Third And Short

WHEN TIM CARTER reported to the Giants' training camp in Albany, N.Y., and immediately began complaining about lingering tendinitis in his left patellar tendon, you could almost hear his employers groan, Here we go again. An exceptionally fast fifth-year wideout with tantalizing talent, Carter, 26, has been dogged by ailments throughout his career. He has only 50 catches and one touchdown in 37 games, and last season, as New York's third receiver, he was limited by a sore hip.

Yet the following day Carter was the star of the show, making four impressive catches, including a deep pass to end the session. Apparently competition from rookie Sinorice Moss for the No. 3 job has brought out the best in him.

After failing to land free agent Keyshawn Johnson in the off-season, the Giants re-signed Carter to a two-year, $2 million deal--but the team clearly doubted his ability to stay healthy and wanted additional firepower to complement veteran starters Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. New York runs a three-receiver set roughly 40% of the time, and last year Eli Manning threw more passes than all but two NFL quarterbacks. So on draft day general manager Ernie Accorsi traded up to take the 22-year-old Moss, out of Miami, in the second round. The idea of drafting the 5'8", 185-pound Moss seemed to have come from the difficulty the New York defense has had in trying to stop two superb NFL wideouts with similar builds and receiving styles: Panthers All-Pro Steve Smith and the Redskins' Santana Moss, Sinorice's older brother. "That's how it's been ever since we were kids," says Santana, 27. "On the sandlot, everybody would pick [Sinorice] so they could beat my team."

"He's a muscular, explosive guy," Accorsi says of the younger Moss, who's been slowed a bit by a strained quad muscle. "Tim will have to stay on the field to have a chance of holding him off."

The best news for the Giants is that, at least through Sunday, both players were expected to play in the preseason opener this Friday at Baltimore. "Oooh, it's tough out here," Burress said after a spirited morning practice. "You've got Tim racing down the field and making athletic plays, and then you've got Sinorice breaking tackles with those strong legs and threatening to go the distance every time. I promise you one thing: Our four-receiver set will be extremely dangerous."