Former UConn stars make an impact in NFL

It's hard to imagine there has been a day where so many different UConn products made splash plays on the same NFL weekend.

Jordan Todman had a 5-yard touchdown run, his second of the season, and Dwayne Gratz had five tackles and an interception in his return to the starting lineup as the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated Tennessee for their first win of the season. Todman also had a 2-yard catch and returned three kickoffs for 99 yards including a 46 yarder.

Donald Brown scored the Indianapolis Colts' only touchdown on a 13-yard reception and finished with 64 yards on five receptions in a 38-8 loss to St. Louis.

Ryan Griffin caught a 2-yard touchdown pass, the first of his NFL career, in the Houston Texans' 27-24 loss to Arizona. It was his first catch in nearly a month as Griffin had his first two career catches in an Oct. 13 loss to St. Louis.

Sio Moore had a sack, a forced fumble and a team-high nine tackles in Oakland's 24-20 loss to the New York Giants. There aren't any stats for offensive lineman but Giants left tackle Will Beatty started and helped the Giants' Andre Brown run for 115 yards.

Also, Marcus Easley had his first two career receptions as he had 13 yards on a pair of catches in Buffalo's 23-10 loss to Pittsburgh.

Kendall Reyes had four tackles in San Diego's 28-20 loss to Denver.

Former Huskies have big preseasons

Today is a huge one for former UConn players on the proverbial roster bubble as NFL teams have to get down to the regular-season maximum 53-player rosters.

While the list of cuts start trickling in, I figured I would post about where the UConn players finished in preseason stat lists.

Jordan Todman, who has made Jacksonville's 53-man roster, was the second-leading rusher in the preseason with 223 yards averaging an impressive 7.7 yards per carry.

Ryan Griffin, a sixth-round pick of the Houston Texans, finished second with 14 receptions while Buffalo's Marcus Easley was tied for seventh with 12 catches and second with 223 receiving yards.

Dwayne Gratz of Jacksonville was tied for second with two interceptions and Trevardo Williams of the Houston Texans was tied for fourth with 3.5 sacks.

It's not all good news as there are multiple reports out of Oakland that Raiders' rookie linebacker Sio Moore could miss the season opener with a toe injury. If that is the case it would only be a temporary setback with Moore, who is expecting to make a major impact for the Raiders.

Another solid game for Easley

Former UConn wide receiver Marcus Easley continues his strong play during the preseason as he had three catches for a team-high 46 yards in the Buffalo Bills' 20-16 win over Minnesota on Friday night. Easley now has 10 catches in Buffalo's first two preseason games.

Tyvon Branch finished with four tackles in Oakland's 28-20 loss to New Orleans while Dan Orlovsky was 3 for 3 passing for 52 yards in Tampa Bay's 25-21 loss to New England.

Big game for Marcus Easley

Former UConn WR Marcus Easley hauled in seven passes for 94 yards in the Buffalo Bills' 44-20 win over Indianapolis. He also had a 21-yard kickoff return.

For the Colts, Darius Butler had two tackles including one tackle for a loss and Donald Brown ran three times for 10 yards and caught a 22-yard pass

Butler, Colts to face Baltimore in playoffs

Darius Butler is the first of the three former UConn players to have a chance of seeing action in the NFL playoffs when the Indianapolis Colts play at Baltimore tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Butler, a cornerback, was originally drafted by the New England Patriots in 2009. After playing two seasons with the Patriots, he spent last year with the Carolina Panthers before being let go on Aug. 31. Butler was signed by Indianapolis on Sep. 25 and played 11 games for the Colts. Butler has 31 tackles and four interceptions for the Colts. Indianapolis also has two former Huskies on injured reserve. Running back Donald Brown ran for 417 yards in 10 games while linebacker Scott Lutrus was put on the IR in the preseason. Former UConn stars Kashif Moore and Greg Lloyd also spent time on Indianapolis' practice squad this season.

The other two UConn products on playoff teams will have to wait a week to get onto the field.

Donald Thomas, an offensive guard who played in all 16 games and started seven games, is another player who benefited from a change of scenery. Thomas started 13 games during the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He is in his second season with the Patriots and played a key role in allowing the Patriots to overcome a string of injuries on the offensive line. The Patriots are the second seed in the AFC and will host the highest remaining seed which emerges from this weekend's action on Jan. 13.

Cornerback Robert McClain of the Atlanta Falcons has been one of the biggest surprises of the NFL season. Like Thomas and Butler, he was given an opportunity to play due to injuries to established players.

McClain, who played 16 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2010, was an under the radar offseason signing by the Falcons and he has 61 tackles and an interception this season for Atlanta.

The Falcons are the top seed in the NFC and will host the lowest remaining NFC seed on Jan. 13 at 1 p.m.

Here is a breakdown on how the other UConn products fared this season (not including players on practice squads):

OT Will Beatty, New York Giants: Played 16 games and had 15 starts for Giants
S Tyvon Branch, Oakland: Had 94 tackles and an interception while starting 14 games
WR Marcus Easley: Did not have a reception in three games although he did return two kickoffs for 75 yards
QB Dan Orlovsky, Tampa Bay: Was 4 of 7 for 41 yards in 41-0 loss to New Orleans in only appearance
DT Kendall Reyes, San Diego: Had 28 tackles in 16 games and 3.5 of his 5.5 sacks came in win over New York Jets.
FB Anthony Sherman, Arizona: Played 13 games with four starts. Had no carries but had five receptions for 39 yards
RB Jordan Todman, Jacksonville: Had three rushes for eight yards and one catch for no yards in only game against New York Jets