FANTASY SELECTIONS WEEK 8

October 28, 2005 4:00 PM ET

Not only will you get the extra hour of sleep from setting your clock back an hour, football fans can enjoy an additional three hours of rest thanks to the NFL schedule-makers. Unless you're following the hometown team or flat-out masochistic, there's very little among the early slate of games to hold your attention. But while you're sawing logs, we'll be cueing up some football—and here's what's on the docket.

Will the Cards even show up?: Arizona's football club has been outscored 162-24 in its last five visits to Texas Stadium. Think about that; that's an average final of 32-4. Assuming Denny Green's squad bothers to show up for this one—and we've got a hunch they'll at least be in uniform on the sidelines—you can either a) watch to see if Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin can change the Cardinals' fates… or you can get an early start on Halloween by witnessing a horror show.

Lions and Bears, oh my!: It's a shootout for NFC North supremacy… which is a little like two drunks slapping off to see who gets to wrestle the alligator next. The Bears stomped the Lions in week two, but both the venue and Detroit's signal-caller have changed. Is that enough to alter the previous 38-6 outcome?

Epic: CBS estimates that only 10 percent of the nation will have the privilege of enjoying this gem… but ESPN has already booked it for all of next week on their "Instant Classic" segment. It's the battle of Fresno alums, Carr vs. Dilfer; it's the battle of two defenses who have less success stopping ground assaults than the Maginot Line; it's the battle for the right to decide between Matt Leinert and Reggie Bush; it's the battle to stay awake if this is the only game you can tune in.

Scoreboard pyrotechnics: The Raiders and Titans have put up an average of 65 points per game over their last five meetings, and neither defense is having a particularly strong year in 2005. Billy Volek bombed the Raiders for 492 yards and five touchdowns in the last meeting, but we expect Steve McNair to get the call this time; he's thrown for 667 and four in his last two against the Silver and Black. His counterpart, Kerry Collins, has rolled up 654 yards and seven scores in his last two dates with the Titans. Expect Randy Moss and LaMont Jordan to square off over who'll get more touches, while the Titans let Travis Henry and Chris Brown thumb-wrestle for carries as they look for healthy bodies to play at wide receiver

L-S-U! L-S-U!: You can forgive both the Dolphins and the Saints if they're thoroughly confused by Sunday's tussle at Tiger Stadium. It's the venue where Fins coach Nick Saban led LSU to a share of a national title, and it's the site of the Saints' first game in Louisiana this regular season. Mix in Ricky Williams facing off against his former team and you've got a good ol' fashioned football jambalaya on the bayou!

They're so back… maybe: Two of the fashionable NFC preseason favorites square off in Carolina, but only the Panthers have lived up to the hype. The Vikings hope they've righted the ship (pun intended) by escaping the 1-5 Packers at home on a last-second, 56-yard field goal. However, they've been violated to the tune of 95-21 this year on the road. Will Fred Smoot have an answer for Steve Smith? Can Pat Williams suffocate Stephen Davis? Will Julius Peppers be hugging Daunte Culpepper or just happy to sack him?

Renewing acquaintances: Easily the most intriguing match-up of week eight's early games is also one of its oldest, as the Giants and Redskins have exchanged pleasantries since 1932—back when the Redskins were known as the more politically correct Boston Braves. In addition to this being a key NFC East event, there's a streak on the line: Tiki Barber has scored, rushed for 100 yards, or both in every home game since last season's week-two tussle with the Redskins. Gregg Williams knows his way around a defense, but the emergence of Eli Manning might open things up for Barber. Meanwhile, Mark Brunell continues his thoroughly unexpected march towards comeback player of the year against a defense that has already surrendered 300-yard passing days to both the Cardinals and Saints.

The Thrilla in Diega: How often do you get to see the preeminent fantasy players at their position ply their craft on the same field at the same time? Well, twice a year if you're into either running backs or tight ends, because the AFC West doesn't skimp on either. LaDainian Tomlinson looks to bounce back from a rough week in Philly, while Priest Holmes hopes to merely keep Larry Johnson from stealing too much of his productivity. At halftime they'll set up a court and bucket at midfield so Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates can go one-on-one to determine once and for all who's the better hoopster. Okay, not really, but admit it: you'd pay extra to watch if they did.

Eagles fly into Mile High: There's nothing like a warm bowl of soup on a cool afternoon in the mountains, and thankfully the Eagles have Donovan McNabb's Mom #3 (the first two were actresses; we think this one's legit) to serve it up. And here's hoping the soup is chunky enough so that it doesn't burst through the hole in Donovan's stomach wall, which doesn't seem to be preventing him from throwing 75 times a game. That will stand in stark contrast to the Broncos, who have rushed for nearly 1,000 yards in the last five games alone, leaving Jake Plummer to audition for the Jason Lee role in the sequel to Almost Famous (seriously, if you've seen him lately, all he needs is the bell bottoms, a fringed vest, and a microphone and he's ready to belt out "Fever Dog"). After shutting down LT last week in Philly, will the Eagles have similar success on the road against Tatum Bell and Mike Anderson? This one should be worth the price of suffering through the early games.

Get me a Bruschi!: Could it be… the return of Tedy Bruschi on the nationally-televised Sunday night game? The Patriots need a lift after coming out of the gate 3-3, and he'll need to shake some of the rust off before next week's confrontation with the Colts. Maybe he can resuscitate a Pats D that ranks in the bottom third in rushing, passing, and points—or maybe Willis McGahee will shake his traveling blues and give an idea of how much Romeo Crennel is missed. About the only thing we know for sure with this one is that you'll want to turn the sound down lest you want your IQ to plummet from listening to the ESPN Sunday night crew.