Upgrades

• DE Leonard Little, STL: Little had missed his last four games with a torn pectoral muscle, but he returned on Sunday looking to make up for lost time with four sacks and two forced fumbles. That puts him right back into the mix for the sack lead with 11 on the year, being held without during just one game this year.



• DE Robert Porcher, DET: In the twilight of what's been an outstanding career, Porcher has decided to make some noise. After posting just one sack during the seasons first nine games, showing every bit of his 34 years, he's picked up four over the last two along with a forced fumble.



• DE Darren Howard, NO: For the first time in three games since returning from a broken wrist, Howard failed to pick up a sack. That makes the five solo tackles that he posted even more impressive. If for some reason this guy is available, grab him now. 12 solo tackles, three sacks and three passes defended through those three games.



• DE Adewale Ogunleye, MIA: What a season it's been for Ogunleye, who's either matched or is on his way to career highs across the board. A steady performer since week three, he's picked up the slack left by Jason Taylor and should continue to do so through the fantasy playoffs as the Dolphins face a very favorable schedule in regards to sacks allowed.



• DE Aaron Schobel, BUF: After being relatively quiet during the past couple of weeks, Schobel exploded on Sunday with five solo tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery. Hopefully this is a sign of him returning to his early season form in which he recorded four sacks during the years first four games.



• DE Patrick Kerney, ATL: ROTS (Return of the Stud), starring Patrick Kerney. Cast away as fodder during the seasons first half, Kerney has returned with a vengeance, picking up 15 solo tackles and four sacks over the last four games (he had nine solo tackles during the first eight games).



• DT Keith Hamilton, NYG: Producing very well for a defensive tackle, Hamilton has recorded 17 solo tackles over the last four weeks. He showed off his pass rush skills for the first time this year on Sunday as he got to Drew Bledsoe for 1.5 sacks.



• DT Ted Washington, NE: Play him while you can, because it seems as though he's bound to get hurt again, but Washington has performed well in his three games since returning from a leg injury. His 13 solo tackles over the last three games, with no less than four in each, are solid in leagues that require starting a defensive tackle.



• DT Kelly Gregg, BAL: Quietly, Kelly Gregg leads all defensive linemen this year with year with 49 solo tackles and has picked up three sacks along the way.



• LB Brad Kassell, TEN: Kassell replaced Rocky Calmus, who broke his leg during Monday nights game, and picked up seven solo tackles. He will likely replace Calmus as the starting middle linebacker for the remainder of the year.



• LB Junior Seau, MIA: The old man is heating up at just the right time. Seau has posted six solo tackles in three of the last four games while picking up a sack in two of the last three. He's been nursing a hamstring injury for the past two months, but he seems to be over that and ready to provide a fantasy playoff spark. A shoulder injury suffered on Thanksgiving Day is a concern.



• LB Kendrell Bell, PIT: Well, he's not getting to the quarterback, and he's not making plays in the passing game, but Kendrell Bell has been posting steady tackle numbers with 21 solos over the last three games and five straight with at least five solo tackles.



• LB Tim Johnson, OAK: With OLB Travian Smith gone for the year, the Raiders switched around their defense a bit moving regular MLB Napoleon Harris outside while bring in Tim Johnson to man the middle. In his first significant action of the year, Johnson posted eight solo tackles with a pass defended. Available on most waivers, he's certainly worthy of a look for the stretch run.



• LB Scott Fujita, KC: Ho-hum, another game, another nine solo tackles. He's now posted eight or more solo tackles in six of the last seven games, with 60 total solos over the stretch (8.6 per game, which are league leading type numbers). Other streakers include Chargers LB Ben Leber and Eagles LB Mark Simoneau.. Leber has posted five or more solo tackles in six of the past seven games while Simoneau has under five solos in just three games all year.



• LB Andra Davis, CLE: With five sacks, 31 solo tackles and two forced fumbles over the last four games, Davis has regained his status as an every week starter. That was in question for a while as he posted just 16 solos from weeks 5-8, but he looks ready to contribute down the stretch.



• LB Jamie Sharper, HOU / LB Donnie Edwards, SD / LB Keith Brooking, ATL / LB Ray Lewis, BAL: Studs being studs. Four of the best in the game, showing us why they are so highly regarded. Over the last three games, Sharper has posted 23 solo tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles. Edwards has eight or more solo tackles in nine of 12 games this year, including 32 over the last three. Brooking, after an up & down start to the season, has picked up 32 solos over the last three games. And THE MAN, Ray Lewis, shows us why he's the top defensive player in the game today with 14 solo tackles and an interception that he returned for a touchdown during Sundays victory over San Francisco. He has 33 solo tackles over the last three games and four picks during the past six.



• S Brian Russell, MIN: Russell has picked up seven or more solo tackles for four straight games, 17 over the last two, also getting back on the interception track with a pick of Marc Bulger on Sunday. It was his first interception in six games after picking up one in each of the seasons first six.



• S Tony Parrish, SF: After posting a career high seven interceptions last year, Parrish got off to a very slow start in '03. He was held without a pick through the seasons first four games, posting just eight solo tackles along the way which made him useless. The light came on during week five and he's picked off a pass in six of eight games since (including the last four) with 11 passes defended.



• S Marques Anderson, GB: Starting strong safety Antuan Edwards suffered a partially torn hamstring during the Thansgiving Day game and will be out for week 14, possibly for the remainder of the year. A starter on and off for the past two seasons, Anderson will step in and take his take.

Downgrades

• DE James Hall, DET: Lucky for the Lions that Robert Porcher has shown up because James Hall has disappeared. During the seasons first half, Hall looked like a Pro-Bowler as he picked up 4.5 sacks and recorded four or more solo tackles in six of eight games. During the last four games, he's been held without a sack and has totaled just 11 solo tackles, looking more like the guy who posted 40 solos and two sacks in 15 starts last year.



• DEs Greg Ellis & Ebenezer Ekuban, DAL: Combining for 6.5 sacks through 12 games, these guys just haven't played very well. Ellis (four sacks) has picked up six solo tackles over the last five games while Ekuban (2.5 sacks) has seven. Things are looking up as they face the easiest playoff schedule in regards to sacks allowed, which could easily cover up their lack of tackles, but it may be a stretch at this point to expect much.



• DE Grant Wistrom, STL: With Leonard Little out of the lineup for the past month, Wistrom had picked up his game to the level we were expecting when the season had begun, recording 16 solo tackles and three sacks during weeks 10-12. With Little's return this week, Wistrom returned to his shell with only one solo tackle. Lining up across from Little this year (eight games), Wistrom has averaged just two solo tackles per game while picking up one sack.



• LB Rob Morris, IND: Morris ended last year, his first with Tony Dungy, on fire (41 solo tackles and three sacks over the final six games), and we were hoping that he could carry that success into '03. It hasn't happened as he's posted five or more solo tackles just three times while offering absolutely nothing else to the boxscore.



• LB Al Wilson, DEN: A pinched nerve in his neck left him as questionable for Sunday's game. He played, but it was the second time out of the last three games that he's posted just one solo tackle, and we may be subject to similar production through the remainder of the season.



• LB LaVar Arrington, WAS: Hey LaVar, stop teasing us with your talent if you don't plan on giving us any production. Arrington has yet to find an identity this year after spending time as either a tackler or pass rusher during the past couple of seasons. With just nine solo tackles and nothing else over the past four games, he really doesn't deserve to remain in your starting lineup.



• LB Julian Peterson, SF: An amazing talent, Peterson is one of the best all-around linebackers in the league, capable of playing multiple coverage, pass-rush or run stuffing positions. What does that mean to us? Absolutely nothing. Peterson has been terribly inconsistent in his production, posting two or fewer solo tackles in three of the past four games (the other game was a 10 solo tackle performance).



• S Mike Logan, PIT: The talk around Pittsburgh is that free-agent-to-be Mike Logan will be fazed out here down the stretch in favor of youngsters Chris Hope and Troy Polamalu. We saw the first indication of this on Sunday as Logan was held without a solo tackle while Hope and Polamalu recorded three a piece. Not a good sign for Logan, who's been a pleasant fantasy surprise this year and currently stands as the Steelers #3 tackler.



• S Rodney Harrison, NE: He doesn't deserve a downgrade, because he's been playing great up to week 13, but his performance on Sunday deserves mention. He was held without a solo tackle for the first time since...well, I know it hasn't happened over the last three plus seasons.



• S Jay Bellamy, NO: Bellamy's value has begun to plummet. Through the first six games this year, he was a solid starter who averaged about six solo tackles per game. He's averaged half that over the last six, becoming a risky addition to your starting lineup.



• CB Daylon McCutcheon, CLE: Once one of the better producers at cornerback, McCutcheon has not performed this year. He's posted just six solo tackles over the last four games with but three games this year with as many as five. He should be averaging around four solo tackles per game, instead he's right at three.