You think it’s hard to predict the games and standings from week to week? Try picking MVP candidates. There are five or six different candidates emerging every week. We’ll do this as one post again today and start separating them out next week. And I’m sure by this time Tuesday everything will be turned upside down again. Enjoy the games today everyone!

MVP Power Rankings

1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—He didn’t play last week and yet the Eagles still won, but barely, on the road in San Fran. Against a team that still hasn’t won a game yet. And hence my case is made again. And when Kolb and the Eagles lose at home to the Falcons today, fans in Philly will be chanting Vick’s name, which will have made my case again.

2. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—AJ Smith took away the guy’s favorite receiver, but he keeps finding other guys open and reminding Bolts’ fans of Dan Fouts. Rivers leads the NFL with 1759 passing yards, with 11 TDs and 4 picks…but here is the stat that’s a bit mind-blowing—9.6 yards per attempt. In those who have played 5 games, Kyle Orton is second at 8.1 YPA. Wow. You fantasy geeks have got to love Rivers, and he might even get Vincent Jackson back around Week 10 or 11.

3. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers—Seriously, you wanna hear some sick numbers? 29 catches for 478 yards and 7 touchdowns. That projects to 93 catches for 1529 yards and 22 TDs….as a TIGHT END. Those numbers would rival Randy Moss’ 2007 season, but as a TIGHT END. Are you kidding me?

Honorable mention: Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers; LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos

COY Power Rankings

1. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—The Falcons are like the Boise State of the NFC. They get no respect. Everyone picks the defending champion Saints to win the division, and picks teams like Minnesota, the Giants, Philly and even the Bears to contend for the wild card. Meanwhile, Smith has his Falcons at 4-1 and if they beat the Eagles in Philly today, everyone’s eyes will be officially open. And well they should be—this team plays hard every week and are a reflection of their fiery coach.

2. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—How many of you picked the Bucs to win 3 games this season, let alone 3 games in the first four? But here are the Bucs at 3-1 and battling Atlanta for the division lead. Sure, they first beat Cleveland and Carolina before getting whooped by the Steelers. But then they found a way to beat the defending AFC North champion Bengals in Cincy. You have to give Raheem props, so we’re doing that right now.

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—Remember a few weeks ago, when all the Bill-Cowher-to-the-Giants rumors were hot? That was after Coughlin’s bumbling Giants fumbled and goofed their way to a 29-10 loss to the Titans despite dominating the game in stats; and a week after getting thrashed by the Colts in Indy 38-14. Then a funny thing happened…the Giants rallied around their beleaguered coach, with several of them sticking up for Coughlin along the way. They found their defense again, and last week found their offense as well in beating the Bears (3-0 before that game) and Texans (3-1 before that game) by a combined 38 points. And now Cowher is being rumored in Dallas. What a difference a few weeks makes.

Honorable mention: Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens; Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers

ROY Power Rankings

1. Ndamakong Suh, Detroit Lions—No sacks last week, but 3 more tackles and a 44-6 win for his team over the Rams.

2. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Two interceptions and no scores, and see #1. But we’ll keep him on here at least another week until we see if the Lions’ game was an aberration.

3. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—No TDs last week, but over 100 all-purpose yards wearing down the Rams’ previously stingy defense.

Honorable mention: Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders

The way the Saints have been winning each week has been like a gift to their fans. That is, it’s been a SURPRISE each week. Sometimes they dominate, sometimes they make it more interesting than it should be, and sometimes they flat out get a, well, gift, from the opposing team. Last Sunday it was the latter against a Washington team that let the Saints back in the game by missing a chip shot field goal. Drew Brees and company took care of the rest, and that’s why our man remains atop this list, with Peyton Manning right there behind him.

1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—He’s got a 111.3 QB rating to lead the NFL—3536 passing yards, 69% completion percentage and 29 touchdowns to 10 picks. Oh, and yeah…his team is 12-0 and has already clinched the NFC South.

2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Not much different from Brees’ numbers—3685 passing yards, a ridiculous 70% completion rate, 25 TDs and 11 interceptions…and the same 12-0 record for his Colts, with a clinched AFC South.

3. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—A much more human game for Favre against Arizona Sunday night, but despite those 2 interceptions, he still threw for 275 yards and two scores. It just wasn’t enough, and even worse, the Cardinals may have gotten into the Vikings’ collective head.

4. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers—Despite being sacked a league high 45 times, Rodgers had led his team to four straight wins and has them in position for a wild card berth. And he probably hates this comparison, but his numbers are very Favre-esque: 3399 yards, 25 TDs, 7 picks.

5. Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals—After missing a few starts due to injury, Cedric returned (albeit against Detroit) and promptly carried 36 times for 110 yards. Sure, there are two RBs with more yards per game (Chris Johnson and Steven Jackson), but Benson is making more of an impact for his team…the definition of MVP.

Honorable Mention—Chris Johnson, Titans; Philip Rivers, Chargers; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars, Reggie Wayne, Colts; Jared Allen, Vikings; Vince Young, Titans; Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Darren Sharper, Saints; Randy Moss, Patriots; Wes Welker, Patriots

With all due respect to the New York Giants, Carolina has been the most impressive team in the NFC the last three weeks. In their last three games, the Panthers came back multiple times in a thrilling victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field, absolutely ran over the Buccaneers last Monday night and then handled Denver in convincing fashion on Sunday.

What has been the most impressive thing about Carolina the past three weeks is the way they’ve run the ball. Quarterback Jake Delhomme hasn’t necessarily been that impressive (Steve Smith has one again made Delhomme look better than he is), but he hasn’t needed to be because the running duo of DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart has been so good. Plus, the Panthers’ defense has really tightened things up again, just in time for the playoffs.

The Panthers still have a tough road ahead of them because they have to travel to the Giants and Saints the next two weeks. But they also have a two-game lead over the Bucs and Falcons in the NFC South, meaning they have to win just one of their two remaining games to clinch the division. It’ll be interesting to see if the Panthers can not only can claim the NFC South crown, but also win out and achieve home field advantage throughout the postseason.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jeff Garcia was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice again and his playing status for Sunday’s game against Atlanta remains up in the air.

Garcia injured his calf earlier this week and has been limited on Wednesday and Thursday. Buccaneers Coach Jon Gruden said Garcia injured the same calf that limited him during training camp, but it was not the same part of that calf.

“It’s a concern,” Gruden said. “It’s a calf injury. It’s not the same part of the calf, but it is a concern. It’s a part of life. Hopefully he can get well in the next day or two. We need him.”

Gruden said backup QB Luke McCown has taken the majority of reps during practice this week and he will likely play if Garcia is unable to go. As of right now, it appears Garcia will be a game-time decision in Atlanta.

“That’s the first time in the last couple of months we’ve seen him throwing the ball as well as he is,” Gruden said. “It’s a good sign for us.”

Garcia should play but this has to be a major concern. The Falcons have only lost once at home this year and haven’t lost back-to-back games all season. (They’re coming off a 29-25 loss to the Saints last Sunday.)

This is a pivotal game for both teams in the NFC South, so one would assume Garcia will play. If not, Atlanta might load up to stop the run and force McCown to beat them through the air. Of course, this could be Gruden playing a mind game with the Falcons, too.

Brees threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns, but he was also picked off three times, including once on the Saints’ final offensive possession. Granted the weather did neutralize the potent New Orleans’ offense, but Brees looked awful. He consistently threw into double coverage and often behind his receivers. I hate to keep piling on Brees because he’s been fantastic all season, but the Saints’ defense played well enough to win. But he just wasn’t very good in the clutch.

Both the Bucs and Panthers won on Sunday, which means the Saints’ best hopes for a playoff spot is the Wild Card. And if the Falcons beat the Chargers, then even the Wild Card looks bleak.

Tampa, meanwhile, couldn’t separate itself in the NFC South, but they essentially control their own destiny. They still have to play the Panthers and Falcons one more time, but they also hold the series advantage against those teams, too. And with the way their defense is playing, they’re going to be tough come playoff time.

This game featured two teams heading in different directions. They might be 8-3, but Carolina has really struggled the past couple of weeks thanks to ineffective play by Jake Delhomme and a defense that can’t limit the big play. Things don’t get any easier for the Panthers either, with the Packers, Bucs, Broncos, Giants and Saints remaining on the schedule.

Meanwhile, this was a massive win for the Falcons. Mike Smith’s decision to go for it on fourth and goal midway through the fourth quarter up 24-21 showed that this team is aggressive. The play resulted in a Michael Turner touchdown (his third of four on the day) and provided a huge spark of momentum for the Falcons, who added two more scores with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

The Falcons finish by traveling to San Diego and New Orleans before facing the Bucs at home in three weeks. They also play in Minnesota and host the Rams at the end of the season, so a 10-6 finish isn’t out of the question, although beating the Saints and Bucs will be imperative in making the playoffs.

The East might get more attention, but the South is highly underrated in the NFC. If the Falcons don’t stumble last week against the Broncos, three teams would be 8-3 right in South. The title race in this division is going to be thrilling to watch over last five weeks.

The stats are one thing – the Bucs held Gus Frerotte to only 138 yards passing and Adrian Peterson to only 85 yards rushing – but you have to remember that Tampa has the most conservative offense in the league, too. They don’t score a ton of points and they don’t have many explosive playmakers, either. Jon Gruden’s offense relies on the running game and Jeff Garcia not turning the ball over. That’s it. The rest is in the defense’s hands to win the game.

At 8-2, Carolina has been awfully impressive and Matt Ryan has made Atlanta an instant contender in just his rookie season. But with how good the Bucs’ defense is playing, I wouldn’t be surprised if they win the NFC South again this year.

Tampa might be the blandest team in football, but they play their game better than anyone. They keep their game plan simple, don’t turn the ball over and play outstanding defense. They’ve also beaten the Panthers and Falcons earlier in the year and match up incredibly well against both of those teams. The only drawback is that they have to face each of those teams on the road over the next couple months.

The Bucs probably don’t have enough offensive firepower to make a deep postseason run, but barring a collapse they’ll make the playoffs and they’re going to be incredibly tough to beat. (Especially if they get a home playoff game.)