TEMPE, Ariz. -- Larry Fitzgerald, in addition to being star of the Arizona Cardinals and perhaps the NFL's finest wide receiver, preserves remarkably deep Pittsburgh ties for a guy who was born in Minnesota and still calls it home.
He intensely follows the Pitt football program for which he was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2003, including showing up for the Blue-Gold Game in April. He sees enough Pitt basketball that he might as well be a member of the Oakland Zoo. He even checks in occasionally at PNC Park and can attest firsthand that the 2011 Pirates were "a real blast for the city there for a while."
Fitzgerald's Pittsburgh connection has continued into professional life, for better and worse.
His Cardinals fell to the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, even though Fitzgerald scored on a breathtaking, 64-yard touchdown catch-and-sprint that looked like it would hold a special place in football history ... until the Steelers answered with a 78-yard drive to win, 27-23.
Today, his Cardinals again will face the Steelers, albeit from a far different vantage point. Arizona is 1-4, having lost its past four. The new quarterback, Kevin Kolb, has looked mostly lost. The running game has been negligible. And Fitzgerald, owner of 640 career catches and 67 touchdowns, has just 27 catches and two touchdowns so far.
If Fitzgerald is down about that, he isn't showing it. He was one of the last players off the Cardinals' practice field Friday, smiling wide, and he sat with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review afterward for a wide-ranging interview.
Q: When people talk about the great receivers in the game, your name is always up there. Does Mike Wallace belong now, too?
A: You know, when I see Mike on Sunday, I'm going to ask him for one-tenth. Just give me a tenth of that speed. You give me a tenth, and you'll still be the fastest dude in the league. (Laughs) Yeah, he's fun to watch. Every time I turn on a Steelers game, the guy is blowing the top off the defense. He's become a better intermediate route runner, and he does a really good job in the run game.
But the speed ... the guy just never ceases to amaze you. On TV, you see Ben (Roethlisberger) throw a ball, and you're like, "I don't think he's going to get to that." Then he runs right underneath it.
He's a phenomenal talent, and I'm really happy to see the success he's having. The future's extremely bright for him.
Q: Is there any sign that you and Kolb are developing chemistry⢠That's obviously going to be a huge factor for your offense for a long time.
A: That develops over time. The more I work for Kevin, the more I make plays for him, the more I give him confidence, the better our chemistry's going to be. Kevin's different than Kurt Warner when Kurt was here. Kurt was really quick in getting the ball to you. Kevin's out of a West Coast system where he looks downfield. I like that, and we've made a couple plays but not enough. And I need to work harder.
That's the way I look at it. I'm the only one who can control my effort and my level of commitment to our quarterback, our team and our fan base.
Q: You know you'll be covered by Ike Taylor. He doesn't get many interceptions, obviously, but how do people around the league feel about him as a cover corner?
A: Ike is a monster.
It's his mentality. It's his toughness. It's his commitment to watching film. You can always tell he's studying his opponent just by how he reads his receivers. He's watching guys' splits, their depths, how their hips move ... he's picking up all the details, just like all the great corners do. And he's going to be physical. He never backs down. He will tackle you if you get that ball.
I know I'm going to have to be playing at my best to be successful Sunday.
Q: What do you think of Pitt moving to the ACC?
A: I'm excited from a football standpoint. Obviously, I love going to the Big East Tournament in basketball, all the great matchups with Connecticut, Georgetown and Notre Dame.
But for football, I think it's going to be an amazing experience. We're going to play quality teams week in, week out. I'm sad that we might lose the Backyard Brawl with West Virginia, but going to Florida State and Miami, getting to play Virginia Tech and Boston College ... the ACC's really good for football, and it might even expand our recruiting base.
Even for basketball, I think it'll be great, going to North Carolina, Duke, Maryland ... those will be great matchups.
Q: The Pitt football team is 3-4, and they're taking their hits back home, especially the "high-octane" offense. What's your take?
A: I believe Todd Graham is a mastermind offensively. You saw what he was able to do at Tulsa with less talent than he has at Pitt with Ray Graham and guys like that. I think he'll have that team going in the right direction by the end of the season. They lost a tough one to Iowa, tough one to Notre Dame ... but they've been in the games. I think Coach Graham is the right man for the job.
Getting Rushel Shell to commit is huge for our program. You land a No. 1 recruit like that out of Hopewell, hopefully that will entice more kids from Western Pennsylvania to come. We need to get those kids from Penn Hills, from Gateway, the homegrown ones.
Q: Has Ray Graham shown you something?
A: Yeah, he's special. He reminds me a lot of Shady (former Pitt running back LeSean McCoy, now with the Philadelphia Eagles). You look at what he does in open space, the way he makes guys miss. It's like that play Ray made against South Florida where he catches the ball, spins off one guy, makes a move on another guy ... he showed quickness and power.
Q: Can he play in the NFL?
A: Oh, yeah, no question. And, hey, he's a Pitt guy, right⢠(Smiles)
Q: You came so close not just to a Super Bowl championship but also being the guy who would have made the big championship-winning play, the Bill Mazeroski moment.
A: Well, I don't know.
Q: OK, then, the Hal Smith moment.
A: (Laughs) That's more like it.
Q: Do you still think about it?
A: You know, Ben and Santonio Holmes made the plays on that last drive for the Steelers. They did what they needed to do to win. I tip my hat. They earned it. They deserved it.
We gave it a great fight, and it's something I'll always be proud of. But to be honest with you, those aren't good memories for me. Every time I think about that game, I don't think about that play. I just think about the result.
Q: The Cardinals have taken a big step back since then. Do you see yourself getting back to that level?
A: Yeah, anything is possible. Crazier things have happened. I think we've got some fantastic players on this football team and a great coach in Ken Whisenhunt. We've got the ability to turn this thing around, and we will. I feel good about that.
What the Steelers are saying about Fitz
Mike Tomlin, coach:
"Sometimes you can just throw to him. This guy is big, and he's even bigger down the field. When you get him in one-on-one situations down the field, chances are he is going to catch the football. Sometimes when you give him two-on-one situations, he catches the football. He is unquestionably the best in the world at that. So you couldn't argue with throws to him in any juncture, really."
Ike Taylor, cornerback:
"He has great body control, probably the best ball skills I've seen. The body control for his size is unbelievable. I don't know why they talk about his 40-yard dash time and say he's slow. There have been a lot of times he ran past people and caught the ball, and people can't catch up with him."
Ryan Clark, safety:
"Where do you find his weakness⢠He's a big guy, quick enough to get in and out of routes, has an elite pair of hands. And if you watch his games, when has he ever gotten caught from behind⢠People sometimes question his top-end speed, but every time he's behind a guy, he scores a touchdown. We're going to have Ike on him sometimes. We're going to have to roll some coverages to him and really be aware of where he is at all times. "
Additional Information:The Fitzgerald file
Full name: Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr.
Position: Wide receiver
Team: Arizona Cardinals
Age: 28
Born: Minneapolis
College: Pittsburgh (2002-03)
NFL career: 113 games,640 receptions,8,631 yards,67 TDs
2011 season: 5 games,27 receptions,427 yards,2 TDs
