FANTASY FORECAST

There might not be an NFL team that plays locally, but let’s face it, thousands of us have fantasy league rosters that we draft and manage. Each week, Times NFL writer Sam Farmer will offer a few tips to the wise:

Play him

Bench him

*--* Kurt Warner QB, Arizona To keep things close against the Giants, Warner’s going to have to throw a lot. And he has the receivers for it. Steve Slaton RB, Houston A week after running for 156 yards against the Colts, this rookie is facing the league’s 28th-ranked run defense. Greg Jennings WR, Green Bay There should be plenty of scoring in this Superdome shootout, and Jennings will be in the middle of it all. *--*

*--* Brett Favre QB, New York Jets He’s facing a Tennessee team that leads the league in turnover differential. Uh oh. Tim Hightower RB, Arizona He was a vogue fantasy pickup a couple of weeks ago, but Hightower will be hard pressed to put up big numbers against the Giants. Randy Moss WR, New England Even when Matt Cassel has a big game, it’s usually not Moss who’s the beneficiary. *--*

Give him a chance

*--* Shaun Hill QB, San Francisco If the 49ers can get Dallas thinking with the running of Frank Gore, it will give Hill some breathing room to throw. Marshawn Lynch RB, Buffalo Lynch, who’s coming off his first 100-yard performance of the season, faces a Chiefs run defense ranked next to last. Antonio Bryant WR, Tampa Bay Bryant, who has supplanted Joey Galloway, knows all about the Tampa-two defense run by former Bucs assistant Rod Marinelli. *--*

-- Sam Farmer