Undeterred Fitzgerald sparks Cardinals' rise

Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is the antithesis of many peers at his position.

The Arizona Cardinals' three-time Pro Bowl receiver celebrates touchdowns by casually flipping the ball to an official rather than flaunting and flexing for cameras.

He doesn't begrudge sharing passes with another elite receiver.

And he listens more than he talks.

Fitzgerald has brought production and a sunny disposition to the desert.

(Bob Donnan/US Presswire)

But Fitzgerald's main mantra is this: The perception of others is not his reality.

He sees the possible when others see otherwise, which is why he regularly beats double coverage to make highlight catches.

He sees opportunity when others see a catastrophe, which is why he didn't blink when the moribund Cardinals – one of only six NFL franchises to never make a Super Bowl – selected him third overall in the 2004 NFL draft.

"I looked at it as a great challenge," Fitzgerald said Tuesday. "It gives you a different feeling, when you have to be a piece of a great football team. But when you go to a team that hadn't been to the playoffs in umpteen years, and you get to be a key piece, it makes you feel even better, to be able to bring a franchise up."

Whether his team defeats the Eagles on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium, Fitzgerald has helped elevate the Cardinals from the lower rung. The Cardinals are making their first NFC championship game appearance, and they are vying for their first NFL title since 1947.

Arizona averaged six wins in Fitzgerald's first four NFL seasons before securing a weak NFC West title this season with a 9-7 record.

"A lot of us paid our dues to get this thing turned around," Fitzgerald said. "Oh man, it makes it so much more rewarding, to see how far we've come, to see how bad we were at one time.

"I've been here for some of the bleak things."

The lowlight came Oct. 16, 2006.

Sidelined with an injury, Fitzgerald had a front-row view as the Cardinals collapsed at home against the eventual NFC champion Chicago Bears, blowing a 20-0 halftime lead and losing 24-23.

Then head coach Dennis Green had one of the all-time, postgame press conference meltdowns ("They are who we thought they were, and we let 'em off the hook!"), and he was fired after a 5-11 season.

But Larry Fitzgerald Sr. constantly reinforced a message that he and his late wife Carol, who died of cancer in April 2003, often imparted on Larry Jr. and his younger brother Marcus.

"I would always put into Larry's head: 'You're a winner. You're a winner. You're a champion. You were raised a champion.'

" 'Don't allow what exists here to get to you. You have to lead this team out of this.' "

Larry Jr. witnessed firsthand how his parents dealt with adversity.

He watched as his mother battled the disease for seven years until it spread to her brain and lungs. And he watched how his father once persevered when he was out of work.

"We've had some tough times," Larry Jr. said. "When my dad lost his job [as a radio talk show host], he did whatever he had to make sure we had food on our tables and clothes on our back."

So naturally, Larry Jr. took the road less traveled from high school to college.

After graduating from Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania, Larry Jr. opted to attend Pittsburgh instead of more heralded programs such as Ohio State, Penn State and Miami.

"People said I was nuts," Larry Jr. said.

Larry Jr. racked up remarkable achievements in two seasons: Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, Biletnikoff Award, Heisman Trophy runner-up and an NCAA record with at least one touchdown reception in 18 straight games.

"You always have to believe you're a winner. You can never be content," Larry Jr. said. "Sometimes, when you're on a bad team, you get stuck in a lull. But I never lost that passion for winning.

"I'll do whatever it takes to be successful."

Larry Jr., who signed a four-year, $40 million extension last offseason, displayed his competitiveness during a 47-7 blowout loss to the Patriots on Dec. 21. Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt pulled several starters with his team trailing 44-0 in the third quarter at Gillette Stadium.

Only Larry Jr. refused to leave the game.

"I feel I'm one of the leaders on this team, so I don't want anyone on our team to think I quit on them," Larry Jr. said. "The real measure of a man is how you deal with adversity and overcome bad things.

"In my Cardinal career, I'd never been shut out," he said. "I felt that would be such a smack in my face. That would have been embarrassing and I, for one, wasn't going to stand for that."

So with 6:17 remaining, with the Cardinals trailing 47-0, Larry Jr. hauled in a deep pass from backup quarterback Matt Leinart and scored a 78-yard touchdown.

In the three games since, all Cardinal victories, Larry Jr. has topped 100 receiving yards and scored at least one touchdown.

"I called him before he got on the plane and told him how proud I was," said Larry Sr., who's phone was blowing up with friends wondering why his son was still on the field in such a lopsided game.

In Saturday's NFC divisional playoffs matchup against Carolina, with fellow Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin sidelined with a hamstring injury, Larry Jr. caught six passes for 151 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown, in the first half.

After the 33-13 thumping of the Panthers, Whisenhunt noted how Larry Jr. "kick-started" the offense.

"He continues to step up big for us," Whisenhunt said.

The most impressive play, though, happened with about five minutes left in the first quarter, with the Cardinals trailing 7-0. On third and one, quarterback Kurt Warner used a play-action fake then launched a deep pass toward Larry Jr. With two defenders on him, Larry Jr. leaped high into the air, tipped the ball and hauled it in before he hit the ground for a 41-yard gain.

The Cardinals tied the game three plays later.

Fitzgerald makes the first-quarter grab in front of two Panthers.

(Bob Donnan/US Presswire)

"He's like Randy Moss. He changes your game plan," former Rams head coach Scott Linehan said. "The goal is to contain the guy, because you can't stop him. He makes plays that only freaks of nature are going to make, where he's three feet above everybody else.

"I mean, how do you defend that?"

Cardinals defensive end Antonio Smith said Larry Jr.'s spectacular catch gave the players a "ton of energy."

Larry Jr., of course, embraced such a moment.

"Guys look to me. Guys count on me," he said. "Guys say, 'Hey Fitz, we need something.'

"So I try to make sure I make plays to lift my team."

As he enjoyed a day off Tuesday, Larry Jr. said he visualized himself making plays, the Cardinals beating the Eagles and himself holding the George Halas Trophy.

"I can see myself lifting it up," Larry Jr. said of the NFC championship trophy. "We've come a long way, and we still have a long way to go.

"But we're going to work hard and try to make that a reality."

Sean Jensen covers the NFL and the Minnesota Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.