Sound the trope alarm!
Our most recent player to discuss how he changed his health habits this offseason (a traditional narrative from OTAs) is none other than Around The NFL favorite, John Brown.
Last year at this time, the Arizona Cardinals' speedy wideout was an unknown until coach Bruce Arians began gushing about his potential. Then Brown blew the doors off to open the season, confirming the hype.
The production ground to a halt, however.
"He hit the wall around Dec. 1," Arians said this week, via the Arizona Republic, "like most rookies do."
Brown had zero touchdowns in the last seven regular season games of 2014 and caught just nine passes for 127 yards in the final four contests.
The second-year receiver vowed to run through the wall this time around. In that spirit, he changed his lifestyle this offseason, including cutting fast food out of his diet.
"It was hard to give up because I used to eat it every day," said Brown.
Now that the heartburn that bothered him during practices last year is gone, he feels fresher.
"Once I went to practice without fast food (in my stomach), I felt so much better," Brown said. "I don't even look at restaurants any more. I've put on a lot of muscle, and I'm feeling stronger and better."
This is another reminder that fast food, while it may taste wonderful in the moment, is the Beelzebub of the food world.
According to Arians, Brown added 10 pounds of muscle, mostly to his upper body, which will help him against the press coverage that stymied him last season -- it should be noted that the Cards' QB situation late in the season didn't help Brown's cause either.
If the added strength "helps me with press coverage and things like that, I'll give a lot of people trouble in this league," Brown said.
Per the Republic, coaches have noticed Brown isn't getting pushed around as much as last year.
It's early and the contact is minimal in OTAs, but a stronger Brown who can get off the line with ease will help keep the production rolling as the Cards make a playoff push late in the season.
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