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DL Carl Powell, CIN: A classic journeyman, Powell is in his sixth season with his fifth NFL team. Up until Sunday he had posted a total of nine solo tackles without a sack on the year. This week, filling in for Duane Clemons as the starting LDE, Powell picked up six solos with two sacks and a forced fumble.

DL Shaun Ellis, NYJ: Does Shaun Ellis have a problem playing across John Abraham? From his recent production, you'd think that was the case. Over the last four games Ellis has started to resemble the player that set the league on fire last year, picking up 14 solo tackles with 3.5 sacks.

DL Charles Grant, NO: Grant has only picked up one sack over the last eight weeks but he's been able to maintain his fantasy value by posting some impressive tackle numbers. Over the last four weeks he's contributed 24 solo tackles with one sack and one interception, giving him 59 solos and 8.5 sacks on the year.

DL Simeon Rice, TB: Rice took a lot of heat early on, when he posted just one sack during the seasons first month, but he's looking like the "old" Simeon Rice of late. Over the last four games he's tallied 14 solo tackles and 7.5 sacks.

LB D.J.Williams, DEN: You usually don't see a rookie pick up his play this much as the season winds down (rookie wall), but that's exactly what Williams has done. After playing solid yet unspectacular through the seasons first three months, averaging a little over four solo tackles a game, Williams has turned in three straight monster performances. Over the last three weeks he's picked up a total of 28 solo tackles with a sack and a forced fumble.

LB Donnie Edwards, SD: Donnie Edwards has quickly worked his way into position as a frontrunner for the Defensive Player of the Year award. With six solo tackles and an interception on Sunday he now has 36 solos and four picks over the last four games. And the Chargers are 11-3 after shutting out the Cleveland Browns in the very non-San Diego-like snow.

DB Kenoy Kennedy, DEN: Like D.J.Williams, Kenoy Kennedy has picked up his play tremendously over the last three weeks for the Broncos defense. He averaged four and a half solo tackles through the seasons first 11 weeks with one sack and no interceptions. The last three weeks have seen a combined total of 23 solos with one sack, one pick and three passes defended.

DB Dunta Robinson, HOU: It's official, the kid's a stud. Robinson has fought through a couple unfavorable matchups during the last couple of weeks with performances that've placed him among the top defensive backs in the game. Over the last five games he's picked up 34 solo tackles with three sacks, three interceptions, nine passes defended and two forced fumbles. Talk about filling up the boxscore.

DB Michael Boulware, SEA: Two NFL starts, two outstanding performances. He should be a fixture in the starting lineup from this point on after posting 15 solo tackles with a sack and a pick in his two spotlight games to date.

DB Marcus Trufant, SEA: Trufant is quietly putting together a very nice sophomore campaign. He hasn't picked off a pass during the past seven games, but he has posted no less than five solo tackles in each of the past six games and now leads the team by a wide margin (75).

DB Mike Doss, IND: Every once in a while Mike Doss shows us what all of the hype is about, and Sunday night against Baltimore was one of those games. Seemingly all over the field, Doss posted 10 solo tackles with an interception and a forced fumble. A healthy offseason should place him as a top 10 defensive back heading into 2005.

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DL Chike Okeafor, SEA: Okeafor is struggling to pick up the slack with the loss of Grant Wistrom, posting a total of seven solo tackles with just one sack over the last five games. A far cry from his hot start when he picked up 5.5 sacks in the seasons first six games.

DL Shaun Rogers, DET: Rogers is slipping at the wrong time. A defensive tackle by trade, he has the ability to post top DL numbers when he's on top of his game, but over the last four weeks he's averaged just two solo tackles and hasn't gotten to the quarterback since week seven.

LB Landon Johnson, CIN: There was a time during weeks 10-11 that Johnson looked like a superstar in the making, picking up eight solo tackles with a sack in each game. In the four games since he's posted a total of 15 solos without a sack.

LB Mark Simoneau, PHI: I think it's safe to say that Mark Simoneau isn't going to be a tackle monster, but we expected a little more when he moved to the weakside (a position which appeared to be a much better fit). He's averaging just 2.5 solo tackles over the last five weeks.

LB Napoleon Harris, OAK: Maybe next year. Going into 2005 Harris will undoubtedly be touted as a solid sleeper candidate because of his all-world talent, but he just hasn't put it together this year. He's tallied 15 solo tackles over the last five games.

LB Will Witherspoon, CAR: With Dan Morgan back in the lineup don't expect Witherspoon to produce as well as he had while Morgan was on the sideline. You can't take away the fact that he's had a superb season with 78 solo tackles two sacks and four interceptions, but over the last four games he's given us just 17 solos. Certainly not up to pace with his numbers from earlier in the year.

DB Madieu Williams, CIN: Early on Williams was bouncing around between cornerback and safety, producing solid numbers on a weekly basis. Through the first nine games of the year he was averaging six solo tackles a game with two interceptions and he appeared to be a very solid Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate. He's found a spot as the Bengals starting free safety but he hasn't been able to continue that early success, averaging just four solo tackles over the last five weeks with one more pick.

DB Lamont Thompson, TEN: The Titans coaching staff and fantasy owners alike were very intrigued by Thompson's early season success as Lance Schulters replacement. His luster has worn off a bit as he's not the tackle machine that we were hoping for. Thompson has posted three solo tackles in each of the last four games, 22 solos over seven games.

DB Ryan Clark, WAS: 20 solo tackles in October, 26 solo tackles in November, 6 solo tackles thus far in December. He doesn't offer much for the big play, without a sack or pick on the year, so his value is seriously hindered when he's not posting top tackle numbers. With six tackles in three games, he's far from on top of his game.