We are a quarter of the way through the NFL season, and there are lots of wacky things happening. The Chiefs are 3-0 and the only undefeated team. That’s a far cry from last year, when the Colts and Saints were unbeaten almost all the way to the end of the 2009 campaign. There are also some interesting candidates emerging for MVP consideration, as well as for Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year. And like last year, we’ll start to analyze them in power rankings fashion. For this week and maybe the next few, we’ll put this in one post and give three names for each category. Around the halfway point of the season, more candidates will emerge so we will separate things out. Sound good? Right. Let’s go……..

MVP Power Rankings

1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—Do we even have to spell this out? He steps in for Kevin Kolb in Week 1 and almost leads the Eagles to victory against the Packers. Then he wins against Detroit and Jacksonville before having his ribs crushed on a meaningless play vs. Washington last Sunday, knocking him out of the game early. Kolb comes back in, and the Eagles lose. Vick is averaging 200 yards passing per game, has 6 TDs and no interceptions, and is also averaging 7.2 yards per rush on 26 carries and one TD on the ground. He has a QB rating of 108.8 while Kolb’s is 71.1. Simply put, this team is dangerous with Vick, and not scaring anyone without him. That’s the very definition of MVP.

2. Arian Foster, Houston Texans—The Texans were tied with Oakland 14-14 last week in the third quarter, and Foster had been benched for personal reasons by Gary Kubiak. He came in mid-way through the second quarter, and while Derrick Ward had been carrying the load acceptably, Foster opened things up with a 74-yard touchdown, which ignited the Texans to 17 unanswered points. He has 689 all-purpose yards (172 yards per game) and 5 total TDs. That’s not just fantasy magic, that’s plain magic.

3. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—Kevin Greene is the linebackers’ coach for the Packers, and that guy was nasty when he played. He’s made Matthews his pet project, and Matthews has responded to the tune of 7 sacks through four games. That’s on pace to shatter Michael Strahan’s NFL record of 22.5 sacks. Matthews just has a sick nose for the ball, too, and is around it on almost every play. And the Pack needs him, because with no running game to speak of, the pressure can’t all be on Aaron Rodgers and his receivers.

Honorable mention: Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers

COY Power Rankings

1. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—The Rams were giving up 31 points per game in 2009, and so far this season they are giving up 13 per game. Spags is a defensive guru…remember the 2007 Giants and what they did to Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo, Brett Favre and Tom Brady in the postseason? Well, he’s finally got that D humming and his upstart Rams, led by rookie QB Sam Bradford, are 2-2 and atop a weak NFC West. It’s too early to anoint this team a division winner, but it’s not nearly out of the realm, either.

2. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs—You can’t really not put a 3-0 team here when nobody else is undefeated. This, despite the fact that the guy is saving Jamaal Charles touches like he’s hoarding cookies under his bed.

3. Rex Ryan, New York Jets—His team is 3-1, including 3-0 in the division, and the only loss being by a 10-9 score to the Ravens. They have scored 106 points while giving up 61, a league best differential of 45 points. The Jets are for real, and they can back up all that swagger that trickles down from their head coach.

Honorable mention:Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears; Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans

ROY Power Rankings

1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Bradford was a winner at Oklahoma and he carries himself like a winner in St. Louis, something this franchise desperately needed at the quarterback position. Bradford has thrown for 944 yards in four games with 6 TDs and 6 interceptions. That’s a pace for 3776 yards with 24 TDs and 24 picks. If this kid can limit his picks, and lead his team to a division title, he’ll practically be a lock for the Pro Bowl. But that’s still a big “if” at this point.

2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—We all know he’s a beast, but he’s already racked up 15 tackles and 3 sacks. The Lions still have a ways to go on defense, but this young anchor has already made an impact.

3. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Despite being slowed by injury, Best won the starting RB gig in Detroit and has responded with and average of 98 all-purpose yards per game with 5 touchdowns. Not only is this something the Lions haven’t had the likes of since *maybe* Barry Sanders, but it takes so much pressure off of Calvin Johnson to carry the offense.

Honorable mention: Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders

Well, we can’t ignore what Drew Brees did to the Patriots on Monday night, can we? It doesn’t even really matter what Mr. Manning and Mr. Favre did. Oh, those guys are all bunched up here, but consider that in their biggest game of the season so far, the Saints’ Brees threw for 371 yards, 5 TDs to five different receivers, and zero picks in leading them to a 38-17 dismantling of New England in the Superdome. Yikes.

1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—See above. Brees now leads the NFL in both QB rating (112.6) and touchdown passes (27). He’s even rushed for 2 scores for good measure. And oh yeah, the Saints are 11-0 and starting to think about Miami in February.

2. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—Funny how Favre is not getting the love he should from sportswriters in the MVP conversation. Well that’s ridiculous, and you can count this writer among those who think he is extremely deserving. Against Chicago last Sunday, Favre threw for 392 more yards, with 3 TDs and no picks. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s 24 TDs to 3 interceptions on the season, and his team sitting at 10-1 and in line for a first round bye.

3. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Our apologies for dropping Peyton from #1 to #3 here, but he keeps flirting with disaster each week before bringing his team back. Sure, they are 11-0 just like the Saints, but we don’t feel particularly happy about those 11 interceptions so far.

4. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans—800 yards in the month of November. 800 yards. Are you freaking kidding me? Apparently LenDale White was not in uniform against Arizona last Sunday because of being late to a meeting. I think it was more like Jeff Fisher didn’t want to make the mistake of putting White in the game for any reason, so he kept the guy in street clothes. And how about this sick run by the Titans?

5. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers—His numbers are damn near close to the guy he replaced in Green Bay, Mr. Favre…a.k.a. #2. 3136 yards, 22 TDs, and just 5 interceptions. Imagine if Rodgers (44 sacks) wasn’t running for his life most of the time.

Honorable Mention—Philip Rivers, Chargers; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars, Reggie Wayne, Colts; Cedric Benson, Bengals; Jared Allen, Vikings; Tom Brady, Patriots; Randy Moss, Patriots; Miles Austin, Cowboys; Vince Young, Titans; Andre Johnson, Texans; Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Darren Sharper, Saints

We’re getting deeper into November now, and as we do the playoff races in the NFL are getting tighter. That means certain players are beginning to step up an show their mettle at crunch time, while others are quietly fading off the map a bit. Here is our updated power rankings for NFL MVP….

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Thanks to Bill Belichick giving him a short field to work with last Sunday night, Manning once again led his team to victory to reach 9-0. But let’s not forget the Colts were trailing by 17 early in the fourth quarter before Manning led his team’s comeback.

2. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—It’s safe to say that nobody expected Brett Favre to have the highest QB rating in the NFL at this point (107.5). But there it is, with 17 touchdown passes and just 3 interceptions, and he’s led the Vikings to an 8-1 record with visions of the promised land becoming clearer.

3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—He’s slipped just a little in our rankings despite his team being 9-0. It seems like each week it’s becoming more and more of a struggle for Brees and his Saints’ teammates, but until someone beats them, there’s no real reason to discount the QB’s season.

4. Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals—Unfortunately, Benson left last Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh with an injury, but there is no denying his value to this upstart Bengals’ squad so far.

5. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans—Sure, his team began the season with six straight losses. But suddenly, we have to give CJ props, because his team has now won three in a row, and he leads the league in rushing (1091 yards, 121 yards per game). He also has 30 catches for 262 yards and 9 total touchdowns. He’s a threat to score from any part of the field, any time.

Honorable Mention–Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars, Reggie Wayne, Colts; Jared Allen, Vikings

We’re going to start something new this week….individual power rankings in the NFL for MVP, coach of the year and rookie of the year. We may expand this to separate entries, since frankly it’s difficult picking just three of each. But here is what we’re thinking so far after the first quarter of the season….

MVP

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—With all due respect to Drew Brees and Peyton’s little brother, there is no way in hell the Colts would be 4-0 without Peyton. And he’s doing it with young receivers not named Harrison and Gonzalez.

2. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—Favre mostly handed off to his stud RB Adrian Peterson the first two weeks, then made himself comfortable with a game winning pass with 2 seconds left against the Niners, and a fierce performance including 3 TDs against his former employer Monday night. Again, without Favre, is this team 4-0? Probably not.

3. Steve Smith, New York Giants—Are you kidding me? This guy has not only made everyone forget about Plaxico Burress, but he’s on pace to catch 136 passes, which would be second in NFL history for a single season. Smith is the only receiver in the league averaging 100 yards per game (102.8) and has 4 scores.

Honorable Mention: Drew Brees, Saints; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Jared Allen, Vikings; Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; London Fletcher, Redskins; Antwan Odom, Bengals

Coach of the Year

1. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos & Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals—This one is a tie because each coach is connected by that one play at the end of Game 1, which, if it went the other way, Lewis would be 4-0 and McDaniels 3-1. But the bottom line is, each of these teams has pretty much shocked the football world to this point.

2. Mike Singletary, San Francisco 49ers—The 3-1 Niners are a Brett Favre clutch play away from being 4-0. We all knew they’d be improved, but raise your hand if you expected a 2.5 game lead in the division at this stage.

3. Rex Ryan, New York Jets—With a rookie quarterback, the Jets stormed out to 3-0 until being halted by the white hot Saints. Ryan has this team believing in defense.

Honorable Mention: Sean Payton, Saints; Tom Coughlin, Giants; Jim Caldwell, Colts; and heck, Brad Childress should get a nod for having the balls to coax Favre back.

Rookie of the Year

1. Mark Sanchez, New York Jets—Before last weekend, this guy was reminding New Yorkers of Joe Namath. And that’s really saying something.

2. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions—Okay, so he’s not killing it, but he’s had his team in more than just the game they won.

3. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams—One of the lone bright spots on a pathetic team, Laurinaitis has 25 solo tackles and 9 assists to lead all rookies.

Honorable mention: Knowshon Moreno, Broncos; Kenny Britt, Titans

1) Become a MVP winner in Major League Baseball. Check, as he won the 1988 American League MVP Award with the Oakland A’s.
2) Become a star on a television reality show. Check, as he became a cast member in Season five of the Surreal Life on VH-1.
3) Write a tell-all book on the steroid era in baseball. Check, as he wrote the book entitled Juiced.

And now you can add headlining a mixed martial art event to his list, as Canseco will fight 7-foot-2 and 330 pound Hong-Man Choi on May 26 in Japan.

Canseco vs. Choi is one of four matches in DREAM’s “Super Hulk Tournament” organized to boost television ratings. Here is the entire card:
Super Hulk Tournament (Open-Weight)
- Jose Canseco vs. Hong-Man Choi
- Gegard Mousasi vs. Mark Hunt
- Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa vs. Bob Sapp
- Jan “The Giant” Nortje vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Despite a 1-2 record, Choi is a dangerous MMA fighter due to his size and sheer strength. This is a definite step up from Canseco’s last opponent inside the ring, actor Danny Bonaduce. They boxed to a draw in an exhibition bout last January, and Canseco was also knocked out in a boxing match against former NFL player Vai Sikahema last summer.

Through his blog (38pitches.com) last week, Curt Schilling ended months of speculation on whether or not he would pitch this season by announcing his retirement from baseball. And the moment he hit the send button on his computer screen, the debate began if he is a worthy Hall of Fame candidate.

If you consider him a lock for enshrinement to Cooperstown than you must re-evaluate Jack Morris’ career because they’re one in the same. Neither guy was a marquee name. For Schilling, he had to contend with Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson, while Morris competed with Doc Gooden and Roger Clemens for the title of baseball’s best pitcher. They had similar starts to their careers as long men in the bullpen, but once they established themselves in the starting rotation, Schilling and Morris became big game pitchers at the most important time of the year…October.

Their regular season numbers don’t overwhelm you, as Schilling had only 216 career wins and Morris recorded 254 wins in his 17-year career, with both eluding the coveted 300 wins mark for automatic entrance into the Hall. And neither one won a Cy Young Award in their career. But, what really puts them into the conversation is their memorable playoff performances.

Two words come to mind when you say Schilling and postseason…bloody sock. He stapled his ankle tendon to the bone and led the Boston Red Sox to their first championship in 86 years. He was the ace or co-ace on four World Series teams (the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies, the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, and the 2004 and 2007 Boston Red Sox), and was named the 2001 co-MVP in one of the best seven-game World Series ever played. In 19 postseason appearances, Schilling had an 11-2 record with a 2.33 ERA. His detractors will tell you that Schilling never met a microphone that he didn’t like, and who could forget him playing for the camera by covering his head with a towel instead of watching Phillies closer Mitch Williams save game five in the 1993 World Series?

Morris was a true throwback, a pitcher that finished what he started. He had 175 career complete games in an era that was transitioning from dominant starting pitching to a bullpen–based staff. And just like Schilling, he is remembered for one amazing postseason outing. Morris recorded a 10-inning complete Game 7 shutout victory over the Atlanta Braves to capture the 1991 World Series for the Minnesota Twins. His World Series record was 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA, as he led four teams (the 1984 Detroit Tigers, the 1991 Minnesota Twins, and the 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jays) to World Series titles, including three in a row from 1991-1993.

Schilling and Morris raised their level of play when their teams’ back was against the wall. They pitched to the moment and came up big time after time. Other pitchers (Mike Mussina or Bert Blyleven) might have better career numbers, but they will have to pay admission to get into Cooperstown. The debate about whether or not Schilling and Morris are Hall of Famers has begun…let’s discuss.

1. Ken Griffey Jr. (2521 games, 20 seasons)—He’s played for some great Mariners teams, but his Reds’ clubs the last decade or so were mostly awful. Junior had a shot with the White Sox last season after being traded, and didn’t make it. Can he play long enough for Seattle to become competitive again?

2. Frank Thomas (2322, 19)—Really, the Big Hurt has never sniffed a World Series? Well yeah, he was with the White Sox for 16 years and the team won it all in 2005, his last season with the team. But that October, Thomas was injured and left off the postseason roster, and then signed with Oakland in 2006.

3. Alex Rodriguez (2042, 15)—Does anyone else think it’s not coincidental that A-Rod has never reached the Fall Classic? Dude is a world-beater in the regular season but never seems to match or exceed his capability in the postseason.

4. Carlos Delgado (2009, 16)—Delgado began his career in Toronto right after the Jays won two World Series titles, and while he’s been close with the Mets a few times, he’s still looking for that “brass” ring.

5. Ray Durham (1975, 14)—Ray Durham has been a steady player, but all those years with the Giants (after they were NL champs in 2002) didn’t help his chances to reach the big stage. A late-season trade to Milwaukee in 2008 got him close, but the Brewers lost to Philly in the NLDS.

6. Jason Kendall (1833, 13)—Nine seasons in Pittsburgh says all that there needs to be said.

7. Bobby Abreu (1799, 13)—Abreu left Philly, and the Phillies won two division titles and a World Series. He put up decent numbers with the Yanks, but being A-Rod’s teammate didn’t help matters any (see above).

8. Mark Grudzielanek (1772, 14)—Grudzielanek began his career in Canadian baseball purgatory (Montreal) and has played the last three seasons in American baseball purgatory (Kansas City).

9. Vladimir Guerrero (1750, 13)—This dude has absolutely mashed his entire career, but playing eight years in Montreal ensured a late start in postseason experience. He signed with the Angels two years after they won it all, and is on a very talented team that always seems to underachieve in the playoffs.

10. Miguel Tejada (1713, 12)—Tejada won an MVP award in Oakland and has put up some monster numbers. His link to steroid use, along with A-Rod’s, has not exactly put him in a good light, but it’s still a bit surprising that he’s never made it to the big dance.

Source: Baseball Reference