NEW YORK - Drew Brees went from forgotten man to one of the NFL's best quarterbacks this season. He was rewarded for his turnaround as The Associated Press 2004 Comeback Player of the Year.

The San Diego Chargers so doubted Brees after his weak 2003 performance that they drafted Eli Manning with the top pick last April, then traded him to the New York Giants for the rights to another highly rated quarterback prospect, Phillip Rivers. Had Rivers not held out for half the preseason, Brees might not have gotten on the field in '04 - he wasn't chosen as the starter until six days before the opener.

And the Chargers probably wouldn't have gotten into the playoffs.

"Obviously, going back to this offseason, and even last season, I set out with a goal and a purpose in mind," Brees said. "That was, first of all, to lead this team to a championship. Along with that, to try to become one of the best quarterbacks in this league, although neither of those goals have been accomplished. But that's the path, that's what I strive for."

Brees made his fourth NFL season by far his best, ranking third in passer rating behind Peyton Manning and Daunte Culpepper, and making his first Pro Bowl. The former Purdue star and first choice in the second round of the 2001 draft, Brees completed 262 of 400 passes for 3,159 yards, 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. His 104.8 rating was a 37.3 point improvement over the previous year.

"... There are negative things that are going to happen, and that's all part of the building process. You can't give up," he said. "You always have to have that attitude that your goals will be achieved. You've just got to keep grinding away. And if not this year, then next year. And if not next year, then the year after. You just keep believing, and it will happen."

He could parlay his sensational season into some big money as a free agent.

Brees earned 18½ votes from a national panel of writers and broadcasters who cover pro football, easily beating Carolina linebacker Mark Fields, who received 10 votes. Fields was sidelined last season with Hodgkin's disease.