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Larry Fitzgerald's knee limited him vs. Chargers

His use and playing time can be explained some by the injury.

Norm Hall

Larry Fitzgerald has some sort of knee injury he has been dealing with since the third preseason game. It limited him in practice leading up to the season opener. It is one reason why he wasn't targeted as much as many would like to have seen him be targeted. It also explains why he was not on the field on some plays.

Head coach Bruce Arians noted this when he spoke to the media on Wednesday (via AZCardinals.com).

There were some plays he was not on the field. On three third down situations, he left the field. It was because he had not done it in practice.  "I learned my lesson last year not to ask (Larry) to do things in a game that you're not practicing," Arians said. "It's not fair to the quarterback either."

You could tell that Carson Palmer was not looking Fitz' way for much of the game. Palmer noted he "got burned" a few times last year trying to get Fitz the ball, forcing it in to him. On Monday it looked like he was making it a point to not force the ball to him.

Gone are the days when Kurt Warner learned that even when Fitz wasn't open, he would be at some point. Warner learned that Fitz could still make a play. That didn't happen last year and when Palmer would try to get to Fitz rather than making his reads, it ended in a turnover on multiple occasions.

While we probably won't see a one-catch game every week, it certainly is possible that he will sometimes have games like the one on Monday.