So it was a week about the Cardinals' offense and the struggles last week and the injuries they already have endured just one game into the season. This is a defense that is healthy — save for the nearing-a-return-but-not-yet Deone Bucannon — and about to face a Colts' offense Sunday that scored only nine points in Los Angeles last week, has a quarterback crisis and a decimated offensive line.

It's the kind of offense a defense can get after pretty hard, especially one like the Cardinals, which may be asked to shoulder a bigger load going forward.

"You'd be crazy if you thought like that," linebacker Markus Golden said. "This is the NFL, man. That's the real part about it. If you think like that, I don't even want you on my team. That's how I feel about it.

"It ain't like we're a super-team. We're like them. We lost last week and we're trying to get back on the winning side."

The Cardinals get it. They get the position they are in, what they face after injuries. Anyone concerned about a trap game — which to me can't be, no matter how rough the Colts looked, because of where the Cards are — shouldn't be.

"We understand it's the NFL," safety Tyrann Mathieu said. "The Rams' defense is tough on everybody. We don't really look at that. If you look at it that way you'll probably lose some respect for those guys (on the Colts)."

This was always going to be a big game. Bruce Arians back in Indy and all that. It was supposed to be Andrew Luck vs. Mathieu and Patrick Peterson, a clash of two playoff hopefuls. The Colts are anything but, thanks in large part to Luck's injury. The Cards want to make sure their hopes aren't dashed so soon themselves.

-- Players like Golden and Mathieu were all saying Jacoby Brissett would be the QB they face, which was what had been reported by multiple outlets. Colts coach Chuck Pagano would not name a starter Friday, however, and Bruce Arians took his friend at his word.

"We'll see who steps into that huddle," Arians said. "Chuck hasn't said s* yet."

-- Given all the offensive shuffling, it's almost lost that Robert Nkemdiche will be getting a chance to play. He'll have a chance to go against undrafted rookie Deyshawn Bond, who is playing center with Ryan Kelly injured. If Nkemdiche can show a little of what he showed in the preseason, that'd be a nice start. Given everything he's been through, he needs a good game in this situation.

-- Not much more to say about Palmer this week. The injuries around him do not help. This is why you sign an Alex Boone, to fill in for Iupati. You hope John Wetzel plays better. Offensive line play across the league is not been great. The Cards are not alone. But they have to make it a little better for Palmer, and Palmer has to be a lot better.

-- The blocking also has to be better for the running game, which didn't produce much even before Johnson got hurt. Andre Ellington/Kerwynn Williams was the 2014 running tandem once Jonathan Dwyer was released, so it's not unfamiliar. The Cards leaned on the defense that season a lot (Palmer only played six games because of injuries) but you need some production on the ground. Where Chris Johnson fits in -- especially after Arians said Elijhaa Penny will have an offensive role -- is anyone's guess.

-- We will see how much of a role Chad Williams actually has on offense with Smoke out. Still, the pass catching will probably come down more to Fitz, Jaron Brown and J.J. Nelson, with Andre Ellington out of the backfield. Nelson actually has eight touchdowns in his last 10 games (Thanks for the stat, Whiz!) He can't be dropping bombs like he did last week, but Nelson has gotten better with Carson Palmer and as a deep threat, the Cards need him. Badly.

-- Speaking of potential pass catchers, curious to see if Ifeanyi Momah can be a factor. Every time he plays in the preseason, he seems to have a few receptions. Now, with Jermaine Gresham missing practice all week, he's got a chance to be involved. We talk "Next Man Up," but the next men up understand more people fret about those injured than are comforted by who is stepping in.

"It almost can be a chip on the shoulder sometimes, but honestly, I just try to do the best I can every day," Momah said. "It was a good experience for me, first game of the preseason, starters didn't play and I got to play into the second half. From that game, I was able to build off that, someone who can fill in."

-- Ring of Honor member Roy Green is being inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame tonight.

-- Speaking of former Cardinals, this came out last week, but if you have not seen it, it is a well-produced mini-documentary into the free-agent decision of Calais Campbell when he left the Cards in the spring. It's worth a watch.

-- I'll leave you with this: Defensive coordinator James Bettcher grew up in a small town (Lakeville) in Indiana, and told a story this week about the first time he went to an NFL game when he was a kid.

"I remember Pops took me to my first Colts game, one of my best friends and his dad," Bettcher said. "It was in the RCA Dome and like I said, from a small town of extremely hardworking people and to be able to go to a game like that was something special. Then you see the size of the stadium and you think, 'Wow, how could I ever be down on the sideline?'

"To think now how fortunate I am to be a coach in the National Football League. It means something to me to work with the players I work with here and how fortunate I am to be a Cardinal. Maybe that's what I get out of (this trip). To reflect back."

See you in Indy.