Upgrades QB Michael Vick (ATL) - Vick was back in the starting lineup against Carolina this week. He ran for a career high 91 yards and passed for another 178 in Atlanta's victory on Sunday. Vick displayed his amazing talent with a dazzling 44-yard touchdown run. Vick is the most exciting quarterback in the NFL and his fantasy upside is incredible. Inconsistency will remain a problem for Vick this season, but his big game potential cannot be overlooked. If you are willing to gamble a bit, give Vick a chance in the starting lineup. QB Brian Griese (DEN) - Griese continued his hot play with a marvelous performance against Kansas City. With 376 passing yards and two touchdowns, Griese has four consecutive 300-yard games. Keep him in your lineup. ****(Waiver Wire) QB Chad Pennington (NYJ) - Pennington continues to show quality poise in the pocket. He completed 24 of 29 passes for 324 yards in Sunday's game. We marked Pennington as a waiver wire pickup a few weeks back. He is starting to show some promise and is deserving of a backup spot on your roster. ****(Waiver Wire) QB Marc Bulger (STL) - Bulger is not posting "Kurt Warner type numbers", but he is leading the Rams explosive offense in an efficient manner. If you are in need of a quarterback, Bulger has big game potential. With 265 passing yards and a touchdown Sunday, Bulger looks good. More importantly, Bulger led the Rams offense to 37 points on the day. QB Aaron Brooks (NO) - Brooks continues to impress me. He threw for 254 yards and totaled four touchdowns on the day and ZERO interceptions. Plain and simple, Brooks is a top-5 fantasy quarterback and should be played every week QB Drew Brees (SD) - Brees is not posting fabulous fantasy numbers, but he is showing great poise in the pocket and putting up decent numbers on a weekly basis. Brees threw for 170 yards and totaled three touchdowns in the hostile Oakland Coliseum on Sunday. With Tomlinson leading the ground game and keeping defenses honest, look for Brees to continue his consistent, efficient play. Brees will not carry a fantasy team, but his production gives a good option as a "spot starter". RB Clinton Portis (DEN) - Portis continues to see the majority of carries in Denver as evidenced by his 15 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown against Kansas City. As long as Portis does not fumble, he will remain the feature back in Denver's high-powered offense. Portis' stock continues to rise. RB Duce Staley (PHI) - Staley finished with 152 rushing yards on 24 carries against a solid Tampa Bay defense. Duce has put together a few good games in a row. The trend should continue, if the Eagles continue to use Staley in the feature role. His 24 carries on Sunday is a season high. Before Sunday's game, Staley's season high was 15 carries. RB TJ Duckett (ATL) - There is not a question who the feature back is in Atlanta. Duckett continued his solid play with 47 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Carolina. The 47 yards is rather meager, but the continued feature role in the offense is more important. Look for Duckett's production to keep increasing as the season progresses. RB James Stewart (DET) - Stewart looked good on Sunday with a career high 172 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The insertion of Joey Harrington into the starting lineup has opened up some running room for Stewart. Keep in mind; Stewart's production has been inconsistent this season. He is a good option against weaker opponents, but his inconsistency will have ill effects on a weekly basis. RB Fred Taylor (JAC) - Taylor remains healthy...let us give him the upgrade. Actually, Taylor had a stellar performance against Baltimore with 197 total yards and a touchdown. Taylor is a top-7 back, if he remains healthy. This may be the perfect time to trade Taylor while he value is extremely high. RB Anthony Thomas (CHI) - Thomas looked good today with 92 rushing yards and a touchdown. With two consecutive terrible performances, Thomas' production raised questions. Look for the Bears and Thomas to grind it out on the ground, as the weather gets colder. RB Ahman Green (GB) - Green had another good performance against Washington with 88 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. The Favre injury might actually help Ahman Green's value. A larger focus on the running game and dump off passes to Green will be in the Packers game plan, if the injury to Favre is serious. RB Marshall Faulk (STL) - Faulk totaled 235 yards and four touchdowns against Seattle. If there were questions regarding his production, they have been answered. RB Travis Henry (BUF) - Henry seems to be on the upgrades list each week. He is proving to be one of the most reliable running backs in the league. Although he did not score this week, Henry did post his second consecutive 100-yard game. RB Deuce McAllister (NO) - McAllister posted his fifth 100-yard rushing performance of the season Sunday. McAllister is a top-5 fantasy back. Make sure he is in the lineup every week. RB LaDainian Tomlinson (SD) - 39 carries for 153 yards and 2 total touchdowns. What more can I say? This guy is a stud. ****(Waiver Wire) WR Derrius Thompson (WAS) - Thompson entered Sunday's game as the starter and posted his best numbers of the season. Thompson has flashed his talent before, but seems to be too inconsistent. Regardless, Thompson is a very talented athlete in a passing offense. If you need a receiver, Thompson should be available. ****(Waiver Wire) WR Santana Moss/Laveranues Coles (NYJ) - The emergence of Pennington brings a good presence to the Jets passing game. Moss and Coles have been the focus in the passing game since Pennington entered the starting lineup. Moss finished with 111 yards on Sunday. Coles finished with 86 yards and a touchdown. Coles is more consistent and has better upside, but Moss is also a quality receiving option. WR David Boston (ARI) - Boston looked solid on Sunday with six catches for 110 yards. He's been bothered by a sprained foot, but appears to be close to 100%. Keep in mind, this was the time last season that Boston took off and posted incredible numbers. Look for his numbers to continue to rise as the season progresses. WR Jerry Rice (OAK) - Rice continued his quality season with nine catches for 86 yards and a touchdown against San Diego. The Raiders passing game is very explosive, so expect Rice to have a strong remainder of the season. Rice continues to amaze me. ****(Waiver Wire) WR Tai Streets (SF) - Streets has stepped into the 49ers starting lineup and played quite well. If you are in need of a wide receiver, Streets has good upside in a quality passing offense. With six catches for 80 yards on Sunday, the coaching staff is gaining confidence in Streets. ****(Waiver Wire) WR D'Wayne Bates (MIN) - Bates got the start opposite Randy Moss in Sunday's game and posted decent numbers. Bates finished with six catches for 86 yards as the starter in place of Derrick Alexander. Alexander finished with two catches for 22 yards. Bates is worthy of a waiver wire pickup, but don't expect quality production on a consistent basis unless the Vikings offense shows signs of consistency. For now, Bates is a good pickup with decent upside. WR Joe Horn (NO) - Horn is the key focal point in the Saints passing offense. QB Aaron Brooks connected with Horn twice on touchdown scores. Horn finished Sunday's game with eight catches for 109 yards. He continues to be a quality option as a #1 fantasy receiver. ****(Waiver Wire) WR Germaine Crowell (DET) - Crowell saw some action on Sunday and caught two passes for 21 yards. He is coming back from a knee injury. Look for his fantasy value to be limited for the next 3-4 weeks until he gets into game shape and the timing of the passing game starts to click. Crowell should only be a pickup in the deepest of leagues. ****(Waiver Wire) WR Koren Robinson (SEA) - Dilfer connected with Robinson on two long pass plays (79 and 80 yards) in Sunday's game. Robinson finished with 166 yards and one touchdown. There is no reason to jump on the Koren Robinson bandwagon yet, but it is a good sign that he made some plays. He is worth a pickup in deeper leagues. TE Todd Heap (BAL) - Heap finished Sunday's game with 39 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. He is clearly the favorite target for QB Chris Redman and is an excellent start at the tight end position. Heap has scored four touchdowns on the season. Look for more scores throughout the remainder of the season. TE Shannon Sharpe (DEN) - Sharpe displayed flashes from the past against Kansas City. He finished with 12 catches for 214 yards and two touchdowns. Wow! Downgrades QB Brett Favre (GB) - Favre left Sunday's game with an apparent knee injury. A MRI is scheduled for Monday. QB Brad Johnson (TB) - Coach John Gruden benched Brad Johnson in the 4th quarter of Sunday's game against Philadelphia. He completed 19 of 31 passes for 124 yards and one interception. Johnson's job appears safe for the time being, but another poor performance could lead to a switch at the quarterback position. Today's switch was apparently an attempt to spark the Tampa Bay offense. It did not work. QB Trent Dilfer (SEA) - Dilfer left Sunday's game with an apparent head injury. Plain and simple, Dilfer was awful today. He completed just eight of 25 passes. He was able to connect with Koren Robinson on two long pass plays with one resulting in a touchdown. Look for Dilfer to remain the starter for the time being. QB Ray Lucas (MIA) - Lucas was horrible today. He completed just 13 of 33 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. However, Lucas threw four interceptions with one resulting in a Bills touchdown. Lucas does not appear ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. QB Daunte Culpepper (MIN) - Culpepper looked good on Sunday with 288 passing yards, but three interceptions tainted his performance. Until Culpepper minimizes the mistakes, his production will be limited. If you have another option at quarterback, it may be wise to rotate starts based on defensive matchups. QB Chris Weinke (CAR) - Weinke left Sunday's game with an apparent concussion. His status will be updated later in the week. He completed just three of eight passes for 26 yards before the concussion. QB Patrick Ramsey (WAS) - Ramsey looked overmatched once again. He completed just 10 of 24 passes for 135 passing yards and zero touchdowns. If you are starting Ramsey, your team is most likely at the bottom of the standings anyways. Ramsey will become a quality NFL quarterback, but it will take a few years before his production is consistent. QB Quincy Carter (DAL) - 202 passing yards, one touchdown and four interceptions…this is not the stat line I want out of my starting quarterback. How about you? RB Shaun Alexander (SEA) - Alexander entered Sunday's game with a sore knee. Alexander did not show great confidence in the knee, which helped limit his production to 30 yards on 12 carries. The injury does not appear to be serious, but it might be a wise decision to grab backup Maurice Morris off the waiver wire. RB Warrick Dunn (ATL) - Dunn continues to be overshadowed by the emergence of rookie TJ Duckett. Dunn managed just eight carries for 17 yards and ZERO receptions. Duckett is clearly the back of choice for Atlanta. Duckett finished with 12 carries for 47 yards and two touchdowns. RB Jonathon Wells (HOU) - Wells struggled with just 23 yards on 13 carries in Sunday's game. Backup James Allen gained 61 yards on five carries. Wells is clearly the starter in Houston. However, if he continues to struggle, look for the coaching staff to give Allen another chance as the starter. WR Terry Glenn/Donald Driver (GB) - A knee injury knocked Brett Favre out of Sunday's game. Of course, any injury to Favre results in a downgrade of the Packers receiving crew. WR Derrick Alexander (MIN) - Alexander was benched in favor of D'Wayne Bates for Sunday's game against the Jets. Bates finished an impressive day with 86 yards on six catches. Alexander finished with 21 yards on two receptions. This is not a good sign for Alexander.