Paola Boivin

azcentral sports

It was a treat to talk to John Brown during his early days with the Cardinals. He was wide-eyed and grateful, in disbelief that hard work really was rewarded, in awe of his surroundings after growing up poor in Homestead, Fla.

How long, this cynic wondered, before the NFL’s business side of contract negotiations and roster lacerations numb him, before the inner-diva, common among wide receivers, surfaces?

None of this has happened, and it has been a key to Brown’s successful first two seasons.

That and an enduring friendship with the Cardinals’ starting quarterback.

For the third offseason, Brown will stay at Carson Palmer’s Southern California home, this time for a month to continue preparations for a 2016 season accompanied by high expectations.

“Home” might be too common a word. The three-story beachfront estate has a tennis court, an open-air living room, six bedrooms and eight baths.

“The guest room is like a little apartment off to itself,” Brown said. “I just appreciate everything Carson does, bringing me in and helping me with things I never knew or had coming up."

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Those things range from perfecting routes to eating healthy. Brown used to be fast-food junkie, a trait mocked last fall by ESPN's Trey Wingo, who conducted an interview via satellite with the player while eating a cheeseburger and fries in hope of tempting him.

Brown turned the unhealthy food down, and still does, a pattern that started in part by the frequent meals of fish and vegetables he ate at Palmer’s house.

“He’s just so focused on football,” Palmer said. “He loves to come out. He doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t come out to San Diego to sight-see. He’s not coming out to go out with friends. He’s coming out to train, work. That’s what I’m there for.

“He’s a great houseguest.”

Palmer’s wife, Shaelyn, and four children enjoy Brown’s presence. He is not only a grateful guest but is well-liked by the kids who have come to call him “Cookie Monster.”

“He’s a big kid,” Palmer said about Brown, who has a 4-year-old daughter. “He’s used to that energy and having to play hide-and-go-seek and all the games, tag, and all those things I’m tired of playing. He’s been so great to my family.”

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The days aren’t just about entertaining.

Brown said he wakes up about 6:30 a.m., has breakfast and then runs routes.

“He just throws until I say ‘I’m done’ or ‘I’m good.’ If I mess up on something, we work on it until I get it right.”

They also work out with weights and train with other players who come into town or live nearby.

Summer is where things can go south for players. Organized team activities and minicamps are done. Training camp doesn’t start until late July. Bodies need rest but not indulgence. Coaches are acutely aware of how much work players put in during the offseason.

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Brown knows he needs to be at the top of his offseason game again. When Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was asked this week what the next big step is for “Smokey,” his answer came quickly.

“Finish a season,” he said. “ He didn’t have as good of a December or January as he should have had. I think he was pressing to get that 1,000 yards. He should have 1,400 easy. He had 200 (yards) worth of drops in Philly.”

Even after 696 yards and five touchdowns his rookie season and 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns last year, Brown can do better, Arians believes. Against the Eagles on Dec. 21, he had three dropped passes in the first half after dropping just one in 13 previous games.

“l most definitely left some yards on the field,” he said. “This is a new year. I got to make up (for it).”

Palmer stressed that too much shouldn’t be read into Arians’ words.

“B.A. doesn’t talk to him like that for any other reason than he knows that there’s room for growth, that there’s something special in Smokey,” he said. “He knows that he’s just scratching the surface of his capabilities because he’s so talented. He’s hard on guys he loves.”

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Brown understands that. He’s grateful to be in a place where people believe in him, where good things can happen. His reaction comes from growing up in a challenging background, where 44 percent of children live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census, where your half-brother is shot to death in a dispute that didn’t involve him.

And from football, where few believe you have the size or drive to make it.

It is why, even with frequent smiles and excitement, there is a tinge of sadness in Brown’s eyes. They have seen a lot.

He tries to take nothing for granted.

“He’s still quiet,” Palmer said. “Very humble. Sticks with the same people. His circle hasn’t gotten bigger. That’s just part of the maturity, probably coming from a small school and a small town and realizing how blessed he is to be here and doesn’t want to waste a second let alone a day or a year.”

Brown, 26, will make mistakes. Slips are inevitable. He’s trying his best to minimize them.

“I still love (football) that much,” he said. “Coming from nothing it just makes me appreciate these things. I play for my brother. To be around a great group of guys, and when you’re on a great team, you’re gonna have that kind of mind-set, of just having fun and just be yourself.

“I’m grateful for the people helping me get there.”

Palmer is grateful for his friendship.

“I’ll never charge him rent,” he mused.

Follow Paola Boivin at paola.boivin@arizonarepublic.com and on Twitter at Twitter.com/PaolaBoivin. Listen to her streaming live on “The Brad Cesmat Show” on sports360az.com every Monday at 10:30 a.m.