiest things to look at, but the most loyal, fierce, hardworking pups on the planet, who will protect your heap of trash like it was the Hope diamond.

Junkyard Dogs.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado (because I'm about to go on vaca) I give you the FlemFile's 2005 NFL Junkyard Dogs.

COACH: Romeo Crennel, Cleveland -- If he can coax six wins out of this kind of talent, he deserves serious Coach of the Year consideration.

HONORABLE MENTION: Nick Saban, Miami; Jeff Fisher, Tennessee; Jim Haslett, New Orleans -- After what Katrina and Tagliabue have put them through this season, anything other than a total meltdown by this team should be considered a miracle.

OFFENSE
QB: David Carr, Houston -- I just want this guy to earn something in the NFL, other than a concussion. Can he be a good quarterback in the NFL? I think so. But the Texans are so screwed up, it's hard to tell. After 204 sacks, all we really know is this class guy has taken a gruesome beating and, without whining, just continues to get back under center for another shot. You can't get any more JYD than that.

HM: Brooks Bollinger, NYJ -- A 106 passer rating against the Miami defense? You gotta have a lot of JYD in you to bounce back from getting benched in favor of someone named Vinny. Who knows how the Jets would have done had they gone with the kid all season?

HM: Steve McNair, Tennessee -- Just another 3,000 yard season, done almost entirely on his own, for one of the game's all-time warriors. Unlike Brett Favre, McNair elevated his game instead of letting it sink to the talent around him.

RB: Samkon Gado, Green Bay -- Calculated out over a full season, this former DII benchwarmer could have run for 1,300 yards. Calculated out over a full season, playing against defenses that couldn't load up the line of scrimmage out of respect for the Green Bay passing attack? Now you're talking 1,900.

RB: Reuben Droughns, Cleveland -- Has a chance to become the first Browns running back to rush for 1,300 since old school JYD Jim Brown himself. They should rename that place the Junkyard Dawg Pound.

TE: Todd Heap, Green Bay -- How good do you have to be to grab 69 catches for 803 yards on an offense that can't score, can't run, can't block and can't pass? (HM: Ben Troupe, Tennessee)

WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona -- Fitzgerald gets the nod because he had more of his catches in wins than Anquan Boldin. OK, it was 28-27, but if you think my tiebreakers are harsh, confusing or obtuse, check out the NFL's.

HM: Joe Horn, New Orleans -- Production down. Banged up. Don't care. Has had underrated eye-popping talent and a scrappy, underdog 'tude his whole career. Plus, I spent the week after Katrina hit with the Saints in San Antonio, and I watched him emerge as a eloquent, professional team leader. (HM: Torry Holt, St. Louis)

HM: Terrell Owens, Philadelphia -- Don't hate, educate. I still haven't seen anything even close to the JYD Hall of Fame performance he put on in last year's Super Bowl. And nothing he does or says will ever take that away. Also, dude led the league with 109 yards per game this season and ranked 8th with 16.2 yards per catch.

T: Orlando Pace, St. Louis -- I'll keep this short: on his way to seventh consecutive Pro Bowl.

G: Damien Woody, Detroit -- Talked to him after a horrendous OT loss to the Bears that was the beginning of the end for the Lions (which means only one thing in Detroit: time for a Matt Millen contract extension!). Calm. Thoughtful. Professional. Talented. I left thinking he might be the only sane guy in that locker room. And that was even before he gave me advice on speakers for my iPod. (HM: Rex Hadnot, Miami)

C: Steve and Seth McKinney, Houston and Miami -- Although Seth is out with a knee injury suffered in that JYD win over San Diego, he and his hardworking, locker room patrolling brother get my vote. How hardworking? Steve once told me he's busier during the offseason because of his many business ventures.

G: Joe Andruzzi, Cleveland -- I'm going with Pro Bowl voters on this one. Helped the Pats win three rings then jumped to Cleveburgh with Crennel, where he added big helpings of talent and professionalism and locker room presence that resulted in Droughns' great season.

HM: Mike Pucillo, Cleveland -- Has filled in admirably at three different spots on the line for the appropriately named Dawgs.

T: Jon Runyan, Philadelphia -- He's here for two reasons: (1) When he was a free agent in 2000, visiting Philly and having dinner at a steakhouse with Andy Reid, Temple coach John Chaney came up to him and warned him about the local fans -- and he signed anyway; (2) "It's not holding until it gets called," said Runyan, who has never experienced a losing season in college or the pros.

DEFENSE
DE: Derrick Burgess, Oakland -- After battling back from major injuries in each of the last three seasons, Burgess now leads the league with 14 sacks. He might be weird, but Al Davis knows football, people. (HM: Will Smith, New Orleans)

DT: Keith Traylor, Miami -- Defensive tackle is a natural fit for JYD honors. He does all of the grunt work and gets none of the credit. Somebody has to be gobbling up blockers and pushing the pocket so that Zach Thomas can make all of those tackles and Jason Taylor can make all of those sacks. The pattern repeats itself everywhere in the NFL. Any time you see a successful defensive end or linebacker, don't forget the anonymous earth movers who made it happen.

HM: Ted Washington, Oakland -- Somebody has to be gobbling up blockers and pushing the pocket so that Burgess can make all of those sacks. See what I mean?

DT: Shaun Rogers, Detroit -- When healthy enough to chase tailbacks 20 yards downfield, like he did last week against Cincinnati, scouts say he's unstoppable. Plus, even with what's going on in Detroit, spend five minutes with the guy and Big Baby will have you cramping up from laughter. (HM: Kelly Gregg, Baltimore)

DE: Kyle Vanden Bosch, Tennessee -- Has there ever been a better free agent signing -- and I mean in the history of free agency? For a league minimum $540,000, he has piled up 12.5 sacks. How much is Jevon Kearse making again? Having grown up working in his dad's masonry company, he's a natural-born JYD and a front-runner for Comeback Player of the Year. (HM: Aaron Schobel, Buffalo)

LB: Jonathan Vilma, NYJ -- 2004 DROY and now a 2005 JYD? The U's best NFL linebacker doesn't reside in Baltimore anymore. (HM: Andra Davis, Cleveland)

LB: Keith Bulluck, Tennessee -- Last year this versatile, never-say-die, scrappy team leader was the inspiration for the JYD Awards (OK, so I'm something of a procrastinator). Somehow he's gotten better since then. (HM: London Fletcher, Buffalo)

LB: Zach Thomas, Miami -- JYD Hall of Famer and an NFL one as well. While playing with a bad ankle and a bum shoulder, he has made 141 tackles, giving him 100 or more tackles in each of his 10 seasons. Ya know, it will be 10 times worse than Dan Marino's plight if this guy doesn't win a Super Bowl in Miami. (HM: Nick Barnett, Green Bay)

CB: Dre Bly, Detroit -- Dislocated a bone in his right wrist in the sixth game of the season and still managed to nab six picks.

CB: Dunta Robinson, Houston -- In his second season, he has developed into the kind of lock-down corner Dan Reeves, er, Bob Stoops, er, Dom Capers can re-re-re-build his defense around.

S: Adam Archuleta, St. Louis -- Second on the team with 60 tackles, but it's his 3.5 sacks and four picks and his Swiss Army Knife versatility that make him the prototype safety of the 21st century.

HM: Brian Dawkins, Philadelphia -- Last year's Super Bowl or this year's Toilet Bowl (at Arizona on Dec. 24) -- this guy doesn't know how to play any other way than with the needle buried in the red.

S: Michael Lewis, Philadelphia -- His 93 tackles are proof of two things: just how little the guys in front of him are doing and why he deserves to be on this list. (HM: Mike Furrey, St. Louis)

SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Neil Rackers, Arizona -- Another Pro Bowl JYD lock. Has missed only one field goal all season (36 of 37) and is a perfect 6-of-6 from plus-50.

P: Andy Lee, San Fran -- After punting 92 times, he should get credit in the NFLPA's pension plan for playing two seasons in 2005.

HM: Mitch Berger, New Orleans -- Has put 40 percent of his kicks inside the 20. (How do I know that? Good lord, I'm a geek.)

KR: Jerome Mathis, Houston -- With a league-best 29.8 yards per return, he's the Texans' only offensive threat.

PR: Pacman Jones, Tennessee -- His 12.9 yards per return (No. 2 in NFL) have shown the Titans all of the fearless, gifted athletic ability the team hopes to someday see in the secondary.

FANS
Buffalo, Cleveland, Philadelphia -- People ask me all of the time if I've ever cried at a sporting event and I say, heck yeah, I used to cry every time my dad dragged me and my brothers to that iced-over igloo of ignominy they called Cleveland Municipal Stadium. So I know you sickos will be in those freezing seats no matter the score, no matter the temp, on both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. And I salute you. HM: FlemFilers -- Knowledgeable, scrappy, they care deeply about football but have the kind of well-developed sense of humor and eye for irony and ear for sarcasm that keeps them from taking the game, or themselves, too seriously. Happy Holidays.

David Fleming is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. His book, "Noah's Rainbow," a father's emotional journey from the death of his son to the birth of his daughter, can be preordered through Baywood Publishing. Contact him at Dave.Fleming@espn3.com