As the Redskins painfully learned Sunday with the season-ending injury of defensive end Phillip Daniels, training camps are capable of creating a lot more harm than good. Just ask Michael Strahan, or Lawrence Taylor, who would skip camp annually, how necessary two-a-days in July are for becoming a star in the regular season. 

Yes, about the only thing fantasy owners should do during the preseason is hold their breath hoping none of their players goes down with an ACL tear like Daniels. Preseason games are not an indication of how players will do in the regular season. Peyton Manning will be great regardless of whether he takes a snap between now and the Colts' opener on Sept. 7. And Devin Hester will be returning kicks for touchdowns whether he shows up at Bears camp today or in early September.

That said, there are a few training camp stories for fantasy players to monitor:

- The Brett Favre saga. If, for some odd reason, Green Bay cuts Favre loose, he'll sign with Minnesota, and he would put up good numbers for the Vikings. They've added WR Bernard Berrian, and Favre would be in a dome, where he wouldn't need to worry about snow or driving wind on the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field. If Favre stays retired, or he gets traded to a lousy team, stay away from both him and Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is going to spend more time this season looking over his shoulder than at his receivers. And he's going to be knocked down by fans who will mercilessly boo his every mistake. Very few successors to legends succeed (Steve Young the exception). Aaron Rodgers won't.

- Trading places. When the Giants dealt Jeremy Shockey to the Saints, it was good news for Kevin Boss, who is likely to catch his share of passes serving as Eli Manning's new security blanket. It was bad news for Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and the other Saints receivers. Shockey will pout if he doesn't catch what he thinks is a reasonable number of passes - and he thinks he's open on every play. It's no coincidence the Giants improved once he got hurt. Colston and Henderson might be open more because of the added defensive focus on Shockey, but Drew Brees won't be throwing them any more passes, or else he'll be feeling Shockey's wrath.

- Free agent frenzy. There are a number of running backs waiting for jobs, such as Shaun Alexander and Cedric Benson. Some team is likely to take a chance on them before the season starts. Don't draft either one-Alexander's past his prime and Benson will never work hard enough to meet his potential. But they will take carries away from someone else. So watch where they sign-and be wary about drafting that team's top running back. A running back-by-committee approach is likely on the way.

Fantasy drafts are probably still a few weeks off, but it's never too early to start examining who to draft and who to avoid. So, starting Friday, the fantasy chatter will be providing a team-by-team preview of the season, with a look at the team's top fantasy values and a few diamonds in the rough. We'll start with the team who has had the busiest start to training camp, the Redskins.

And if you have any questions in the meantime, send them in.