Big Red
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Patrick Peterson is in his 10th season with the Cardinals, and Fitzgerald is the only teammate that's been with him the whole time. The Pro Bowl cornerback said he couldn't have found a better person to emulate than the wideout who was already a superstar when Peterson showed up.
"It's a blessing, man," Peterson said. "I'll always loop back to the story when I first got picked up by Larry from the airport, me dragging all my luggage out of the airport and stuffing it into his Bentley. From that moment on, it was a bond that never needed to be spoken upon.
"Larry's been a great big brother for me to watch over the years. How he handled himself, how he faced adversity, how he treated people around the building. For a guy of his caliber, you don't see that very often, but Larry treats everybody with the same respect. As a young guy watching -- I was obviously nowhere near his stature at the time -- it was like, 'If you want to be in this league a long time, if you want to be successful in this league, that's the guy you want to model your game after.'"
Fitzgerald and Belichick don't square off much on the field because they are in separate conferences. However, they have known each other for some time, originally meeting because Fitzgerald's uncle went to high school with Belichick.
"I got introduced to him probably 12, 13 years ago and I've stayed in pretty good contact with him," Fitzgerald said. "I have a lot of respect for Coach as a man and as a Hall of Fame football coach. The greatest mind to ever coach the game."
At a Wednesday press conference with the New England media, Belichick showered lofty praise on Fitzgerald.
"He's, I would say, to receivers what Peyton Manning was to quarterbacks, in terms of the type of total obsession of knowing everything about the position and how to do things and convey those to his teammates," Belichick said. "He's had tremendous production. I mean, other than Jerry Rice, those two guys are really at the top of the production list in pretty much every area. His longevity has been remarkable. … He's a tremendous player. He's had a tremendous career. I don't know how you could do much more than what he's done in the amount of time he's done it in."
Fitzgerald may not be the same superstar of years past, but he's fresh off a game in Seattle where he led the Cardinals in both catches (8) and receiving yards (62).
His sure-handed grabs have been a ubiquitous site on Arizona television screens for 17 years, just like Belichick's hoodie has been omnipresent in the Boston area for the past 21.
"Obviously I haven't had the same success as coach Belichick has in New England, but you still appreciate every single day you have the ability to do something you truly enjoy and love," Fitzgerald said. "I think we both share that same sentiment."
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