But at the very least one of the three will be new, and the order of the three may well be different as well.

Do not be alarmed, you Eli Manning fans. He is the starter and nothing short of civil unrest and disobedience will change that. But Anthony Wright, last year's backup, may not have enough left to stave off newcomer David Carr, who is the "replacement" for Jared Lorenzen (currently the No. 3 guy in Indianapolis).

You might remember Carr as the first player drafted in the 2002 body snatch, claimed by the new expansion team in Houston as its first-ever selection. The problem with that was the Texans forgot to assemble an offensive line, and poor Mr. Carr was subjected to more punishment and a record number of sacks in his rookie year.

The pounding never ceased, and over his first five years in Houston he was sacked 273 times, including a mind-boggling 72 as a rookie.

Then he drifted off to Carolina for a year and did absolutely nothing to warrant the Panthers re-signing him. So the Giants did, clearly a team enamored of great talent and remarkable tools in a beaten, mentally tortured body and soul.

Their quarterbacks coach, Chris Palmer, was there when Carr left Fresno State for Houston. He remembers now how difficult it was. "After a while," he says, "the kid was flinching when the ball was snapped, and the first break in the pocket would send him scrambling. We have to build his confidence again but I think he still has the same skill-set that made him so valuable as a rookie."

Last Thursday night in Detroit, Carr got to play more of the second half. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 104 yards and threw to free-agent wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe for the team's only touchdown in a 13-10 defeat.

"He was surprisingly accurate, showed good touch and was athletic on his roll-outs," said a scout who watched the show. "His passing motion is still a little bit like he's throwing the shot put, but the ball gets to where he wants it."

Carr had a passer rating of 125.1, all in all a highly commendable showing. Even head coach Tom Coughlin offered praise -- "he played pretty well and he hung in there when it got tough," he said.

Wright looked good, too, completing nine of 13 for 116 yards, but his style is more freelance and his game is based on spontaneous reaction. He runs better than Carr, but Coughlin doesn't like or want running quarterbacks.

The fourth quarterback on the roster is sixth-round draft pick Andre Woodson, who has enough potential to make it as a practice squad member this year while he learns enough to actually compete for No. 2 next year.

"I still think I can start," Carr says. "Obviously, not here, not with Eli. But if I get enough of a chance, I can prove myself to the teams that need a starter."