Just 21 minutes into his first ever playoff appearance, Anquan Boldin injured his hamstring on a 71-yard touchdown catch and was gimpy for the rest of the playoffs and the Cardinals' first Super Bowl appearance last season.
Meanwhile, a more healthy Larry Fitzgerald flourished—by dropping jaws and shattering records.
Although Q is well respected throughout the organization for being a team player and a hard worker—and you know that he was happy for Fitz—at the same time it is fair to assume that behind the facade their still may be a smidgen of jealousy about how the postseason went down.
This is Boldin's team after all.
He was the heart and soul of the offense before Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner, and Ken Whisenhunt arrived, and most will argue that he still is.
He was the one that along with Adrian Wilson, dominated opponents on a weekly basis before Arizona was a good team. They laid the bricks of the foundation on which the Cardinals' current success is built.
He was the one that was the original Pro Bowl record breaking wide receiver for the Cardinals.
He was the only one to record 217 receiving yards in his first NFL game. And that was literally just the beginning.
Then there is this whole contract bit. You know how Fitz is making a lot more money than Boldin despite not catching as many balls for as many yards bit?
Which is why I feel the 2010 postseason will be his time to shine.
In the past seven games, Q has regained his #1 receiver status in the stat column. Although both have been productive, Fitzgerald has 38 catches for 443 yards to Boldin's 46 for 582.
He has been more in sync with what Kurt Warner wants to do as of late. In the Rams game in particular, it was apparent Warner and Fitzgerald were not mentally connecting on several throws. Boldin caught eight of his ten targets while Fitz grabbed just five of his ten.
A week before against the Lions, Boldin scored the winning touchdown.
Q is heating up at the right time. He has some unfinished business to attend to in the postseason, starting with staying healthy.
If he can do that, it is not a stretch to imagine him snaring passes with one hand, rumbling over defenders and leading this very talented Cardinals team back to the Super Bowl—where he could be named MVP.
You can read some of my other work inlcuding this story, here.