The day off seemed to do good things for some guys on the practice field Thursday (and it didn't hurt that the humidity, which was a killer Tuesday, was way better.) Some key guys looked good, not the least of whom being wide receiver John Brown. Brown looks past his health concerns. He is blazing when he runs around out there. One play in particular stood out to me Thursday, a 31-yard route to the pylon in which Brown went up and made the catch of a Drew Stanton throw with his hands, Justin Bethel right there in tight coverage. (There's a picture of it below.) A healthy and fast Smokey Brown is a good Smokey Brown.

-- Patrick Peterson made a couple of picks, once in a one-on-one drill with Brown (which is so hard for a defensive back) and again in 7-on-7 and in both cases it looked like Peterson was the one running the route.

-- Robert Nkemdiche blew up a running play in 11-on-11 and looked explosive in one-on-one drills. It's one day -- and yes, in the video, he's going against raw rookie Dorian Johnson -- but the defensive tackle is going in the right direction. Nkemdiche tossed the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Johnson to the ground during one matchup.

-- WR Aaron Dobson pulled up after a play with some sort of left leg issue and he was not happy. It'll be interesting to see if it is anything serious.

-- RB Chris Johnson joined Carson Palmer with a day off. Tackle Jared Veldheer also wasn't out there.

-- There was a play in which the pass protection started to break down and quarterback Blaine Gabbert basically had to sling a pass without any ability to step into the throw -- and it was a laser to a wide-open Chad Williams 18 yards down the field. Gabbert unquestionably has arm strength, that's for sure.

-- If there is any question about Larry Fitzgerald's mindset, I leave you with this: Fitz makes a catch coming across the field. Wide open. He leans a bit forward and ends up falling to the ground. Fitz was angry. "Stay on your damn feet!" he barked at himself.