Arizona Cardinals: Welcome back Smokey

Arizona Cardinals receiver John Brown, aka Smokey, had himself a day on Sunday

Arizona Cardinals receiver John Brown just hasn’t been himself lately. For the most part he has been missing in action so far in 2016.

In Sunday’s Cardinals 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Brown found himself as the number one target of quarterback Carson Palmer. It is the best he has looked in sometime.

After only eight receptions over the first three games, including six last week in the loss to the Buffalo Bills, Brown had 10 receptions for 144 yards on Sunday. He now has 17 receptions for the season.

Brown was targeted an amazing 16 times against the Rams. The Rams never put any extra coverage on Brown despite that. Palmer definitely was on the same page as Brown on Sunday.

Brown hasn’t been the same since suffering a concussion during the first week of training camp. He missed the early part of preseason. Some wondered early on in the regular season if he had peaked and we’d seen everything Brown had to offer?

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The obvious answer after Sunday is no. Even though the Brown didn’t get into the end zone and the Cardinals didn’t win, Brown was still instrumental in helping keep drives alive.

Brown was much needed as receiver Michael Floyd continued to struggle. Receiver Larry Fitzgerald can’t be the only one making plays. This is why the Cardinals carry five usually sure-handed receivers on the roster.

Brown is going to need to step up even more this Thursday to help out Drew Stanton, who is the likely starter with Palmer in concussion protocol this week. Consistency is the key.

While it is important for players like Floyd, Jaron Brown, and J.J. Nelson to continue to work to contribute, John Brown’s Sunday performance may have elevated him to the number two receiving spot on the roster. Palmer clearly trusts him.

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