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

- YARDBARKER (via NO GUTS, NO GLORY) notes that it was a tough first night in jail for former Giants’ receiver Plaxico Burress. Apparently one of the other inmates yelled out, “The Giants suck!” Inmates, they have no regard for anyone’s feelings…

- DRAFT ZOO highlights the Week 4 games to watch in college football, while also breaking down the keys to victory for certain teams.

- UNCOACHED noticed that the University of Tennessee dance team likes to party.

- REAL CLEAR SPORTS lists the top 10 surprises of the 2009 MLB season.

- THE BLEACHER REPORT writes that in the race for quarterback supremacy, the NFC is closing in fast with signal callers like Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan.

Former NFL receiver Plaxico Burress has been sentenced to two years in prison and will begin serving his time immediately.

From USA Today:

Burress was accompanied by this wife, son and father to the hearing this morning. He pled guilty to a weapons charge last month stemming from an incident in which he suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a Manhattan nightclub in Novembver.

ESPN reported Burress’ attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said it was “a tragic day for a decent man.”

I think the tragedy was avoided in this situation because Burress only shot himself and nobody else. Hopefully other athletes will think about this incident and how Burress will lose two years of his life because he was careless about a weapon and be more careful themselves.

Burress says he intends to play football once he’s released from prison, although he’ll be 34 and probably won’t have many options. His best football days are definitely behind him.

Some will blame the security at the nightclub, which was, without question, irresponsible for allowing Burress to enter the club knowing he had the gun tucked in his waistband. But had Burress left the gun at home, this entire situation could have been avoided.

One thing I don’t understand is why he didn’t at least have the safety on. He shouldn’t have had the gun with him in the first place, but had he kept the safety on (or had a holster), he probably wouldn’t have put a hole through his foot.

Based on the video, it appears that Burress owns up to what happened and is ready to take accountability for his actions. One would hope that this situation will not only be a learning experience for him, but also other athletes who still believe the law doesn’t apply to them.

According to the New York Times, former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty to felony weapon charges on Thursday and received a two-year prison sentence.

Justice Michael H. Melkonian of State Supreme Court accepted the guilty plea. Under the plea agreement, along with the two-year prison sentence, Mr. Burress, 31, is to be sentenced on Sept. 22 to two years of post-release supervision.

If the case were to go to trial and Mr. Burress were convicted of all charges — two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and one count of second-degree reckless endangerment — he could face 3½ to 15 years in prison. The plea agreement still needs the approval of a State Supreme Court justice.

Given his age, this sentence could mean that his career is over. A team might give him a workout once he’s released from prison, but it’s doubtful that anyone would sign him to a contract no matter how much it was worth.

Not to kick someone while they’re down, but it’s amazing how far Plax has fallen since helping the Giants win a Super Bowl in 2008. He has no one to blame but himself either, after trying to secure a loaded gun in the waistband of his sweatpants while out at a nightclub. How stupid could you be? Who was he trying to impress? Was he actually trying to protect himself or was carrying the gun about image? Even though he shot himself, he’s lucky that no one else was hurt or else his punishment would have been more severe.

Either way, he has put his football career on life support. Maybe other athletes will look at this situation and realize how great of an opportunity they truly have and strive to stay out of trouble off the field. It’s highly doubtful, but one could hope.

Plaxico Burress has officially been indicted by a New York grand jury on charges of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, according to the New York Times. His former teammate with the Giants, Antonio Pierce, was not indicted.

Mr. Burress was indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and one count of reckless endangerment in the second degree.

Each of the weapons counts carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 3½ years, and a maximum sentence of 15 years, in state prison. The charge of reckless endangerment carries a maximum sentence of 1 year in jail.

The New York City District Attorney is pushing for Burress to serve at least two years in prison, although Plax’s attorney is hoping that his client will only serve a max of one. The question now becomes whether or not Burress will be suspended this season and if so, for how long.

According to a report by ESPN.com, Plaxico Burress was willing to spend a year in jail for carrying an unlicensed gun into a bar last November, then subsequently shooting himself in the leg with it. But prosecutors in his case want him to spend at least two years in the slammer.

Manhattan’s district attorney says he wants Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress to serve time in prison, the New York Post has reported.

Robert Morgenthau told the newspaper that Burress, who shot himself with an unlicensed gun in November, was willing to agree to spend a year in jail, but prosecutors insisted on two, the Post said.

“We’ve always taken the position that he’s going to have to go to jail, whether by trial or by plea,” Morgenthau told the Post for a story in Monday’s edition.

Burress shot himself in the thigh at a nightclub early on the morning of Nov. 29. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and faces up to 3½ years in prison. Burress has pleaded not guilty and is free on $100,000 bail.
His attorney, Benjamin Brafman, told the Post he was “bitterly disappointed.”

“Now that they have drawn a line in the sand, this is going to be a battle,” Brafman said.

Brafman is “bitterly disappointed” that his client could potentially serve two years in prison instead of one? I might be misinterpreting the gun laws in New York, but isn’t carrying a loaded, unlicensed weapon a maximum prison sentence of 15 years? If Burress only spends two years in jail, that’s still a freaking slap on the wrist compared to what he could have served.

If Joe Schmoe does the same thing, how many years in prison is he getting?