it no secret that he would have selected Salaam over Wheatley in the draft. Wheatley's introduction to the Giants was a contract squabble that kept him from getting to training camp on time. Then, in rookie season training camp, he had the misfortune of pulling a hamstring while running sprints on the first day. Speculation had been that the injury had occurred in a stumble in a June track meet. Reeves held the prompt injury against the running back he never wanted. Wheatley later fell asleep in a meeting which drew a fine from Reeves. Although he only actually fell asleep in one meeting, he also had mental concentration issues in practice. He was not known for living erratically so his falling asleep and loss of concentration was enough of a problem that the Giants had Wheatley evaluated. On top of this, Wheatley was fined several times for tardiness to team meetings. Jim Fassel era (1997–1998) In 1997, by the end of training camp, Rodney Hampton's knees had given out, and although Wheatley had a great camp, Tiki Barber was named the starting tailback. That season, Jim Fassel's first, the Giants went to the playoffs with a 10–5–1 record. Wheatley led the team in carries that season despite missing two games and shared the ballcarrying responsibilities with Way and Barber. On October 12, Wheatley had his first 100-yard game with 102 yards on 22 carries against the Arizona Cardinals in a 27–13 victory on the road. While Wheatley and Way divided the rushing load, Barber and Way divided most of the responsibility for the running backs' role in the passing attack, while Wheatley had less than half as many receptions and reception yards as either of them. An ankle injury caused Wheatley to miss the final two regular season games and the wild card playoff game. By 1998, Wheatley was the only four-year veteran in the Giants backfield and although he developed another good relationship with an offensive coordinator, he was becoming accustomed to being described as an enigma. The Giants fell to 8–8 while relying on Barber, Way and Gary Brown. During the season, Wheatley often performed scout team duties and was inactive for some games. Fassel was not sympathetic to Wheatley's desire for playing time and thought that Wheatley was overweight. Over the course of the season, there was controversy about a season long weight limit of that