Fantasy New York Giants

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
David who slayed Goliath ... and you know how that goes in the world of fantasy football. At least you should. The residue of a strong post-season run by a team almost certainly means several players are going to be overrated the next fantasy season. I'm looking right at you, Thomas Jones. So the question with the Giants is, can you look past the post-season and judge flatly on what you think they'll do in this regular season? Imagine the Giants had lost in the first round at Tampa Bay. Now judge their fantasy players. That should be an accurate rating system. For example, settle down about Eli Manning. Sure, you can believe he's taken a giant (pun unintended, but I'm keeping the word choice) step forward in terms of maturity and taking care of the football. You also should remember that 13 QBs outscored him in fantasy points in '07. His last name doesn't do him any favors either. Hypnotize yourself into believing that Eli Smith lost in the first round to the Bucs. Now do you like him as a top ten QB? Me neither.

The Breakout
Brandon Jacobs ... I already covered him.

Although wide receiver Plaxico Burress missed every practice for the second straight week, it does appear that will start this afternoon when the Giants battle the Jets. And despite being at less than 100%, the 6-5 wideout matches up well against a much smaller Jets secondary. Expect him to put up some big time fantasy football numbers today.

In addition to Burress, the Giants will also see the return of running back Brandon Jacobs, who has not played since week one. And while Derrick Ward has been impressive in his absence, Jacobs is expected to receive the bulk of the Giants workload this afternoon.

Finally, the news on Osi Umenyiora does not seem nearly as positive. The defensive end who collected six sacks last week against Philadelphia missed two practices this week, and appears to be a game-time decision.