It's been an interesting year for Donald Brown. The former UConn star was once thought to be the running back of the future when he was taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 2009 draft. But the Colts signed former New York Guants' RB Ahmad Bradshaw in the offseason and when Bradshaw suffered a season-ending injury, the Colts gave up a first-round pick in next year's draft to acquire Trent Richardson from Cleveland.

But, even as the Colts attempted to give the No. 1 RB spot to others, Brown has been quietly plugging along. Brown is Indianapolis' leading rusher with 323 yards and is averaging an impressive 5.9 yards per carry. He also has 15 catches for 153 yards for the Colts. He had season highs with 14 carries and 80 rushing yards and had a pair of TD runs in a 30-27 win over Tennessee. He likes to run against the Titans as he has six career games with at least 80 rushing yards and three have come at the expense of the Titans.

Another noteworthy development was Nick Williams' promotion to the active roster from the practice squad by the Washington Redskins. Willians, an undrafted rookie free agent, had one catch and also caught a two-point conversion in the loss to Philadelphia in his first NFL regular-season game.

North of the border, he did not record a catch but John Delahunt's Hamilton TigerCats team defeated Toronto 36-24 in the CFL's Eastern Conference final to clinch a spot in the Grey Cup. Fellow former UConn star Larry Taylor wasn't as fortunate as his Calgary team lost to Saskatchewan in the Western Conference final. Taylor had 91 yards on five kickoff returns and nine yards on three punts but he also lost a fumble in the game.


Will Beatty, OT New York Giants: Started in 27-13 win over Green Bay
Tyvon Branch, S Oakland : Did not play (leg)
Donald Brown, RB Indianapolis: Had 14 carries for 80 yards and two TDs and had 14-yard reception in 30-27 win over Tennessee
Darius Butler, CB Indianapolis: Had two tackles in 30-27 win over Tennessee
Marcus Easley, WR Buffalo: Had two tackles in 37-14 win over New York Jets
Dwayne Gratz, CB Jacksonville: Had two tackles in 27-14 loss to Arizona
Ryan Griffin, TE Houston: Did not have a catch in 28-23 loss to Oakland
Robert McClain, CB Atlanta: Had seven tackles and returned two punts for 16 yards in 41-28 loss to Tampa Bay
Sio Moore, LB Oakland: Had a tackle in 28-23 win over Houston
Dan Orlovsky, Tampa Bay: Did not play in 41-28 win over Atlanta
Kendall Reyes, DT San Diego: Had one pass breakup in 20-16 loss to Miami
Anthony Sherman, FB Kansas City: Had two catches for 18 yards and one run for one yard in 27-17 loss to Denver
Jordan Todman, RB Jacksonville: Had two carries for 9 yards, one catch for minus 5 yards, a tackle and 144 yards on four kickoff returns in 27-14 loss to Arizona.
Nick Williams, WR Washington: Had one catch for 5 yards and also caught two-point conversion in 24-16 loss to Philadelphia
Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB Tennessee: Did not have a tackle in 30-27 loss to Indianapolis