1) S Stevie Brown – After playing on three different teams in three years, Brown has been looking for the right situation since being drafted in 2010. With Kenny Phillips officially ruled out, he may have found it for the time being as he is slated to start opposite Antrel Rolle, which was confirmed by defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. His first and only start came at the end of 2010 when he was playing in Oakland before joining to the Colts in 2011. This season, Brown has played in every game and has subbed in for both Rolle and Phillips the last two weeks, recording an interception against Carolina and eight tackles against Philadelphia.
"I thought Stevie Brown came in and did a nice job," Fewell said. "To be put in that position and that type of situation, he really didn't have any major errors. He came in and he tackled well. Obviously, we would've loved to have Kenny in there because we have some things that we like to do with Kenny specifically; it wasn't that much of an alteration."
2) WR Domenik Hixon – Five players have been officially ruled out of Sunday's contest; two of them are wide receivers. Hakeem Nicks will miss his third straight game, while Ramses Barden won't play due to a concussion. Hixon made the most of his opportunity last week with 114 yards on six catches in Philly. He'll have plenty more on Sunday.
3) RB/KR David Wilson – Wilson was a man on a mission last week and flashed his first-round talent with a 36.2-yard average on six kickoff returns (with a long of 53). Looking like he might take it to the end zone each time, he could be getting closer to earning a chance to see if he can give that spark in the backfield.
4) DE Jason Pierre-Paul -- While it was always going to be difficult to repeat his 2011 season, Pierre-Paul wasn't shy this week about voicing his frustration, especially with himself. Pierre-Paul has 1.5 sacks and 17 tackles through four weeks.
"I feel like I haven't been having fun lately," Pierre-Paul said. "It feels like I'm kind of stressed a little, but I made an oath to myself that I'm just going to go out there and have fun…That's starting this week. Just keep running to the ball no matter where it's at."
5) DTs Markus Kuhn and Marvin Austin – Rocky Bernard is out and Chris Canty is still on PUP. That leaves Linval Joseph as the pillar of the interior. On Thursday, Fewell said Kuhn has been averaging 10-12 snaps per game but wouldn't confirm if he would start. Meanwhile, Austin only saw 4-10 snaps last week, according to Fewell. Both of those numbers should increase in Week 5.
