Fitzgerald doesn't act like best WR in NFL; he just plays like it

In the weeks leading up to this 25th birthday, Larry Fitzgerald talked about how disappointed he would be 25 years later - when he turned 50 - if he hadn't made football's Hall of Fame.

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At 25 and four months, Fitzgerald seems a shoe-in.

He's already surpassed 400 catches - nobody else has come close to that total at his age - and the way he's going, he could finish his career among the top pass-catchers ever.

Only Jerry Rice, at 1,549 catches, would seem an against-the-odds reach.

Yet the main things you hear out of Fitzgerald's mouth - when you hear anything at all - is how he wants to get better:

How he wants to run the most precise pass routes possible, how he wants to make more yards after the catch.

That's how a receiver gets to be in the discussion of the game's best; at the moment, Fitzgerald and Houston's Andre Johnson seem to be in the middle of most debates.

But now is not the time for him to reflect on his achievements.

"When we're sitting around in March or when you're retired and my son is older and he's playing in high school and saying, 'Dad, I'm making better catches than you.' ... That's when I'm going to show him the tape. That's the time to reflect, not in your fifth year playing for the NFC championship.

"It's not time to look at this or that or where I need to go. I just know I need to be at my best on Sunday to help this team win."

Followers of the Cardinals have known about Fitzgerald and his exploits for some time. Fans nationwide are now learning all about him, too.

This is largely because of Fitzgerald's anti-diva approach.

While a number of receivers make sure to call attention to themselves, Fitzgerald likes to stay in the background.

He'll answer questions, but only if you're quick enough to catch him after games and practices.

He used to leave the locker room after games so quickly that no reporter could find him, at least until he was threatened with fines.

"A lot of the better players at my position are kind of vocal guys, but I'm just different," Fitzgerald said. "I don't really look to be in the spotlight. I'm comfortable in my own skin, under the radar. That's perfectly fine with me."

His father, Larry Sr., says this goes back to his upbringing.

Larry's late mother and his father reminded him that in making a play, his 10 teammates all played a role.

"His mom made a point, and I did, too: 'Act like you've been there. Don't act like it was a parade or something,' " Larry Sr. said. "'Don't throw it in somebody's face.'

"Football is 11 guys against 11 guys. To get the ball, you have to have protection and the right scheme. The last part is catching the ball. He realizes when he catches it, he just did his part."

In addressing reporters today, his son said much the same thing: "When I score a touchdown, it takes a lot of help to get me there.

"It takes a great throw from Kurt Warner, outstanding protection from the offensive line. I have to do my part at the last bit, but you can't take for granted what everybody else is doing, play-calling and everything.

"I just have an understanding of that."

Ironically, Fitzgerald's dad is a media guy, a writer and broadcaster from Minneapolis.

Yet the receiver is considered only so-so for quotes by many reporters.

"Blame it on me," Larry Sr. said. "I told him as a kid, 'When you win, say little. When you lose, say less.' "

As the Cardinals lost over the years, there wasn't much to say.

Even now, "There's not that much to say," Larry Sr. said. " 'We won. Let's go play the next game.'

"He allows his ability and his contribution to the team effort to speak for itself.

"He never looks at himself as the guy who won the game. It's all of them."

But all of them aren't likely to be enshrined in Canton.

Fitzgerald has a huge head start on getting there thanks to an uncanny combination of great hands, concentration and leaping ability, plus a work ethic that wasn't slowed at all by a four-year, $40 million contract he signed last year.

All of those things have combined to form a player who aims for the highest goals without a trace of arrogance.

As he builds his résumé, he has thought of a high school coach's advice that "football is an open-book test" - one that he tries to solve every day, whether it's through running routes, weightlifting or putting in extra work studying opponents.

He has said that he has a long way to go before he's considered one of the greatest ever.

"But that's where my mind is. That's what pushes me."

All-time receiving leaders

1. Jerry Rice - 1,549

2. Cris Carter - 1,101

3. Tim Brown - 1,094

4. Marvin Harrison - 1,042

5. Andre Reed - 951

2008 receiving leaders

1. Andre Johnson, Houston - 115

2. Wes Welker, New England - 111

3. Brandon Marshall, Denver - 104

4. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona - 96

4. Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City - 96

2008 receiving yardage leaders

1. Andre Johnson, Houston - 1,575

2. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona - 1,431

3. Steve Smith, Carolina - 1,421

4. Roddy White, Atlanta - 1,382

5. Calvin Johnson, Detroit - 1,331