UPGRADES

• DL La'Roi Glover, St. Louis (6 solos, 2 sacks)
  The Panthers had been a very tough matchup for opposing DL, but Glover came through with his best game of the year against them this week. Although he was shut out against the Seahawks a week ago, he now has 4 or more solo tackles in 3 of his last 4 games.
• DL Trevor Pryce, Baltimore (4 solos, 2 sacks)
  Pryce helped make things uncomfortable for Michael Vick this week with 4 solos and 2 sacks. He now has 4 sacks in his last 4 games.
• DL Paul Carrington, Atlanta (5 solos, 1 sack)
  Carrington has moved into the starting lineup at RDE in place and he's been very effective over the past two weeks with 9 solos, 2 sacks, and a FF.
• DL Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis (2 solos, 1 sack, 1 FF)
  Not sure if Freeney is all the way back yet or not, but he's finally showing signs of life with a sack in each of his last 2 games.
• LB Caleb Miller, Cincinnati (12 solos, 2 asst, 1 FR, 1 PD)
  Miller got a surprise start at MLB this week over rookie Ahmad Brooks and he put up some huge numbers. Brooks was battling a shoulder injury during the week but was expected to play. It's unclear who will start at MLB next week but Miller could get another chance after his play this week.
• LB Thomas Davis, Carolina (9 solos, 1 asst, 1.5 sacks)
  The Panthers shut down the Rams offense on Sunday so there weren't a whole lot of tackles to go around but Davis somehow managed 9, along with his first sack of the season. With 19 solos in his last 3 games, Davis is starting to live up to the high expectations many fantasy owners had for him.
• LB Demorrio Williams, Atlanta (9 solos, 8 asst)
  When Williams gets to play, he generally puts up big numbers. Although not an established starter, he has 5 games with 6 or more solo tackles this year. Over his last 2 games, he's put up 15 solos, 10 assists and a FF.
• LB DeMarcus Ware, Dallas (4 solos, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 PD)
  Ware has been a very consistent pass rushing weapon for the Cowboys all year but he's been picking up his level of play recently with 12 solos, 3 sacks, 2 FF, and 3 PD in his last 3 games.
• LB Tedy Bruschi, New England (5 solos, 3 asst, .5 sack, 1 PD)
  Bruschi's production has been inconsistent this year and he isn't making the big plays that he's known for, but he's been very active lately. Over the last 2 games, he's put up 11 solos and 13 assists combined.
• DB Kevin Kaesviharn, Cincinnati (10 solos, 1 asst, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 PD)
  Kaesviharn isn't even a normal starter for the Bengals this year but he leads the team in interceptions with 4, and 3 of them have come in the end zone to prevent touchdowns. Kaesviharn started this week in place of an injured Dexter Jackson after being inactive the past 2 weeks with a knee injury. He made the most of it with 10 solos, an interception, and he was 2 for 2 on blitz attempts.
• DB Keith Lewis, San Francisco (6 solos, 1 INT, 1 FR, 1 PD)
  Lewis gets an upgrade for the 2nd week in a row after another great performance, this time against the division-leading Seahawks. Over the last 2 games, Lewis has 11 solos, 2 INTs, 1 FF, 1 FR, and 2 PD. He's played a key role in helping to turn things around for the 49ers defense.
• DB Kerry Rhodes, NY Jets (9 solos, 1 sack, 1 PD)
  After a very hot start to the season, Rhodes cooled off for a 4 or 5 week stretch. He's picked things back up again lately, however, with 16 solos, a sack, and FR in his last 2 games and figures to finish the year as a top-5 fantasy DB this year with a chance for #1 overall.
• DB Brodney Pool, Cleveland (7 solos, 1 asst)
  Pool began the year as a backup safety but he's begun to establish himself. Over his last 3 games, he's put up 15 solos, 1 INT, 1 FF, 1 FR, and 3 PD. Pool is an elite talent who should combine with Sean Jones to give the Browns a very potent safety tandem for years.

DOWNGRADES

• DL Derrick Burgess, Oakland (1 solo)
  After putting up 8.5 sacks in a recent 6-game stretch, Burgess has cooled off. Over his last 2 games, he's recorded just 3 solos.
• DL Mario Williams, Houston (2 solos)
  Williams recently had a 3-game sack streak, but he's cooled off with just 3 solos combined in his last 2 games.
• DL Kyle Vanden Bosch, Tennessee (1 solo, 2 asst)
  Vanden Bosch has gone 3 straight games without recording a sack and he has just 2 solos and 2 assists in his last 2 games combined.
• DL Patrick Kerney, Atlanta (Placed on IR)
  Kerney was place on injured reserve on Monday with a pectoral injury that he suffered a week ago in a loss to Cleveland. Kerney had made 105 consecutive starts, the 2nd longest active streak for a defensive lineman.
• DL Bert Berry, Arizona (3 solos, 2 sacks)
  Berry had a great game against the Lions this week but unfortunately suffered a torn triceps and will miss the rest of the season.
• LB Pisa Tinoisamoa, St. Louis (1 solo)
  Tinoisamoa missed a few games with a hand injury and is trying to play through it, but it looks to be hurting his effectiveness. He's put up just 3 solos in his last 2 games combined.
• LB Ahmad Brooks, Cincinnati (0 tackles)
  After his breakout 10-solo game in his first NFL start, Brooks hasn't been able to come anywhere close to that type of production. This week he struggled with a shoulder injury during the week but wound up getting benched in favor of Caleb Miller, who had a huge game. It's possible Brooks might have lost his starting job for the time being.
• LB Eric Barton, NY Jets (3 solos, 2 asst)
  Barton had 47 solo tackles in the 8 games before the bye for an impressive average of nearly 6 per game. Since then, however, he's put up just 5 solos and 4 assists.
• LB DJ Williams, Denver (1 asst)
  Williams figured to get a bump in his production when Ian Gold went out of the lineup recently, but it didn't happen. Williams has just 2 solos and 2 assists over his last 2 games and Gold is now back and healthy so don't look for much from DJ going forward.
• DB Greg Wesley, Kansas City (0 tackles)
  Wesley was questionable this week with a shoulder injury and was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Jarrad Page for the second consecutive week. Page played well and sealed the victory with an interception in the end zone on Oakland's final play.
• DB Mike Minter, Carolina (0 tackles)
  After putting up 15 solos and 6 assists in his last 2 games, Minter came into this game playing very well. He was shut out on the stat sheet, however, as the Panthers limited the Rams to just 49 total plays and 111 yards of offense.
• DB Darren Sharper, Minnesota (1 solo, 3 asst)
  Sharper's disappointing season continues. After tying for the league lead in interceptions last season, he has just 2 this season and his tackle numbers have been very underwhelming. He's finished with 3 or fewer solo tackles in all but 1 game this year.
• DB Kenoy Kennedy, Detroit (1 solo)
  Kennedy was very productive in his first 2 games after returning from an injury (9 solos, 10 assists, 1 INT), but he finished with a disappointing 1 solo tackle yesterday.