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Each season begins with assumptions made about which teams will perform well and which will struggle. The actual game results usually prove those assumptions to be quite incorrect. The league's Most Valuable Player award has been given to a Ram in each of the past three seasons, yet only a dramatic turn of events could give either Kurt Warner or Marshall Faulk a fourth award. Below is a look at the top contenders for the league's most prestigious individual award as well as a quick glance at those who have toppled from the preseason version of this list in just three weeks of games.

QB Tom Brady, Patriots
He's in only his third season but Brady has already won a Super Bowl MVP award and is currently leading the league in touchdown passes. He leads a Patriot offense quite different from the dink and dunk attack that won the Super Bowl last season. With three new tight ends and two new backup wide receivers, the Patriots have started the season with an aerial showcase to the tune of 43 pass attempts a game. Normally, if a team has to throw that much it means it is playing from behind, but the Patriots are doing it by design. They destroyed their first two opponents then proved in Week 3 that they had the mettle to win a close game. Brady must be icing his arm after every game from overuse, but he is completing over 70 percent of his passes. This is astounding for a quarterback in just his third year. Some commentators have even begun comparing the Patriot quarterback to Joe Montana, who also came out of college unheralded yet enjoyed early success in his career.

QB Donovan McNabb, Eagles
No team in the NFL is as dependent on one player like the Eagles are on McNabb. The team has played just one bad half of football so far this season while dominating opponents 5/6 of the remaining game time. McNabb has already fought through an injury this season, a strained chest muscle that left him wincing in pain after every throw in Week 2 against the Redskins. Neither his receiving nor running backs corps consist of any game breakers, yet McNabb buys time for his receivers with his scrambling ability or takes off running himself. His 10 total touchdowns (8 passing, 2 rushing) lead all quarterbacks.

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