Among the many things that have to concern the Cardinals right now is the ongoing iffy status of wide receiver John Brown, who is still hurting from his quad injury, missing practice this week and struggling in the second half in Detroit to not let it affect him. Smoke had four catches for 32 yards against the Lions and would have had another had Carson Palmer not one-hopped him on an easy out route during the game, a play that would've picked up 12 or 14 yards.

But realistically, Brown is that guy who is supposed to cause some havoc deep. He is not that guy right now and it gums up what the Cardinals would want to do. Whether he can fully recover sooner rather than later is to be determined, but whatever his malady -- and it's not the same issues he had last season -- this has been rough on the Cardinals in general. Smoke is fast when he's right. That's missing.

The Cardinals won't have running back David Johnson or left tackle D.J. Humphries this weekend. They might not have guard Mike Iupati (although that's one of the reasons you sign a vet like Alex Boone.) I'm curious to see what Brown can do the remainder of the practice week. I'm guessing he will play, taking it easy in practices so he can be as ready as he can be on Sundays. But as everyone can see, full-speed Smoke is so dynamic, when he isn't full speed, it makes an impact the other way.