Outside of maybe Stevie Johnson and Santonio Holmes, the New England Patriots are fortunate enough to play in a division short on dangerous pass catchers.
Coach Bill Belichick will face one of the finest in the NFL on Sunday when Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals come to town. He seems to understand what he's up against.
"(Fitzgerald) does everything well. He's a great receiver. He'll go down as one of the all-time greats. He might end up as the best one ever, I don't know," Belichick said on a conference call Tuesday, per the Boston Herald. "You have no idea where he's going to line up from play to play. He has a very big route tree. He runs all the routes ... one route sets up another. It's very hard to find him. It's very hard to defend him."
What's remarkable about Fitzgerald is the production he's put up in the face of shaky quarterback play ever since Kurt Warner left town after the 2009 season. He posted 1,137 yards in 2010 and 1,411 yards last season (the second highest output of his career). Much of this has come without a bona fide No. 2 wideout in Arizona.
On top of that, Fitzgerald has remained loyal to a team that's experienced only a fraction of the success New England has. Another player might aim to jump ship.
Belichick's defensive backfield had trouble covering lesser men last season. This one should be fun to watch.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
