UConn in the NFL: Week 6

Marcus Easley, Buffalo Bills: DNP (Knee)

Easley missed his third straight game, a 37-22 loss to the Patriots, with a sprained MCL. According to his original timetable he is due back in 1-3 weeks. The Bills have been terrible on special teams the past few weeks,.

Jordan Todman, Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 carries, 1 yard (long of 2); 1 catch, 0 yards (3 targets), 1 kick return, 25 yards; 1 tackle

Todman led all Jaguar running backs in offensive snaps with 33 (Denard Robinson had 30, Storm Johnson had 20) but had the fewest touches among the group with 4 (Johnson 11, Robinson 8) during the team's 16-14 loss in Tennessee. Despite his limited offensive production, Todman leads the NFL in kick return yards with 453 on 17 attempts, and his 26.6 average is 5^th in the league.

Here's a video of Todman at the skills competition after his senior season. Ryan Mallett throws him a truly awful pass at the end.

Kendall Reyes, San Diego Chargers: 4 tackles, 1 for a loss

The Chargers defense struggled as a whole in the 31-28 win in Oakland. Reyes had an up and down game but remained positive in a postgame interview with chargers.com, "Coach always talks about facing adversity. We definitely faced it today. So it's all about mentally getting through it and we did that as a team today. It feels great (to win) but we have to learn from this one and move on."

Reyes was mic'd up this week and in the video you get a sense that he is a leader on that defense and, best of all, THERE'S A SIO MOORE UCONN SHOUTOUT!!!

Dwayne Gratz, Jacksonville Jaguars: No stats

Gratz returned to the field after missing the last week with a concussion and found that he had been replaced in the starting lineup by former 7^th round pick Demetrius McCray. Gratz played 18 snaps and had a quiet day which is usually not a bad thing for a cornerback. Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley told ESPN that he believes Gratz responds well to position battles, and cited the Browns game last year when he came back from a decrease in playing time to get an interception and knock down two passes in a 32-28 win in Cleveland.

Shamar Stephen, Minnesota Vikings: 2 tackles

Stephen played an impressive 34 snaps for the Vikings in their 17-3 loss to the Lions. Despite being a 7^thround pick this year, he continues to impress the Minnesota coaching staff. Andrew Krammer of ESPN Radio in Minnesota said that Stephen helped to control the point of attack when he was on the field. He will look to continue his upward trend this week in Buffalo.

Dan Orlovsky, Detroit Lions

Once again, Orlovsky did not play in the Lions 17-3 win over in Minnesota.

Remember when he threw for 33 touchdowns and 3,485 yards, leading the Huskies to a 9-3 record in his junior season in 2003? Man, that was cool. We beat Wake Forest on the road 51-17 to end the season on a 5 game win streak. Then we didn't make a bowl. Weak. But, remember how football used to be sort of fun to watch?

Will Beatty, New York Giants

We did hear "William Beatty, UConn" on Sunday night, but other than that, there were no real bright sports for Beatty and the Giants in their 27-0 loss to the Eagles.  It was the worst game of the year for the Giants O-line as they allowed 8 sacks in total while the team only gained 85 rushing yards. While everything was going wrong, Eli Manning connected with Larry Donnell on a great touchdown catch, but it was called back on a holding penalty by our very own Will Beatty, "That was just one of many calls. I mean they took points off the board. In games like these, you can't give up anything and we left so much out there.  We had way too many penalties and way too many hits on the QBs." The Giants play the Cowboys next week.

Danny Lansanah, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 tackles (4 solo)
Lansanah came back to Earth a little, only recording 5 tackles in the Bucs 48-17 blowout loss to the Ravens. Tampa Bay let the Ravens go up 35-0 with by the 14-minute mark in the 2nd quarter. They let Flacco throw for 6 touchdowns and over 300 yards while Justin Forsett also ran for over 100 yards.
Lansanah did leave the game at one point with a hand injury but later returned.  In an interview on Friday, Lansanah mentioned UConn's upset win over USF and the fans storming the field. The Bucs are off next week.

Sio Moore, Oakland Raiders: 10 tackles (7 solo)
Moore finally got over his injury and immediately made his presence felt, leading the team with 10 tackles.  Unfortunately, the Raiders upset bid over the Chargers came up short in a 31-28 loss. Sio was very upset with the loss: "I don't like this feeling.  I don't like this taste.  I feel sick right now." The Raiders take on the Arizona Cardinals next week.

Tyvon Branch, Oakland Raiders: IR
Tyvon Branch's last home game, a 30-7 victory over Syracuse on Senior Day, saw a very special group of players move on from the program. That day Husky fans said goodbye to Branch, Dan Davis, Donald Thomas, Danny Lansanah, and the one and only LARRY TAYLOR.
Watch the video, it's amazing!!!

Robert McClain, Atlanta Falcons: 2 tackles (2 solo), 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit

McClain recorded just the 2nd sack of his young NFL career in a 27-13 loss to the Chicago Bears. Josh Wilson, who took over the starting job at nickel corner had to come off the field due to injury. While injuries are always unfortunate, it opened the door for McClain to see more time on the field and produce in positive ways. Hopefully he can keep it up next week against the Baltimore Ravens.

FB Anthony Sherman, Kansas City Chiefs: BYE

Kansas City had a the weekend off, but the Chiefs return this Sunday afternoon against the Chargers with Sherman starting at fullback.

RB Donald Brown, San Diego Chargers: DNP

Donald did not pass NFL concussion protocol and was inactive, while Branden Oliver continued to impress (26 rush, 101 yards, 1 touchdown). Oliver will start as Brown will once again have an up-hill climb to earn playing time after averaging just 2.1 yards per carry so far this season.

TE Ryan Griffin, Houston Texans: 1 tackle

Griffin is strictly in a special teams role with the Texans, sitting third on the depth chart at tight end. However, there has not been a lot of production coming from those starting ahead of him, with the Colts holding Texans tight ends to just 7 yards receiving. Griffin is only one of three players drafted from the Texans' 2013 draft class that is still on the active roster.

CB Darius Butler, Indianapolis Colts: DNP

Darius Butler was inactive this week with an ankle injury, but made his presence felt on social media by live-tweeting throughout the Thursday night victory against the Texans

TEEEEEE WHYYYYYY!!!!

- Darius Butler (@DariusJButler) October 10, 2014

He should return this week for a marquee match-up between the 4-2 Colts and the 3-1-1 Bengals.

CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Tennessee Titans: 11 tackles, 1 interception, 2 pass deflections

After being sidelined with a concussion last week, Wreh-Wilson came back in a big way against the Jaguars. As the Jags were driving late in the 3^rd quarter, after 14 plays and reaching deep into Tennessee territory, Wreh-Wilson jumped a Blake Bortles pass intended for Allen Hurns and ran it back 34 yards for his first career interception. He led the Titans in tackles and anchored the defense, which held the Jags to just one touchdown.