PITTSBURGH — Larry Fitzgerald might be the most scouted player in Steelers history. For two years, they needed only to look out their office windows to watch him.

Fitzgerald's exceptional hands, his knack for making difficult catches while heavily covered and his high jumper-like leaping ability might pose the biggest obstacle to the Steelers beating Arizona in the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.

As Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin suggested Tuesday, scouting and a good game plan alone aren't enough to slow Fitzgerald, whose 419 yards receiving are the most in a single NFL postseason, with one game remaining.

"If you get down the field one-on-one with him, he's going to come back with the football," Tomlin said. "He is the best in the world at that, bar none."

Not that any one needs to remind the Steelers — or Philadelphia.

Fitzgerald's series of three, can-you-top-this touchdown catches in the NFC Championship on Sunday prevented an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl.

It also set up an improbable matchup between the Cardinals, an old franchise that could hardly be less successful, and the Steelers, an old franchise that could hardly be more successful.

"Larry Fitzgerald, is quite simply, the best receiver in the world down the field in one-on-one situations," Tomlin said. "If we're to be successful in Tampa, we need to limit the number of times we're downfield with him one-on-one. Invariably, he's going to come up with the football. The (video) tape tells us that."

So did their own eyes.

Although the Steelers and University of Pittsburgh never practice together on the four-field complex they share, more than few employees were tempted to sneak a few peeks at Fitzgerald when he played for Pitt in 2003 and 2004.

Why wouldn't they? In his two college seasons about being recruited by former Pitt head coach Walt Harris, a passing game whiz, Fitzgerald caught 161 passes for 2,677 yards and 34 touchdowns, with at least one TD catch in a record 18 consecutive games.

The Steelers also influenced Fitzgerald, too.

Not long after the Cardinals drafted Fitzgerald No. 3 overall in 2004, when the Steelers drafted Ben Roethlisberger eight spots later, Fitzgerald said his goal wasn't just to be the receiver who made the occasional highlight-film catch.

Instead, he wanted to be as steady and reliable as the Steelers' Hines Ward.

Now, Fitzgerald probably needs to be better than Ward if the Cardinals are to win their first NFL title since 1947.

Tomlin isn't about to tip his hand about the Steelers' coverage plans for Fitzgerald, but no doubt cornerback Ike Taylor and safety Ryan Clark are keys to it.

Taylor isn't as well known as the showpiece players on Pittsburgh's defense — Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and linebacker James Harrison — yet he allowed only two TDs in coverage all season.

If Fitzgerald runs into All-Pro safety Polamalu, it might be when he goes over the middle rather than deep, as Polamalu often plays as much like a linebacker as he does a defensive back.

The Steelers like to negate a receiver's production by putting pressure on the QB, and "D" coordinator Dick LeBeau practically invented the zone blitz.

Fitzgerald could be toughest matchup problem all season for the Steelers, who easily led the league in pass coverage. Pittsburgh allowed an average of 156.9 yards passing, or more than 130 yards game below the Cardinals' offensive average of 292.1 yards.

Still, Steelers wide receiver Nate Washington said, "It's not about what they do. It's about what we do. As long as we block hard, run hard, tackle hard, catch passes, make the right reads, our potential is unlimited. We can do anything we want to do."




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