Harris: Eli's Hurting
Okay, now the Giants are in trouble.
A day after losing Brandon Jacobs to a sprained MCL that should keep him out three-to-five weeks, the Giants have reportedly also lost quarterback Eli Manning, who looked really good on Sunday night, to a separated right shoulder. According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Manning will miss a month.
That's brutal. As bad as the New York pass defense looked against Dallas, that's how good the offense looked, and Manning was at the center of it all, going 28-for-41 for 312 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Manning was decisive and mostly accurate; his interception came when Plaxico Burress (who was otherwise tremendous, scoring three times) fell down on a hook route. Even with their starting rusher out, you could still have imagined the Giants putting up a bunch of points via the air with Peyton's little bro in the fold.
No longer. Either Jared Lorenzen, the Hefty Lefty himself, or Anthony Wright, last seen flaming out in Dallas and then Baltimore, will take over as New York's quarterback for at least four games: Green Bay, at Washington, Philadelphia and the Jets. Though coach Tom Coughlin named Lorenzen his team's No. 2 QB before the season started, there's every reason to believe the two backups will get a chance to compete for the starting spot in practice this week, especially since Lorenzen was sacked seven times in the team's preseason finale against the Patriots.
The real question is: Can either of these guys be a fantasy starter in Manning's place? And the answer is: no. I'd actually give Wright a better chance to produce some decent stats, but even if he wins the job, I don't think you want him. Sure, there are still a few very good weapons on this offense, but without Jacobs, whoever the starting QB is will have Derrick Ward as a rushing distraction, and a defense seemingly incapable of stopping anyone's passing attack. That should allow opposing defenses to tee off, which will lead to mistakes, sacks, turnovers, etc. If you drafted Burress or Jeremy Shockey, you probably have to continue to play them because they've still got high game-to-game upside, and because the G-Men could be behind quite a bit over the next month. But here's hoping you drafted another decent quarterback to back up Manning on your fantasy squad, because whether it's Lorenzen or Wright, I strongly doubt either guy will be ranked in the top 20 among quarterbacks when the Packers come to the Meadowlands this Sunday.
Christopher Harris is a fantasy baseball, football and racing analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.
