TEMPE, Ariz. -- There are many labels in Larry Fitzgerald's book of dreams.
Super Bowl champion. MVP. NFL's best wideout.
Here's one he never envisioned: possession receiver.
"No, no, no," the Arizona Cardinals star said. "I'm a receiver, so I'm a diva inside. I want that money ball."
Through 11 games this season, he has yet to cash in.
After a superlative-exhausting postseason run in which he caught 30 passes for 546 yards and seven touchdowns, including three scores of 42 yards or more, Fitzgerald's longest catch of any kind in 2009 is 27 yards.
Those disparate realities are unquestionably related.
"Teams don't want to see him beat them," Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt said.
Fitzgerald has been a marked man all year, with opponents consistently giving safety help over the top to prevent the aforementioned money ball.
"We've taken our shots, and we will continue to," Whisenhunt said. "But we haven't connected on one yet and we certainly don't get as many chances."
That doesn't mean Fitzgerald is pouting his way through practices at the team's Tempe facility.
Quite the contrary. Fitzgerald is like an eager kid who's gone back to school.
"I've had to move inside, where I've never played before, so the coaches can try to free me up and get me better looks," he said. "I move around a lot so I've had to learn the dynamics of the offense more than I ever had to.
"It means a lot of studying -- a lot more film. But it's made me a better player."
At first glance, that statement sounds like hyperbole. Fitzgerald's 75.1 yards per game rank 13th in the NFL and his 11 yards per catch rank a staggering 144th.
Dig a little deeper and the perception changes. Fitzgerald is third in the league with 75 receptions and he's tied for the league lead in touchdown catches with nine.
"He's a still a dangerous weapon no matter where he plays," Seattle coach Jim Mora said after a recent loss to the Cardinals. "I think they've done a terrific job of moving him around to keep him involved in the offense."
Even if the results aren't as sexy as that postseason run upon which Fitzgerald is judged.
"At the end of the game there may not be this accumulation of highlights to show everybody, but his shorter catches add up and he's still having productive days," Cards receivers coach John McNulty said. "A lot of guys would fight that because it's hard work and it's not glamorous work. Larry has embraced the switch, which is unusual for a guy of his stature."
It's helped that the Cardinals offense has remained productive, averaging 24.3 points per game. The recent return to health of receivers Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston also makes the Cards believe that bigger days are ahead for Fitzgerald.
But Fitzgerald seems genuinely happy with the current path of the season, heading into this week's showdown with the 10-1 Minnesota Vikings at University of Phoenix Stadium.
"It would be easy for me to be unhappy when people say that what I'm doing now is not as good as last year," he said. "But there are a lot worse places I could be and when you look at what we're doing as a team and how I'm contributing to that success, it's hard to complain."
Fitzgerald admits all the attention he's attracting has taken him by surprise.
"I really didn't know what to expect," he said. "I did talk to Jerry Rice about what's it's like to come off a pretty good season. Jerry told me: 'You have to elevate your game to get the same opportunities you used to get. And your money balls are going to be greatly diminished, so when you get your opportunities you have to capitalize on them.'"
Catching balls in traffic isn't Fitzgerald's first love.
"When you're playing outside by yourself there's only about four or five protections you have to worry about. It's pretty much just play ball," he said. "Playing inside is a totally different monster because the speed of the game is so much faster and there's much more traffic.
"Do I like going out and blocking linebackers? No. I wouldn't say I enjoy that part of the game, and I wouldn't say I get excited about it, but it's my job and I'm going to do it to the best of my ability."
Fitzgerald also got an offseason piece of advice from Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan that helps keep him focused.
"He told me 'If you don't want all the attention, stop catching balls,'" Fitzgerald said. "I can't do that, so I guess I'm stuck with the attention."
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