We know they have offensive and defensive rookie awards, but let’s lump them together for our purposes.

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Not only has he anchored Detroit’s D-line, but the dude can attempt (and almost make) extra points too?

2. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—With that number 8, reminds some folks of Troy Aikman, and leads on the field even as a rookie.

3. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—On pace for 72 catches, 1112 yards and 10 TDs. As a ROOKIE.

4. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—You won’t find a brighter spot on an abysmal team right now, and he’s a game changer.

5. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Finally the Lions are making smart draft picks.

6. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—He’s actually led the Browns to two wins in a row against Super Bowl contenders.

7. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals—The Bengals haven’t had a relevant tight end like this in years

8. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—Through a half-season, 4 interceptions and 39 tackles. This is shades of Jairus Byrd last year.

9. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—2 sacks, 2 picks, 45 tackles—and solidifying a much improved defense

10. Dexter McCluster, Kansas City Chiefs—Averaging an astounding 20.9 yards on punt returns with one TD, and probably more to follow

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

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

Wait…what?

In his Rookie Watch: Midseason Awards (Insider subscription required), Thorpe says that Thornton is the next best rookie scorer after Tyreke Evans.

There are a few obvious choices here, but I think Thornton is the most deserving simply because of what he’s done in difficult circumstances. Despite being pulled into and out of the rotation, playing for two coaches already and often getting paired with another rookie in the backcourt, he has been able to put up points and help drive the Hornets back into playoff contention.

Ultimately, I think Thornton will be an excellent scorer off the bench for a contending team. He has supreme confidence in his ability to get a bucket from anywhere.

Difficult circumstances? Thornton has played with Chris Paul and Darren Collison at point guard, maybe the best 1-2 punch at the position in the entire league in terms of setting up teammates for shots. Meanwhile, Brandon Jennings has been asked to run the Bucks offense, deal with the absence, arrival and disappearance of Michael Redd, and has helped Andrew Bogut develop into an All-Star caliber player, all while leading the Bucks in scoring.

Thornton’s has a higher points per shot (PPS), averaging 1.15 to Jennings’ 1.05, but Jennings is averaging almost seven more points per game while being the focus of the opponent’s defensive game plan. Jennings is just as good from long range and gets to the line twice as often. Sure, he’s struggled of late as teams have started to figure out how to stop him, but that’s just it — teams are trying to stop him. Is anyone game planning for Marcus Thornton?

This is a head-scratcher.

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

Answer: yes. After the best rookie season posted by a catcher since Mike Piazza hit 35 home runs in 1993, Geovany Soto has mutated into a bench player making a B line straight for the minors. This isn’t just a sophomore slump — this is Puff Daddy’s Forever, “Caddyshack II,” season 2 of “Heroes.” This is Daniel Baldwin.

In 2009, Soto played in 141 games, hitting .285 and racking up 23 dingers, 86 RBIs, and 66 runs. He quickly established himself as the fourth offensive threat on the Cubs behind Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano. As of this writing, Soto is hitting .218 with nine long balls, 31 RBIs, and 21 runs. He’s also losing playing time to a guy named “Koyie,” who has a career batting average of .211 and had never played over 36 games in a season before 2009. Sweet Lou has even lost faith in young Geo, sitting him every other game.

So what’s wrong? Is it a nagging oblique strain? Is it all that pot he was smoking? Even the fantasy experts are at a loss, citing that Soto is still hitting for contact and working better counts. Personally, I think it’s a confidence issue. Chicago is a tough place to play. Though Cubs fans are affectionate to those who earn it, they can be ruthless if you are currently the definition of “suck.” I specifically remember them booing Kosuke Fukudome in last year’s NLCS. (Yet, this year they love him, despite putting up mediocre numbers. Beats me.) Milton Bradley is another fine example. However, it seems like Cubs fans want Soto to succeed and are holding out hope that he can get it going down the stretch. After all, it’s damn hard to come by a consistent, young catcher who’s skilled both offensively and defensively. Look at how many teams employ a rotating duo of catchers based on their opponent that day. That irritates me and it’s a pain in the ass for fantasy owners. Even though Russell Martin is working through some struggles this year, the kid has the genuine talent that will carry him through. He, Joe Mauer, Jorge Posada, and Brian McCann are the definition of what a premier catcher should be in the MLB. I like Soto, and I want him to get back to this level.

For the record, there’s a big difference between “disappointment” and “bust.” People had high expectations for Soto and he’s not meeting them. Milton Bradley and Pat Burrell are inconsistent, overpaid busts.

I apologize to Daniel Baldwin. He was cool in “The Sopranos.”

PYLE OF LIST put together a creative piece dedicated to baseball movie characters that probably took performance-enhancing drugs in order to be successful on the big screen diamond. Some of the names on this list are startling, yet can we really be surprised that Dottie Henson of the Peaches was probably on the juice?

Kelly Leak (Jakie Earl Hayley) – Bad News Bears
The first name hurts the most of all. Our very own Hall of Famer, a dirty rotten cheat. Although, in hindsight, we really should have seen this one coming. I mean, smoking cigarettes at the field, riding a dirt bike underage, betting girls for dates at air hockey. Clearly this was a player with no regard for anyone’s rules but his own.

Dottie Henson (Geena Davis) – A League of their Own
Dominant hitter for short period of time (one season). A foot taller than all others in the league. Manager asking if she needs a cup (remember, he was in that locker room, he saw what all that testosterone was doing to her). No brainer.

Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) – The Natural
We’ve seen this story before: an aging player suddenly turning in the best performance of his career well past his prime. Sure, being a gunshot victim had a great deal to do with his inactivity but the numbers are a little fishy. It’s highly unlikely that an old, undersized slugger could hit with that kind of power consistently after a lengthy lay-off, even with “Wonderboy” and his God-given ability to mash. Perhaps he was the Grandfather of the Steroid era.

Henry Rowengartner (Thomas Ian Nichols) – Rookie of the Year
You know what, call me paranoid but I’m no longer buying his doctor’s “tendons healed too tight” story any more. A twelve year old who sucks at little league one day, visits the doc and before you know it is closing for the Cubs… yeah, it must be the tendons…

Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) – Major League
Lord knows Ricky Vaughn would do anything to gain an advantage, so steroids certainly wouldn’t be out of the question, particularly in the era in which he played. In many ways, he’s kinda like the lost Giambi brother… and we know what they did to break in to baseball. While most of his initial issues had to do with his vision, I’m sure a few PEDs wouldn’t hurt his vision, velocity or recovery time. Think Eric Gagne without the goatee.

Great list – love the Giambi brother reference to “Wild Thing.”

The only addition I would make to the list is the entire team from “Angels in the Outfield.” Angels helping a team win? Please – every player on that team was as high as a kite and on various forms of drugs. One week they’re the laughing stock of the league and the next they’re flying around the field? Give me a break – I’d love to see the test results from that club.