1. Brett Favre — Imagine if Larry Bird had come out of retirement, signed with the Lakers and returned to Boston to face the Celtics. What if Derek Jeter were to sign his next contract with the Red Sox, then return to the Bronx to play against the Yankees? What if George Washington had betrayed the Continental Army, become a British general and led the Redcoats in an attack against his former troops? Favre has already led the Vikings to one win over the Packers, but that was in Minnesota. Now comes the unthinkable: Favre's return to Lambeau Field as a member of the Vikings, the archenemies of all that is sacred in Green Bay. Stephen King couldn't have concocted a worse nightmare for the residents of Packerland. As for the fantasy angle, Favre diced up the Packers for 271 yards and three TDs in the earlier meeting, and though the Pack ranks fourth in the league in pass defense, Favre played pretty good games against the formidable Baltimore and Pittsburgh defenses the last two weeks. The 40-year-old Favre may not be the top-rated fantasy quarterback for Week Eight, but could you possibly keep him on your bench, knowing how fired up he's going to be for this one?

2. Miles Austin — Austin also appeared on the "ten most intriguing" list for Week Seven, but his 171-yard, two-TD performance against the Falcons last week merits a curtain call. In his last two games, Austin has caught 16 passes for 421 yards and four TDs. Those are Tecmo Bowl numbers. He can't possibly keep up this torrid pace, but when the dust from this explosion settles, will Austin be considered a legitimate top-10 fantasy receiver, a merely good receiver, or a short-term fluke? NFL fans of a certain age may recall Stephone Paige, a former Chiefs wide receiver who ended the 1985 regular season on a tear, with 452 yards and five TDs over his last three games (including a then-record 309-yard game in the season finale). That was Paige's third year in the league, and he wound up having a good, but not great, nine-year career. Does Austin have greatness in him, or his he merely a modern-day Stephone Paige? Needless to say, there's a great deal of attention focused on Austin heading into this week's game against the Seahawks.

3. Shonn Greene — With Leon Washington out for the season with a broken leg, Greene is going to pick up some carries since the Jets probably won't want to push starting RB Thomas Jones much past his current rate of 17.4 carries per game. Greene went off for 144 yards and two TDs last week, but that was in a 38-0 blowout of the hapless Raiders. We should get a better read on Greene's potential when he faces the fourth-ranked Miami run defense this weekend.

4. Joe Flacco — The statistical leap that the second-year quarterback has made this season can't be attributed solely to "experience." We also need to wrap our heads around the new reality of what the Ravens have become. This is no longer a team that beats the hell out of opponents with its defense and grinds out points with a ball-control offense. Sure, the defense is still formidable, but the Ravens have allowed opponents to score 24 or more points in four of their six games this season, and the Vikings dropped 33 points on them two weeks ago. (Think that sat well with Ray Lewis during Baltimore's bye week?) Futhermore, four of the Ravens' games have been decided by six points or fewer, and in one of their other two games (the Week One win over the Chiefs), they didn't slam the door until the final minutes. With the Ravens unable to build leads and then burn clock with the running attack, Flacco has had to throw an average of 37.5 passes per game, leading to inflated yardage totals. Fortunately for Flacco, he's getting terrific protection from his offensive line. The Ravens rank seventh in the league in pass attempts, yet they've yielded the eighth-lowest sack total. Flacco will be tested this week by the much-improved Denver defense, which ranks eighth against the pass and has yielded only three TD passes all season. If Broncos CB Champ Bailey is able to put the wraps on Flacco's favorite target, WR Derrick Mason, will the young quarterback still be able to move the ball?

5. Owen Daniels — Quick: Who leads the Texans in receptions and TD catches this season? (Hint: It isn't Andre Johnson.) Daniels has 39 catches to Johnson's 38, and five TD catches to Johnson's four. Daniels has been on a tear lately, with 22 catches for 295 yards and three TDs over his last three games, and the Texans may need to rely on the fourth-year tight end heavily this week against the Bills if Johnson is either sidelined or limited by the lung contusion he sustained last week.

6. Beanie Wells — Is Wells becoming the main man in the Arizona running game? The rookie from Ohio State spent the first few weeks of the season in Ken Whisenhunt's doghouse due largely to a fumbling problem. Coming out of a Week Four bye, Wells split carries evenly with Tim Hightower in Arizona's next two games, and last week he had 14 carries to Hightower's four in the Cardinals' 24-17 win over the Giants. Hightower is versatile, but it's well established that he's nothing special as a runner. Wells, on the other hand, has the potential to balance out an offense that's long been tilted toward the passing game. Wells had 67 yards and a TD last week against a decent Giants run defense, and this week he gets to face the not-so-decent, 26th-ranked Panthers run defense.

7. Ronnie Brown — Three weeks ago, Brown ran the "Wildcat" offense brilliantly against the Jets in Miami, picking his way through cracks in the Jets' defense for 74 rushing yards and two TDs (and completing a 21-yard pass for good measure) in the Dolphins' 31-27 victory. Jets head coach Rex Ryan couldn't have been pleased with all the long drives the Dolphins put together in that game. He's had a few weeks to devise ways to slow down Brown and the Wildcat, but during that time he also lost DT Kris Jenkins, a top run stuffer, to a season-ending knee injury. Brown has run for five TDs in his last three games.

8. Jeremy Shockey — Shockey hadn't totaled 50 receiving yards in any game this season before erupting for 105 yards last week in the Saints' 46-34 comeback win over the Dolphins. The Saints host the Falcons on Monday night, and oddly enough, Shockey has exactly as many receiving yards (304) and TD catches (three) as Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez. (Gonzalez has a one-reception edge, 27-26.) The Saints-Falcons game could very well turn into a score-a-thon, and these two tight ends could play prominent roles.

9. Steve Smith (Panthers) — The squeaky receiver gets the grease, and a week after Smith grumbled that he was "no longer an asset" to the Panthers following a one-catch game, he produced his best single-game numbers since Week Two, with six catches for 99 yards in Carolina's 20-9 loss to Buffalo. But Smith is still saddled with Jake Delhomme as his quarterback, at least for another few quarters. Some thought Delhomme would be yanked as the starter this week, and it probably won't be long before the guillotine blade drops. A QB change could be an even better, more permanent cure for Smith's statistical woes than a well-timed snit. The Cardinals and their 29th-ranked pass defense could provide a short-term cure for Smith this week.

10. Steve Smith (Giants) — Looks like the star-is-born talk may have been premature for the "other" Steve Smith. After opening the season on a four-game tear, during which he caught 34 passes for 411 yards and four TDs, Smith has cooled off considerably, with 11 catches, 183 yards and zero TDs over his last three games. Smith's statistical drop coincides with the emergence of rookie teammate Hakeem Nicks, who had three catches over the Giants' first four games and 13 over their last three. So is Smith the fantasy rainmaker he appeared to be earlier this season, or is he just another guy? We should know more after Smith faces a good Eagles defense in this weekend's big NFC East showdown.

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