UPGRADES

• DL Jacques Cesaire, San Diego (5 solos, 2 sacks, 2 QH)
  The Chargers were already without their best two pass rushing linebackers and then they lost their best pass rushing DE in Luis Castillo to an ankle injury in the second quarter. There was no drop off with Cesaire, however, who helped make things miserable for Charlie Frye with 2 sacks and 2 QB hurries.
• DL Kenard Lang, Denver (4 solos, 1 asst, 2 sacks, 2 QH)
  After getting little pressure on Peyton Manning a week ago, the Broncos were all over Ben Roethlisberger this week. Kenard Lang had a huge impact with 2 sacks and 2 other QB hurries. Ebenezer Ekuban and Patrick Chukwurah were banged up after the game this week so that could lead to more playing time for Lang, who was a top-10 fantasy DL in 2003.
• DL Demetrin Veal, Denver (2 solos, 2 asst, 1 sack, 1 QH, 1 FF, 2 PD)
  Veal has been filling in for an injured Gerard Warren and had a great game. He was headed to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, but the Broncos quietly signed him to a 2-year extension recently.
• DL Cornelius Griffin, Washington (5 solos, 3 asst, 1 sack, 1 QH)
  The Redskins secondary is finally getting healthy so it might not be a big surprise that Griffin had his best game of the year. He has the ability to be a fantasy force and one of the best interior pass rushers in the league so hopefully this is a sign of things to come from him.
• LB Marques Harris, San Diego (3 solos, 3 asst, 1 sack, 1 QH, 1 FR, 1 PD, 1 TD)
  In just his second start in place of injured Shaun Phillips, Harris made a huge impact. Although Harris is undersized and will probably be vulnerable defending the run, he's an explosive edge rusher and he showed that Sunday with a sack, and fumble recovery in the end zone for a TD.
• LB Brandon Moore, San Francisco (7 solos, 7 asst, 1 sack, 3 QH)
  Normal ILB Jeff Ulbrich was benched and Brandon Moore took his place in the starting lineup this week. Moore responded with a huge game against the Vikings and could emerge as a very productive fantasy option going forward.
• LB Dontarrious Thomas, Minnesota (4 solos, 4 asst, 1 sack, 1 QH)
  Thomas filled in for an injured Napoleon Harris at MLB this week and was impressive. Harris suffered a dislocated wrist in week 8, was wearing a cast, and may need more time to recover. If so, Thomas becomes a decent pickup.
• LB Keith Brooking, Atlanta (7 solos, 2 asst, 1 sack, 1 QH)
  Ed Hartwell missed the game with a knee injury, which meant that Keith Brooking moved back inside. After slumping for a few weeks, Brooking appears to be coming back into form with 14 solos, 4 assists, and a sack in the last 2 games.
• LB Channing Crowder, Miami (8 solos, 2 asst, 2 QH)
  Crowder has been very productive with 35 solos and 19 assists in the last 6 games, including 15 solos and 6 assists the past 2 weeks. Although he's yet to record a sack in his brief career, he came close on Sunday with 2 QB hurries of Rex Grossman.
• LB Freddie Keiaho, Indianapolis (5 solos, 3 asst)
  The rookie Keiaho filled in for an injured Gary Brackett (hamstring) in the second half and put up solid numbers. He's normally the backup to Cato June at WLB, but played inside linebacker in college and could be worth a look if Brackett is out for any extended period of time.
• LB Barrett Ruud, Tampa Bay (6 solos, 2 asst)
  Shelton Quarles left the game with a sprained ankle and was replaced by Ruud, who put up his numbers in about a half of work. With the Bucs season slipping further away, the greater incentive they'll have to start playing Ruud more and more games like this won't hurt.
• DB Jason Webster, Atlanta (7 solos, 3 asst, 1 PD)
  Webster led the Falcons in tackles yesterday and has 28 solo tackles in his last 4 games. With a very talented corner playing opposite him in DeAngelo Hall, offenses are picking on Webster and that is helping him put up some very nice fantasy numbers.
• DB Asante Samuel, New England (8 solos, 1 FF, 1 PD)
  Samuel is emerging as the clear #1 CB for the Patriots this season, and he's been very active with 25 solos, 3 INT, 7 PD, and a FF in his last 5 games.
• DB Rashean Mathis, Jacksonville (4 solos, 2 INT, 3 PD)
  After collecting 4 INTs in his first 4 games, teams stopped throwing at Mathis and he had 0 INTs and 0 passes defensed in the next 3 games. Thankfully for Mathis owners, Vince Young didn't get the memo and Mathis wound up having a huge game. His 6 INTs for the year now lead the league.
• DB Madieu Williams, Cincinnati (11 solos, 1 asst)
  Williams had just the second game of his career with double digit solo tackles and the last one came in 2004 in the 4th game of his rookie year. With all the shuffling that has been going on at LB this year, Williams now leads the team in tackles.
• DB Kenoy Kennedy, Detroit (3 solos, 2 asst, 1 INT, 1 PD)
  Even though the Lions opened in a 3-safety formation, Kennedy wasn't one of them. He wound up seeing a lot of time, however, in his first game back after missing the last 5 with an injury and there's a good chance that he'll return to the starting lineup next week.
• DB Bob Sanders, Indianapolis (8 solos, 3 asst, 1 INT, 1 PD)
  Sanders finally returned to the lineup this week and started at FS for the Colts. He immediately showed why fantasy owners had been waiting for him with 8 solos and an INT.

DOWNGRADES

• DL Rod Coleman, Atlanta (0 tackles)
  Coleman wasn't listed on the injury report this week after showing up as questionable the past couple games, but he's apparently still bothered by a turf toe injury and is trying to play through it. He's yet to record a tackle since week 4.
• DL Phillip Daniels, Washington (1 solo, 1 asst)
  After a 2-game stretch when Daniels had 2 sacks, an INT, and FF, things started to look promising for him. In the two games since then, however, he's put up just 1 solo and 2 assists.
• DL Michael Strahan, NY Giants (1 solo)
  Strahan left the game in the second quarter with a foot injury and is expected to miss at least 2 to 4 weeks. There were some concerns that it could be even longer though so keep an eye on this situation. With Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck already battling injuries, the Giants great DE depth could be depleted.
• DL Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, Green Bay (1 solo, 1 asst)
  KGB is having a disappointing season with just 3 sacks in 8 games. Making matters worse, he has 2 or fewer solo tackles in every game since the opener.
• DL Tamba Hali, Kansas City (2 solos)
  Hali had a hot streak earlier with 3.5 sacks in 4 games, but he's gone cold since then with just 3 solos in the past 2 games. He also left the game this week with a hip injury which could limit him going forward.
• LB David Thornton, Tennessee (0 tackles)
  Thornton barely played this week because of a shoulder injury. The Titans started rookie Stephen Tulloch at MLB and slid Peter Sirmon out to the strong side.
• LB Derrick Johnson, Kansas City (1 asst)
  Johnson left the game early with an ankle injury and went home on crutches. He is the team's leading tackler and would be a major loss. Keyaron Fox replaced him and might be worth a look if Johnson is out for any extended period of time.
• LB Jeff Ulbrich, San Francisco (2 asst)
  Ulbrich was benched this week and will probably need an injury to get back in the starting lineup after the great game Brandon Moore had in his place.
• LB Ian Gold, Denver (1 solo, 1 asst)
  Ian Gold left the game with a hamstring injury and may wind up missing a game or two. He was replaced by Louis Green, but DJ Williams would likely see a bump in his production after replacing him in the nickel package.
• LB Gary Brackett, Indianapolis (4 solos, 5 asst)
  Brackett was listed as questionable on the injury report with a knee problem this week but he played and wound up having a great first half. However, he strained his hamstring and wound up leaving the game.
• DB OJ Atogwe, St. Louis (1 solo)
  The rookie Atogwe got off to a great start with 18 solos and 2 INTs in his first 4 games, but he has just 3 solos over the past 2 games. He's not making plays in the passing game and has also been missing quite a few tackles.
• DB Adam Archuleta, Washington (2 solos, 3 asst)
  Archuleta has been getting burned in coverage, so the Redskins benched him this week and inserted veteran Troy Vincent into their starting lineup. Archuleta still got some playing time in certain packages but at a minimum he could lose time in the team's nickel package so his production will likely drop off considerably.
• DB Nick Collins, Green Bay (1 solo, 2 asst)
  Collins had his second consecutive game with just 1 solo tackle and he did not return to the game after leaving with a lower back injury.
• DB Lewis Sanders, Houston (2 solos, 1 asst)
  Sanders put up impressive tackle numbers early this year but he has been replaced in the starting lineup by DeMarcus Faggins and has just 6 solos in the last 4 games.