Week 12 IDP Upgrades and Downgrades

Upgrades

DT Dave Ball, TEN (2 solos, 0 assists, 1 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Ball was a very productive college defensive end at UCLA but he has had minimal success since being drafted in the 5th round of the 2004 NFL draft. He entered this season with 0 career sacks, but when Kyle Vanden Bosch went down with a groin injury last month, the Titans were forced to give him more playing time. He responded by recording a sack in 3 straight games and now looks like a key contributor to the Titans perfect start to this season.

DT Jay Ratliff, DAL (5 solos, 1 assists, 2 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Ratliff is having what appears to be a breakout season, but after recording 20 tackles and 3 sacks in his first 5 games, his production and level of play appeared to drop off. In games 6 through 9 combined, Ratliff was credited with just 5 tackles and 1 sack. In the first game with Romo back under center, however, he was a force in a must-win game against the Redskins. Ratliff finished the nationally televised game with 6 tackles and 2 sacks and he has a couple of favorable home matchups with the 49ers and Seahawks coming up next on the schedule.

DE Trent Cole, PHI (5 solos, 5 assists, 2 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - In the past couple years, Cole has gotten off to a great start but then failed to keep up his production through the second half of the season. As an undersized defensive end, it appeared that he was wearing down late in the season. After a slow start this year (just 3 sacks in his first 8 games), however, it looks like he might have saved some of his best play for the stretch run. Over the past two weeks, he has registered 16 total tackles and 3 sacks.

DE Darren Howard, PHI (3 solos, 2 assists, 2 sacks 0 FF, 1 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - With 2 more sacks this week, Howard continues to turn back the clock on his career. After 6 mostly solid seasons with the Saints, Howard signed a lucrative free agent contract with the Eagles back in 2006. However, he only registered 6 sacks in his first 32 games as an Eagle. Going into this year, he was considered to be little more than a depth player and a potential preseason cut. But, he's responded with 8 sacks in 10 games and has also recorded at least a single sack in 4 of his last 5 games.

ILB Eric Barton, NYJ (14 solos, 3 assists, 0 sacks 1 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Barton had seen his production increase in the weeks since David Harris was knocked out with a groin injury and that trend continued again this week. Barton was credited with 14 solo tackles, 3 assists, and a forced fumble in a huge divisional win over the Patriots. He now has 29 solo tackles in his last 3 games and is putting up the types of numbers that many expected from Harris this season. Clearly, the scheme isn't the problem here.

ILB Stewart Bradley, PHI (10 solos, 2 assists, 0 sacks 1 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Bradley came into the season as an excellent sleeper candidate. Although he was inconsistent at times and it took him a little while to get going, it appears he has finally woken up and is rewarding fantasy owners who waited on him. Bradley has recorded double digit solo tackles in each of his last two games, totaling 23 solos, 3 assists, and a forced fumble in that time period. The Eagles linebackers don't have a long history of production but he and WLB Omar Gaither may be able to change that.

ILB Jerod Mayo, NE (16 solos, 4 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 1 PD) - Although he temporarily left the Jets game in the first quarter to return to the locker room with an undisclosed injury, Mayo wound up finishing the game with an amazing 16 solo tackles and 4 assists. The Patriots have suffered some devastating injuries in recent weeks to players like Rodney Harrison and Adalius Thomas, but Mayo is exceeding nearly all expectations and helping to keep the team in playoff contention.

OLB Xavier Adibi, HOU (14 solos, 1 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Adibi is a promising rookie who has seen very little playing time this season, but he was a lone bright spot for the Texans on Sunday. Making his first career start at WLB in place of the injured Morlon Greenwood, Adibi finished with a team-high 14 solo tackles and 1 assist. Given that the team appeared to be reducing Greenwood's role this season, it seems likely that Adibi may be able to hold onto the starting job even after Greenwood returns.

OLB Thomas Davis, CAR (10 solos, 1 assists, 0.5 sacks 1 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 1 PD) - Despite matchups the past two weeks against the Raiders and Lions -- two of the worst offenses in the league - Davis has managed to put up some impressive numbers. He was credited with 18 solo tackles, 3 assists, and 1.5 sacks. He's always had the talent to be one of the league's best fantasy LBs, but his production finally seems to be matching his ability.

OLB Chad Greenway, MIN (16 solos, 0 assists, 1 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 1 PD) - Greenway recorded an amazing 16 solo tackles this week against the Buccaneers. Although he's been a productive fantasy LB for much of the season, his production and consistency since EJ Henderson was injured have raised him up to LB1 level. Greenway has recorded a sack in three straight games and needs to average 6 solo tackles/game for the rest of the season to reach 100 solo tackles.

CB Chris Johnson, OAK (9 solos, 0 assists, 0 sacks 1 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - DeAngelo Hall was a top-5 fantasy DB for much of the season as team's picked on him and threw away from CB Nnamdi Asomugha. After the surprising release of Hall a couple weeks ago, the unheralded Johnson took over as the starting CB and he has now recorded 12 solo tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 3 passes defensed in the past two games. Johnson was drafted all the way back in 2003 but has been mostly a special teams and nickel player up to this point in his career. If he can hold onto the starting job, expect him to see plenty of action the rest of the way. The Raiders did recently claim Justin Miller who was released by the Jets, but he's probably more valuable as a returner than as a corner.

CB Josh Wilson, SEA (10 solos, 0 assists, 0 sacks 1 FF, 0 FR, 1 INT, 1 PD) - Wilson nearly won the Seahawks game by himself this week. He replaced Kelly Jennings as the team's starting CB opposite Marcus Trufant and recorded 10 solo tackles, 1 interception, and 1 forced fumble. He's also the team's primary kickoff returner so he has added value in IDP leagues that award points for return yardage.

S Chris Crocker, CIN (4 solos, 0 assists, 1 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 1 INT, 1 PD) - Crocker took over at SS this week for Chinedum Ndukwe, who left the game with a foot injury. Crocker finished the game with 4 solos, 1 sack, and 1 interception. If Ndukwe is out for a while, Crocker could wind up being a solid short-term pickup as he will be on the field a lot and the Bengals have been blitzing their safeties frequently to try and generate some pass rush.

S Adrian Wilson, ARI (5 solos, 1 assists, 1 sacks 1 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Wilson has spent several years as one of the truly elite fantasy DBs. He hasn't quite returned to that level yet, but he's on his way with his play over the past few weeks. Since the Cardinals bye in week 7, Wilson has registered 18 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and an interception. He could be in danger of a suspension due to a questionable hit on Matt Hasselbeck this week, but otherwise it looks like he's a guy you need to keep in your lineup every week.

Downgrades

DT Fred Robbins, NYG (1 solos, 1 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Robbins was one of the most impressive defensive tackles in the league during the month of September, recording 11 solo tackles and 4 sacks in his first 3 games. Over the past month, however, he has not been nearly as effective at making plays. In his last 4 games combined, Robbins has recorded just 3 solo tackles and 1 assist. Even in deeper DT-required leagues, there are probably better options available on the waiver wire.

DE Jared Allen, MIN (2 solos, 0 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Allen has been playing through a shoulder injury the past couple weeks, and even though he recorded 4 solo tackles and a sack during those games, he hasn't looked nearly as effective as he normally would. He is also reportedly in danger of being suspended after a series of questionable hits on Matt Schaub and Aaron Rodgers and will meet with the commissioner this week to plead his case.

DE Robert Mathis, IND (2 solos, 0 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 1 PD) - After a huge 3-sack performance in week 6 against the Ravens, Mathis looked like he was back to his double digit sack form from earlier in his career. Since then, however, he's been having a much tougher time getting to opposing QBs. He has 0 sacks in his last 5 games and has registered just 9 solo tackles and 3 assists during that same time span. Mathis is also playing through a foot injury now as well, which figures to limit his effectiveness further.

DE Ty Warren, NE - Coming off his best game of the season in week 10 against the Bills, Warren looked like a player on the rise. Unfortunately, however, he suffered a groin injury in that game that kept him out of last Thursday's Jets game.

ILB James Farrior, PIT (2 solos, 2 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Farrior recently had a 3-game stretch in which he recorded 24 solo tackles, 11 assists, 1.5 sacks, and 4 PDs. He looked like he was back to being a very reliable LB2 option after a slow start to the season. In the two weeks since then, however, he's managed just 5 solo tackles and 2 assists. For a player his age (33), this type of inconsistency is probably going to become the norm.

ILB Mike Peterson, JAX (5 solos, 0 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Peterson was left on the inactive list during the week 10 game against the Lions as a punishment for being insubordinate to Jack Del Rio during a team meeting. Del Rio announced last week that Daryl Smith would remain the team's starting MLB going forward and that Peterson would have to adjust to his new role as a backup. During this week's game against the Titans, Peterson was limited to some special teams action in the first half. After the Titans scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the second half, however, Peterson took over at WLB in place of Justin Durant. Durant continued to play in the team's nickel package though. Despite the limited playing time, Peterson still managed to finish the game with 5 solo tackles. Peterson is in the last year of his contract so he should be able to earn a starting job elsewhere in 2009, when he'll be 33 years old.

ILB Jonathan Vilma, NO (1 solos, 3 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - One bad week looked like nothing more than an aberration, but two bad weeks in a row seems like something could be wrong with Vilma. He was one of the league's leading tacklers after week 8, but he has been credited with just 3 solos and 4 assists in the last two games. Meanwhile, OLB Scott Fujita was a non-factor for much of the season but he's come through with 19 solo tackles and 2 assists the past couple of weeks. Vilma continues to play in all downs and situations, but for some reason just isn't making the plays that he was earlier in the year.

OLB Derrick Johnson, KC - Johnson is dealing with a knee injury that has kept him out of the past two games. He didn't quite have the breakout season that many were expecting from him but he did seem to take his game up a notch prior to the injury. He remains one of the most promising young talents at the LB position, but we'll probably need to wait until next season to see him reach his full potential.

S Chinedum Ndukwe, CIN (1 solos, 0 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Ndukwe left the game in the first quarter this week with what was determined to be a torn plantar fascia. Reports on Monday suggested that it could wind up ending his season. He was replaced in the lineup by veteran Chris Crocker.

S Bob Sanders, IND - Sanders wound up being left on the inactive list this week due to some swelling in his knee after practice on Thursday. He's clearly an impact player when healthy but it's tough to count on him, especially in leagues that don't have very deep rosters. The team also feels comfortable with Melvin Bullitt and will probably give him more work to try and keep Sanders healthy.

S Brian Williams, JAX (3 solos, 0 assists, 0 sacks 0 FF, 0 FR, 0 INT, 0 PD) - Williams was one of the best IDP values this year as he likely was drafted late or went undrafted completely in many leagues prior to the season. A career CB, the Jaguars decided to move him over to SS, and he responded by averaging 5 solo tackles/game over the first 5 games of the season. With free agent pickup Drayton Florence struggling in coverage, however, the Jaguars were forced to move Williams back to corner. In his last 5 games, Williams has only been averaging 3 solo tackles/game and the Jaguars secondary is struggling to stop anybody.