Upgrades

• DE Justin Smith, CIN: With six solo tackles on Sunday, Smith has now been a productive starter in five of the last seven games (by either tackles or sacks). He's still playing nowhere near his expectations, but at least he's showing signs of life.



• DT Ted Washington, NE: 17 solo tackles and a sack over the last three games. Terrific production from a defensive tackle.



• LB Terrell Suggs, BAL: Starting outside linebacker and special teams ace Adalius Thomas has been lost for the year with a broken arm. Suggs, having picked up 10 sacks this year mostly in situational duty, will replace him in the starting lineup.



• LB Lance Briggs, CHI: By the end of the year, Briggs just may catch Brian Urlacher for the team lead in solo tackles. He's picked up at least four in every game since week six, including seven this past weekend along with his first career interception.



• LB Ben Leber, SD: Leber has recorded 20 solo tackles over the last three weeks (his best three game stretch of the year) and has at least five solos in eight of the last ten games.



• LB Kevin Hardy, CIN: Could it be? Hardy picked up his first two sacks of the year over the last two weeks and, along with 13 solo tackles, looks like he just may be waking up to help you in the playoffs.



• LB Peter Boulware, BAL: With 7.5 sacks over the last eight games, including two this past weekend, Boulware is officially on fire. He's also posted surprisingly decent tackle numbers with five or more solos in four of six games.



• LB Tim Johnson, OAK: Two games as a starter in the middle for Oakland, 15 solo tackles. Not bad for a guy who had played very little in his two year career to this point.



• LB Jeremiah Trotter, WAS: Ride him while he's hot. Trotter has picked up 16 solo tackles over the last two weeks along with posting his first sack of the year on Sunday. OK, it was a half sack, but it's the first time that he has sniffed the QB as a member of the Redskins.



• LB Julian Peterson, SF: The frustration that is Julian Peterson. Touted as the 'Niners top defender, you'll find him playing various positions throught the game. Touted as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, he's just as likely to give you a goose egg as he is 10 solo tackles and a sack. His performance this weekend shows what happens when he puts it all together (six solo tackles, a sack, forced fumble and four passes defended). Unfortunately, he needs to string some of these together before he drives us all crazy.



• LB Donnie Spragan, DEN: When all of the post-injury pieces fell into place, Spragan landed as the starting weakside linebacker (replacing Ian Gold). He doesn't offer much to the boxscore, but he has picked up six solo tackles in each of the last two games.



• CB Charles Tillman, CHI: The rookie cornerback continues to produce solid (yet inconsistent) numbers. He's posted six or more solo tackles in four of the past seven games, including three interceptions and a sack over the stretch.



• CB Mike McKenzie, GB: McKenzie has picked off three passes over the last two weeks, returning one 90 yards for a touchdown, and has at least four solo tackles in eight of the past ten games.



• CB Charles Woodson, OAK: Woodson doesn't get picked on enough to produce top numbers in the passing game, but he's been solid with 27 solo tackles over the last five games.



• S Marques Anderson, GB: With Antuan Edwards being placed on the injured reserve, Anderson takes over (again) as the packers starting strong safety. He's shown a knack for making the big play during his two year career and, with 13 solo tackles over the past two games, should be a force in the final month.



• S Ken Hamlin, SEA: With six solo tackles and a forced fumble on Sunday, it looks like Hamlin is healthy again and ready to return to his early season form. Expect similar production from here on out.



• S Sammy Knight, MIA: Over the past five weeks, Knight has become the player we were hoping for when he signed with Miami. He hasn't been consistent, tackle-wise, but he's posted numbers during each game to make him a solid fantasy contributor (29 solo tackles, two interceptions).



• S Nick Ferguson, DEN: Taking Sam Brandon's starting job at free-safety, Ferguson has pick up 18 solo tackles over the last three weeks with a forced fumble.



• S Deon Grant, CAR: An outstanding game on Sunday night with eight solo tackles, a sack, an interception and two passes defended. It was his second pick in three weeks along with 18 solo tackles.



• S Tony Parrish, SF: After picking up eight interceptions during his first four years with Chicago, he's picked off 14 balls in 29 games sice joining San Francisco, including one in each of the last five games.

Downgrades

• DE Alex Brown, CHI: Brown's numbers have steadily declined over the last three weeks to the point of producing just one solo tackle on Sunday. He's picked up just six solo tackles and has been held without a sack since week 11.



• DEs Marcellus Wiley & Adrian Dingle, SD: The Chargers have recorded just 23 sacks through 13 games, with their defensive end combo contributing 7.5 of those. Since week nine (five games), these two have combined for 18 solo tackles and just two sacks.



• LB Nick Barnett, GB: Superman no more, Barnett has been battling an ankle injury that held him out of last weeks game. He returned to the field this weekend, picking up just three solo tackles, making it three of the past four games that he's played and produced three or less solos.



• LB Brad Kassell, TEN: Starting at middle linebacker for Rocky Calmus, who's likely done for the year with a broken leg, Kassell was able to muster just two solo tackles. This looks closer to what we should expect rather than the seven solos he posted last week while filling in.



• LB Kawika Mitchell, KC: A rookie starting in place of Mike Maslowski, maybe our expectations are a little too high. In three starts, he's posted six solo tackles and his superior all-around skills have not shown up in the boxscore.



• LB Greg Biekert, MIN: Although it didn't show on Sunday, Biekert is giving way to rookie E.J.Henderson. With seven solo tackles over the last three games, it's unlikely that he'll be worthy of a start during the final three games.



• LB Napoleon Harris, OAK: He's moved to the strongside, taking over for the injured Travian Smith and allowing Tim Johnson to start inside, and it looks like he's going to struggle down the stretch to be a productive fantasy performer. He's picked up just 12 solo tackles over the last three games after posting 18 with a sack during the previous three.



• S Adrian Wilson, ARI: Return to your normal programming, the Adrian Wilson sighting in week 12 was a false alarm. With six solo tackles over the last two games, it's safe to plant him back on your bench.