Fitzgerald honors mom, wins showdown, hits big 50
By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 10/15/2009
GLENDALE, ARIZONA — The showdown in the desert last Sunday between the Houston Texans and the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals had a subplot. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Arizona Cardinals and teams around the league are all taking part.
Pro Bowl wide out Larry Fitzgerald, Jr., who lost his mother Carol to breast cancer in 2003, is serving as a national spokesperson for the NFL’s initiative “A Crucial Catch: Annual Screening Saves Lives,” which encourages annual mammograms for women over 40.
“The Crucial Catch initiative reminds us all how important it is to take care of the women in our lives,” said Fitzgerald. “I hope to keep my mother’s legacy alive by taking part in this campaign.”
Fitzgerald and teammates Kurt Warner, Darnell Dockett, Karlos Dansby, Adrian Wilson and Sean Morey, all team captains, participated in the initiative and wore something pink with their uniforms at Sunday’s game to symbolize their participation.
Two of the NFL’s elite receivers, Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. and Andre Johnson of the Texans are both big and strong, and the question of who’s the best always creates debate. Both are veteran Pro Bowlers, and if you’re a fan of excellent receivers, Fitzgerald and Johnson are fantasy favorites.
Johnson, now in his seventh season, has never tasted the playoffs. Fitzgerald, now in his sixth season after last year’s Super Bowl XLIII playoff run, is the best in playoff history.
Since 2009, Johnson leads the NFL in receiving yards with 1,911 and receptions with 135. He is one of the game’s most consistent players, averaging 97 yards per game since 2004 against NFC teams and has nine 100-yard receiving games.
Fitzgerald has 55 catches for 958 yards — that’s 106 yards a game — and 12 touchdowns in his last nine games including the playoffs. In Fitzgerald’s last nine games, including Super Bowl XLIII, he has 60 catches for 878 yards, an average of 97 yards per game with seven touchdowns.
Arizona built a 21-0 first-half lead thanks in part to Fitzgerald scoring on back-to-back TD passes from quarterback Kurt Warner of nine and 26-yards. However, Houston came storming back to tie the game at 21-21 thanks in part to Johnson scoring on back-to-back TD receptions from Math Schaub in the fourth quarter. Corner back Dominique Rodgers Cromartie intercepted Schaub in the fourth quarter and raced 49 yards for a touchdown.
“Every game, when I step out on the field, I want to go out there to be successful and help my team win ball games,” Fitzgerald said. “This is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I wear my mom on my sleeve, and she’s in my heart every time I step on the field and walk around in life. I just want to go out there and play my part and help this team win.”
The Texans had a chance to tie the game with just seconds remaining; however, the Cardinals defense stuffed the Texans on the one-yard line three straight plays to hang on for a thrilling 28-21 win. The Cardinals won at home for the first time in three games and squared their record at 2-2.
“Those guys fought,” Fitzgerald said of the Texans. “They played really well. Our defense really bailed us out at the end. We definitely have to make some corrections and fix that.
“It’s totally unacceptable to not get a first down in the second half. That falls on the players. We have to execute.” With two touchdown receptions, Fitzgerald now has 50 career touchdowns.
This season, in the home opener against San Francisco on September 13, Fitzgerald, at 26 years and 13 days, became the second-youngest receiver in NFL history to reach 6,000 career receiving yards. The youngest in league history to do it was one of his mentors when he was a ball boy with the Minnesota Vikings — Randy Moss. Moss broke the 6,000 mark when he was 25 years and 270 days old.
Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:20 am, and on WDGY-AM 740 Monday & Saturday mornings at 7:50 am and Fridays at 3:50 pm; he also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Larry welcomes reader responses to lfitzgerald@spokesman-recorder.com , or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com .
