azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Dan Bickley
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
SAN FRANCISCO
It takes a lot to impress a football player, and inside the locker room, Anquan Boldin was hailed like a conquering hero.
Outside in the tunnel, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. was granting an interview to Larry Fitzgerald Sr., and you can only imagine the prose that would gush from a proud father.
It was that kind of game for the Cardinals, a day on the bay when they completed a season sweep of the 49ers without playing a game at Sun Devil Stadium, thus atoning for two embarrassing losses in 2004.
More importantly, it was a day when their tandem of wide receivers may have stepped to the head of the class in the NFL.
"I love having that guy (Fitzgerald) on the other side of me," Boldin said. "He's taken a lot of pressure off of me."
Certainly, the feeling is mutual. Fitzgerald, who has 82 receptions for 1,128 yards in 12 games, was already headed to the Pro Bowl on the sheer volume of numbers. But Boldin added his second eye-popping, jaw-dropping touchdown of the season, and while 'Q's' numbers are soaring (68 receptions, 992 yards), his highlight reel alone may punch his ticket to Hawaii.
"I don't know why people are surprised about 'Q,' " teammate Darnell Dockett said. "He did this stuff all the time in high school."
Remember how Boldin tore through a gaggle of defenders on his way to that improbable touchdown in St. Louis? His Sunday stroll on third and 20 was even better, as he caught a pass out of the backfield, ran like a raging bull and slipped through five defenders as if his body were covered in Crisco.
It was the game-turning play and the game-winning play. It was a play that will make Chris Berman scream and a play that made grown men fawn.
"As a kid growing up, I was always taught to keep my legs moving," Boldin said.
And that's exactly what this touchdown was like, a bunch of kids in a game of playground football helplessly trying to corral the best player in the neighborhood. Except this is the NFL, where that kind of stuff isn't supposed to happen.
"The guy is awesome. The guy is special," quarterback Kurt Warner said. "What other observation do you want?"
Wait. It gets better.
"I've never had anyone that makes the kind of plays he makes," Warner said. "I've never had a receiver that can do the kind of things that he can do. There are times when he just says, 'I ain't going down.' And he doesn't go down."
Indeed, and the only shame is that the coaching staff waited until Week 13 to unveil Boldin in the backfield.
"Coming from Kurt, those are huge compliments for Anquan," backup quarterback Josh McCown said. "Larry is more of a natural receiver, but Anquan is more of a playmaker, and he's becoming a hybrid. He's the kind of guy you could line up in the backfield and give him the ball a few times every game. That's rare in this league."
Throw in a highlight reel catch by Fitzgerald - he caught a ball in mid-air, was knocked in the head by a defender and still held on for the reception - and you can see how rare this combination platter can be in the coming years.
Boldin and Fitzgerald are young, dedicated and supremely talented. They are so good that former NFL great Ronnie Lott couldn't say enough nice things about the duo on the 49ers' postgame show. Best of all, they will make things much easier for whatever quarterback the Cardinals decide to pluck in the upcoming draft.
Incredibly, they may even make a young hotshot like Matt Leinart desire an Arizona address and a little bird on his helmet.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/1205bickley1205.html
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
SAN FRANCISCO
It takes a lot to impress a football player, and inside the locker room, Anquan Boldin was hailed like a conquering hero.
Outside in the tunnel, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. was granting an interview to Larry Fitzgerald Sr., and you can only imagine the prose that would gush from a proud father.
It was that kind of game for the Cardinals, a day on the bay when they completed a season sweep of the 49ers without playing a game at Sun Devil Stadium, thus atoning for two embarrassing losses in 2004.
More importantly, it was a day when their tandem of wide receivers may have stepped to the head of the class in the NFL.
"I love having that guy (Fitzgerald) on the other side of me," Boldin said. "He's taken a lot of pressure off of me."
Certainly, the feeling is mutual. Fitzgerald, who has 82 receptions for 1,128 yards in 12 games, was already headed to the Pro Bowl on the sheer volume of numbers. But Boldin added his second eye-popping, jaw-dropping touchdown of the season, and while 'Q's' numbers are soaring (68 receptions, 992 yards), his highlight reel alone may punch his ticket to Hawaii.
"I don't know why people are surprised about 'Q,' " teammate Darnell Dockett said. "He did this stuff all the time in high school."
Remember how Boldin tore through a gaggle of defenders on his way to that improbable touchdown in St. Louis? His Sunday stroll on third and 20 was even better, as he caught a pass out of the backfield, ran like a raging bull and slipped through five defenders as if his body were covered in Crisco.
It was the game-turning play and the game-winning play. It was a play that will make Chris Berman scream and a play that made grown men fawn.
"As a kid growing up, I was always taught to keep my legs moving," Boldin said.
And that's exactly what this touchdown was like, a bunch of kids in a game of playground football helplessly trying to corral the best player in the neighborhood. Except this is the NFL, where that kind of stuff isn't supposed to happen.
"The guy is awesome. The guy is special," quarterback Kurt Warner said. "What other observation do you want?"
Wait. It gets better.
"I've never had anyone that makes the kind of plays he makes," Warner said. "I've never had a receiver that can do the kind of things that he can do. There are times when he just says, 'I ain't going down.' And he doesn't go down."
Indeed, and the only shame is that the coaching staff waited until Week 13 to unveil Boldin in the backfield.
"Coming from Kurt, those are huge compliments for Anquan," backup quarterback Josh McCown said. "Larry is more of a natural receiver, but Anquan is more of a playmaker, and he's becoming a hybrid. He's the kind of guy you could line up in the backfield and give him the ball a few times every game. That's rare in this league."
Throw in a highlight reel catch by Fitzgerald - he caught a ball in mid-air, was knocked in the head by a defender and still held on for the reception - and you can see how rare this combination platter can be in the coming years.
Boldin and Fitzgerald are young, dedicated and supremely talented. They are so good that former NFL great Ronnie Lott couldn't say enough nice things about the duo on the 49ers' postgame show. Best of all, they will make things much easier for whatever quarterback the Cardinals decide to pluck in the upcoming draft.
Incredibly, they may even make a young hotshot like Matt Leinart desire an Arizona address and a little bird on his helmet.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/1205bickley1205.html
