2004 FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM PREVIEW: GIANTS
BY RICK SERRITELLA 7/19/04

Quarterback: This position was completely overhauled during the off-
season. GM Ernie Acorsi targeted Eli Manning as his man and traded
up with the Chargers to grab him in this year's draft. With that,
Kerry Collins took it as an insult and demanded out, wish granted.
Then the opportunity arose to sign two-time MVP Kurt Warner who has
been hampered with a sore thumb on his throwing hand and hasn't
played up to par the past two seasons. The Giants took a gamble on
him and he figures to be the opening day starter. All this took
place while Jesse Palmer was taping episodes for "The Bachelor" and
came into mini-camp throwing sharper passes than the both of them.
Warner may be worth the risk if he is still available towards the end
of the draft, you may get a few worthwhile performances out of him
until he gives way to Eli Manning after the Giants fall out of
contention.

Running Back: New coach Tom Coughlin is giving Ron Dayne a chance to
compete at tailback after not even suiting up for a single game under
former head coach Jim Fassel last season. You can bet that Coughlin
will not tolerate Tiki Barber's fumbles and that could pave the way
for more playing time for Dayne. The most likely scenario will
feature the reunion of Thunder and Lightning and will cause Barber's
numbers to decrease and make Dayne a worthy fantasy option. One
thing to keep in mind is the fact that Barber has accumulated nearly
600 carries the past two years and the wear and tear might finally
catch up to him as he enters eighth season.

Wide Receiver: The most consistent performer for the Giants over the
past five years has been wide out Amani Toomer. He provides
stability as a number two fantasy receiver and has missed just four
games in the past seven years. The same can not be said about Ike
Hilliard. Hilliard seems to constantly be battling injuries as he
has missed twelve games the past two seasons alone. This makes him
part of the buyer beware inclusion of players that just can't stay
healthy. The Giants signed James McKnight in the off-season to add
some depth to an extremely thin receiving corps. He primarily served
as a back up the past two seasons in Miami and has seen better days.
More of a chance to make an impact than McKnight will be second year
man David Tyree. Tyree excelled on special teams and got the chance
to play late last season. He made some big plays and could turn out
to be a pleasant surprise.

Tight End: We all know the talents of Jeremy Shockey, the question
is, can he remain healthy? The Giants are certainly hoping so.
After deciding to have late off-season surgery on his foot he is
slated to miss the entire pre-season and possibly more. In a keeper
league he is well worth the wait but in a year to year league you are
better off going with one of the lesser profile names mentioned in
some of the previous team previews and using your higher pick on a on
a player who could provide you with some stability..

Fantasy Stud: Tiki Barber – Primed for a lesser role but can't
ignore the fact that he has averaged 1,707 all-purpose yards (not
including kick returns) and 7 touchdowns the past four seasons.

Fantasy Dud: Ike Hilliard – Injury prone receiver you should avoid
at all costs.

Fantasy Sleeper: Ron Dayne – The forgotten man, get ready for the
year of the "Dayne Train".

***IF YOU ENJOY RECEIVING INFORMATION LIKE THIS, THEN YOU'LL ENJOY...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RSERRITELLA