UPGRADES

• DL Ty Warren, New England (8 solos, 2 asst, 2 sacks)
  Richard Seymour gets most of the hype in New England, but Warren has arguably been the Patriots best defensive lineman this year. He's also playing the best he has all season right now with 16 solos and 3.5 sacks in his last 3 games.
• DL Matthias Kiwanuka, NY Giants (5 solos, 2 asst, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 FF, 1 PD)
  Kiwanuka didn't play much early in the season as he was buried behind Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora. Since entering the starting lineup, however, the rookie has been a big play machine. In the last 6 games, Kiwanuka has 24 solos, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions and 3 passes defensed and he should have had another sack when he had Vince Young wrapped up but let him go. Umenyiora played in the game this week and despite putting up 0 tackles, his presence likely created more opportunities for Kiwanuka.
• DL Bryan Thomas, NY Jets (3 solos, 2 asst, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF)
  Thomas has been having a great year, and his tackle numbers are boosted by the fact that he often lines up as an OLB in the Jets 3-4 defensive front. He has a very impressive 48 solos and 6.5 sacks on the season, and 3.5 of those sacks have come in the last 2 games. He also recently signed a 5-year, $25 million contract extension so he's going to be around for awhile.
• DL Charles Grant, New Orleans (6 solos, 1 sack, 1 PD)
  Grant has been somewhat inconsistent this season, but he's been playing well of late. In his last 2 games, he's put up 11 solos and 2 sacks. Grant is scheduled to become a free agent after the season so he should have plenty of motivation to finish the year strong.
• LB DeMeco Ryans, Houston (14 solos, 1 asst, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 FF, 1 FR, 3 PD)
  Ryans may have just locked up the defensive rookie of the year award with his performance this week (after putting up 13 solos a week ago). He's having an incredible season with 97 solos in 12 starts, but he's also shown some big play ability with 3.5 sacks and his interception and forced fumble this week. Ryans could finish as the highest scoring fantasy LB this season, a pretty impressive feat for a rookie.
• LB Shawne Merriman, San Diego (6 solos, 2 sacks, 2 FF, 1 PD)
  Merriman had 3 sacks in his last game before the 4-game suspension and he picked up right where he left off with 2 more sacks yesterday. Merriman now has 10.5 sacks in 8 games played and his tackle numbers have also been steady with 24 solos in his last 4 games.
• LB Mike Vrabel, New England (5 solos, 3 asst, 2 INT, 1 FR, 2 PD)
  One week after Junior Seau was lost for the season, Vrabel took over his starting job at ILB and had an amazing game with 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery. Vrabel now has 5 or more solo tackles in 5 of his last 7 games, and he's also added 3 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 FF and 1 FR in that same time period. He took a knee to the head late in the game and was knocked woozy for awhile but early reports indicate that he should be all right.
• LB Keyaron Fox, Kansas City (8 solos, 4 asst, 1 sack, 1 PD)
  Fox has been filling in for an injured Derrick Johnson and has been putting up some impressive numbers in the process. In his last 4 games, he's compiled 28 solos, 8 assists, and a sack. Johnson is close to returning, but the Chiefs might need to consider starting Fox over Kendrell Bell at some point.
• LB Victor Hobson, NY Jets (9 solos, 4 asst, 1 PD)
  Hobson has been playing very well for the Jets recently and has actually outproduced ILBs Jonathan Vilma and Eric Barton in each of the past 3 games. In his last 3 games, Barton has racked up 22 solos and 11 assists. Hobson isn't a prototypical 3-4 OLB and doesn't add much as a pass rusher, but he's a solid run defender and looks like he could be a decent backup LB on a fantasy roster.
• DB Chris Harris, Chicago (13 solos, 1 asst, 1 PD)
  Chris Harris took over the starting SS job in Chicago after Todd Johnson went down with a sprained ankle and had a strong game. Harris was the Bears starting FS as a rookie last year but SS is a more natural position for him. It's possible that Harris could hold onto the starting job after Johnson returns.
• DB Bryant McFadden, Pittsburgh (8 solos, 1 asst, 1 INT, 1 PD)
  McFadden has been very productive the past 2 weeks since replacing Ike Taylor in the starting lineup. In his last 2 games, he's put up 17 solos and an interception. Considering he's an unproven 2nd year pro, QBs probably aren't too afraid to throw in his direction, and he's also a very solid tackler who can step up and support the run defense.
• DB Kenoy Kennedy, Detroit (6 solos, 1 asst, 1 sack, 1 FF)
  Kennedy returned to the starting lineup after missing week 12 with an injury and had a very productive game against the Patriots. It seems that whoever starts at SS for the Lions this year will put up good numbers, so Kennedy is probably a safe play as long as he remains healthy.
• DB Keith Lewis, San Francisco (8 solos, 1 asst, 1 sack, 1 PD)
  Lewis has been on a tear since the 49ers inserted him into their starting lineup. In his last 4 games, he's collected 26 solo tackles, 2 interceptions, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and 3 passes defensed. If he's somehow still available in any deep dynasty leagues, I'd definitely recommend picking him up.
• DB Will Demps, NY Giants (6 solos, 3 asst, 1 INT, 1 PD)
  Demps hasn't necessarily been playing all that well lately but he has been putting up good numbers. In his last 4 games, he's been credited with 26 solo tackles, 11 assists, 1 INT, 1 FR, and a couple passes defensed.
• DB Bob Sanders, Indianapolis (4 solos, 2 asst, 1 FF, 1 PD)
  Sanders returned to the lineup this week and played just his 4th game of the season. If he can stay healthy, he should be a productive fantasy player for the rest of the season.

DOWNGRADES

• DL Kevin Williams, Minnesota (1 solo)
  With another poor performance this week, Williams now has just 3 solos in his last 4 games. He had 5 sacks in a 7-game stretch earlier this year, but his statlines are starting to look like they did a year ago when he finished with just 31 solos and 4 sacks.
• DL Rod Coleman, Atlanta (1 solo, 1 asst)
  Coleman established himself as one of the league's best interior pass rushers by finishing with double digit sacks in 3 of the last 4 seasons. This is looking like a lost season for him, however, as he has just 12 solos and 3 sacks in 11 games played and just 1 sack in his last 9 games.
• DL Justin Smith, Cincinnati (2 asst)
  Smith was playing like a top-10 DL in the first 8 games of this season, but he's gone cold. Ice cold. In his last 4 games, Smith has just 3 solos and 0 sacks. He's scheduled to become a free agent after this season and is probably costing himself quite a bit of money if he doesn't turn things around soon.
• DL Tommie Harris, Chicago (2 solos)
  Harris had a great start to the season with 5 sacks in his first 4 games, but he hasn't recorded another one in the 8 games since then. Things could be getting even worse as Harris suffered a knee injury in yesterday's game against the Vikings and had to be carted to the locker room. The injury wasn't expected to be season-ending, but the Bears will likely consider shutting him down for the rest of the season to keep him healthy for the playoffs.
• DL Kyle Vanden Bosch, Tennessee (1 solo, 3 asst)
  Vanden Bosch had an incredible season last year (40 solos, 12.5 sacks) after signing as a free agent. He's been playing well this year with 35 solos, but he has just 4 sacks on the season and has now had 4 disappointing games in a row. He should be able to turn things around this week against the Texans though.
• LB Angelo Crowell, Buffalo (0 tackles)
  Crowell left the game very early with a leg injury and didn't return. Reports on Monday indicate that he'll miss the rest of the season with a broken leg. Coy Wire filled in for him on Sunday and rookie Keith Ellison is another possible replacement for the rest of this season. Takeo Spikes should see a bump in his production if he takes over Crowell's nickel duties as expected.
• LB Barrett Ruud, Tampa Bay (1 solo)
  Shelton Quarles returned to the starting lineup this week, which forced Ruud back to the bench. Look for him to play a much larger role next season.
• LB Daryl Smith, Jacksonville (2 solos, 2 asst)
  Smith's production has been disappointing since he took over the starting MLB job in Jacksonville for an injured Mike Peterson. He did have one huge game with 12 solos and a sack in week 10, but he's put up just 10 solo tackles in the 3 games since then. He's a talented player who should be doing better.
• LB Al Wilson, Denver (2 solos, 3 asst, 1 PD)
  Wilson was carted off the field on Sunday night with a neck injury and spent the night in the hospital undergoing precautionary tests. He was released from the hospital on Monday but was reportedly still dealing with tingling in his shoulder and arms.
• DB Greg Wesley, Kansas City (3 solos, 1 asst, 1 PD)
  Wesley has been an extremely productive fantasy player in recent years, but he's been pretty mediocre this entire season apart from a couple good games. He hasn't exactly been terrible to make you want to cut him, but he hasn't been productive enough to warrant serious starting consideration.
• DB DeAngelo Hall, Atlanta (2 solos, 1 PD)
  Hall has the potential to be one of the league's best cover corners, but he's been struggling lately. Additionally, the rest of the Falcons cornerbacks are even worse so QBs have little reason to throw in his direction.
• DB Yeremiah Bell, Miami (1 asst)
  Bell put together a strong 3 game stretch recently in which he recorded 17 solos, 9 assists, 1 FF, 1 FR, and 6 PD. Since then, however, he's only managed 2 solos and 1 assist in the last 2 games.
• DB Daniel Bullocks, Detroit (2 solos)
  The return of Kenoy Kennedy to the starting lineup pushes the rookie Bullocks back to the bench. He may need to wait until next year to solidify a starting job, probably by unseating Terrence Holt at FS.
• DB Ryan Clark, Pittsburgh (4 solos)
  The Steelers lost SS Troy Polamalu to an injury a week ago and may have lost their other starting safety this week. Clark left the game with a groin injury and didn't return. The Steelers have a short week this week and rookie Anthony Smith may get his first start on Thursday night against the Browns.