GLENDALE
Youth
Mike Iupati Jersey , Ariz. (AP) ¡ª Larry Fitzgerald took a back pass from
Josh Rosen, shuffled a couple of steps right and set his feet.Arizona¡¯s all-time
leading receiver cocked his right arm back and let a not-quite-a-spiral fly into
the desert air. The ball landed softly into the hands of Cardinals running back
David Johnson, hitting him stride for a 32-yard touchdown.The Cardinals may have
lost 31-9 to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but Fitzgerald added another
highlight as Arizona fans celebrated what could be the final home game of his
storied 15-year career.¡°It¡¯s awesome,¡± Rosen said. ¡°This town loves Larry, he¡¯s
an unbelievable player. The fans were looking for something positive and that
was a fun one.¡±Fitzgerald hasn¡¯t decided if he will return for a 16th NFL season
and the Cardinals still have one game left, next Sunday at Seattle.Arizona¡¯s
first season under Steve Wilks was a huge disappointment, possibly sending the
Cardinals (3-12) toward a coaching search for the second straight season by New
Year¡¯s Eve.Amid one of the worst seasons in franchise history, Fitzgerald showed
he¡¯s still got it, even at 35.Entering Sunday¡¯s game, Fitzgerald was Arizona¡¯s
leading receiver with 59 catches for 645 yards and five touchdowns. He caught
six passes for 62 yards against the NFC West champion Rams (12-3), extending his
streak of games with a catch to 226 straight ¡ª second all-time to Jerry Rice¡¯s
274.Fitzgerald holds the NFL record for catches with one team and is third
all-time overall with 1,299. He¡¯s second all-time with
16
Stitched Jamar
Taylor Jersey ,243 yards.Fitzgerald also is one of the most respected
players in the NFL and in Phoenix sports history, both on the field and off.¡°I
can¡¯t really speak enough about Larry, not only what he brings to this
organization, but to the shield itself, the National Football League,¡± Wilks
said. ¡°Just a true pillar of this league.¡±Arizona¡¯s home finale felt like the
end of the line for Fitzgerald, even if he hasn¡¯t made a decision yet.Fitzgerald
stood alone in the Cardinals¡¯ inflatable helmet at the end of pregame
introductions and ran onto the field to the first of many chants of ¡°Larry!¡±
from the home crowd.Throughout the game, the video boards showed highlights of
Fitzgerald¡¯s career to the Christmas-inspired song ¡°Twelve Days of Fitzmas.¡±The
Cardinals kept his receptions streak alive by targeting him early and often.
Fitzgerald then did something he had never done before, lofting his first career
TD pass into the hands of Johnson, setting off another ¡°Larry!¡± chant.¡°It was a
great throw. He threw it up there,¡± Johnson said. ¡°I didn¡¯t have to slow my
stride or anything.¡±The Cardinals had the Fitz pass in the playbook most of the
season, insisting it wasn¡¯t put in just because this might have been his final
home game.Even so, when Fitzgerald came to the sideline after his first TD
pass
Youth Jamar
Taylor Jersey , offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich got a massive chest
bump from the veteran receiver.¡°I guess it¡¯s like a layup in basketball; you
can¡¯t miss,¡± said Fitzgerald, 2 for 4 for 53 yards career passing. ¡°I just
wanted to put a little air under it. It came out a little wobbly, like (former
teammate) Kurt Warner¡¯s ball. But, like Kurt Warner¡¯s ball, it was effective.¡±As
the clock wound down on another Cardinals¡¯ defeat, the few remaining fans
started a chant ¡°Larry!¡± ¡ª maybe for the final time.When it was over, Fitzgerald
found himself surrounded by photographers, following his every move as Rams
players and coaches lined up to congratulate him on the field.Even after 60
minutes of pounding each other, the respect was there for one of the greatest
receivers ¡ª and people ¡ª in NFL history.¡°I play a team sport. I¡¯m not Michael
Phelps or Tiger Woods. Those guys do individual things,¡± Fitzgerald said.
¡°Everything I¡¯ve done has been in the context of a team setting. It¡¯s a little
uncomfortable to be singled out. There¡¯s 11 guys with me and I wouldn¡¯t be able
to do my job without every single guy doing it. It¡¯s cool, but still, you never
get used to that.¡± Every
year
Stitched Benson
Mayowa Jersey , after the NFL Combine, SB Nation begins to aggregate all
of the mock drafts from around the world and put them into a handy dandy little
chart.So, as that is occurring, we here at..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Podcasts
The Revenge of the Birds podcast2019 Mock Draft Database is back and the Arizona
Cardinals are still drafting Nick Bosa according to the
consensusNew,119commentsMSTShareTweetShareShare2019 Mock Draft Database is back
and the Arizona Cardinals are still drafting Nick Bosa according to the
consensusBrian Spurlock-USA TODAY SportsEvery year, after the NFL Combine, SB
Nation begins to aggregate all of the mock drafts from around the world and put
them into a handy dandy little chart.So, as that is occurring, we here at
Revenge of the Birds will take that chart and follow along.It will allow us to
see how the ebbs and flows of the 2019 NFL Draft season change and what the
thoughts of those within the community are and how they change.The first
consensus pick is not a surprise, in fact it would have been an upset until this
last week, but it will be interesting to monitor how this changes over the next
several weeks.If you want to see the whole first round, check out the 2019 Mock
Draft Database, but here are the Cardinals top three from the consensus:Nick
Bosa
Youth Benson
Mayowa Jersey , Edge, Ohio State - 55%Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma -
27%Quinnen Williams, DL, Alabama - 15%That is a cool 97%, with three percent of
the population finding another worthy option at one.The Cardinals own employees
have basically said these are the options if they are to stay at one.There are
51 days until the 2019 NFL Draft... So, how these change will be quite
interesting to follow.