They had just put the finishing touches on their fourth consecutive loss of the summer, stretching the winless streak to seven games, dating back to the tail end of last year’s regular season. With no victories in more than eight months, it seemed rather peculiar for the question to be posed to Kerry Collins. Do you think the Giants are a playoff team?

Collins, the starter (but not the finisher) in every one of the losses, never hesitated.

“I wouldn’t see why not,” he said. “Our confidence is real high. I think we’ve got a good shot to be a real good football team. We’ve just got to get our minds right and realize it’s going to be a long season and a tough season. I think we can do whatever we want if we put our minds to it.”

With that, Collins symbolically brushed aside the notion that the Giants are what the evidence suggests they are. For many, the 0-4 preseason is a harbinger of things to come, an indication that this is a weak team that will struggle more than it will soar. For the Giants, the 0-4 record is the jumping off point for sentences that begin, “Yes, but … ” and conclude with ” … and that’s why we’re better than you think.”

No one cares about winning them all in the preseason, but the Giants didn’t win any, as they closed the curtain with Friday night’s 24-17 loss to the Ravens. The evening turned out to reveal the classic mixed messages that this time of year brings. The Giants dropped yet another game, outscored 17-7 in the second half, yet came away feeling better about themselves than had they trailed early and pulled off a late-game comeback.

“I’m disappointed … I didn’t want to go 0-4 in the preseason,” Jim Fassel, who is 4-12 in the preseason in four years with the Giants, said yesterday. “It’s frustrating how it all evolved. But I think we’ve improved ourselves and we’re ready to start the season.”

In each of Fassel’s previous three seasons, the Giants escaped a so-so preseason and then struck gold by winning their regular-season opener. In each of the three seasons, the Giants then lost at least their next two games. What this winless preseason means is anybody’s guess, although the Giants claim the bad record is overshadowed by all the steady improvement.

In three of the four games, the Giants’ starters left the field holding a lead. They were ahead of the Bears (5-3) in the second quarter, led the Jaguars (10-6) at halftime and were on top of the Ravens (7-0) after one quarter. The Giants were ripped – rightly so – for their showing against the Jets, but even in that game the starters were down by only 20-17 heading into the fourth quarter.

“I think there were some games we should have won,” Amani Toomer said. “When the first team went in, we went in there and did well, I don’t think we ever left the game behind, and I think that’s more of a measure of where we are. At least we were in the right direction.

“You’re never happy when you lose, but we’re putting it in perspective. If it happens next week or the week after that it will be more of an issue, because these games don’t count.”

The four losses proved what the Giants already suspected, that their backups and second units are limited and extremely inexperienced. The losses hinted at possible problems in certain defensive areas, specifically in the secondary and perhaps in getting pressure on the quarterback. On offense, though, the Giants’ starters gave every reason to believe this attack will truly work.

Collins enjoyed a fine preseason (quarterback rating of 86.1) and looks as if he will make some special plays. His receiving corps, led by Toomer and Hilliard and emerging Joe Jurevicius, looks more than solid, especially if rookie Ron Dixon continues to come on so quickly. The running game got a huge lift against the Ravens, as rookie Ron Dayne saved his best for last. The sight of Dayne (15-60) rumbling allowed the Giants to dream of big things, because if Dayne is a catalyst on the ground, they will be hard to stop.

The redesigned offensive line looked more cohesive than expected and should be an upgrade from years past. The special teams remains a concern, filled with youth and prone to giving up the big play, but Dixon’s 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Ravens, plus Tiki Barber’s continued excellence on punt returns, offer reasons to believe the Giants might actually be able to counter with some big plays.

The Giants even managed to stay relatively healthy. They lost two players with season-ending knee injuries, running back Sean Bennett and rookie linebacker Dhani Jones. There were big plans for Bennett as a specialist receiver, but compared with other losses around the league, the Giants got off easy.