Larry Fitzgerald on What It Will Take for the Cardinals to Get to the Super Bowl

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald knows what it takes to get to the Super Bowl. Now he's helping others get there. 

Back in 2009, Fitzgerald caught a couple of touchdowns as the Cardinals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23, and now he has one of his best chances to return to the ultimate championship game in all of sports. Not only will he look to bring his teammates with him, he's also partnering with Visa to allow fans a shot at the big game. 

For fans, it's just as easy for signing up to Visa's new checkout program, which, as Fitzgerald showed, can be pretty simple to do!

For the 11-3 Cardinals, however, there are some roadblocks in the way, as injuries and suspensions put them behind the proverbial eight ball before the season even began and then continued in spades—especially at the quarterback position. 

Fitzgerald says that the magic of Arizona's continued success has been found in both the coaching staff and in the locker room, calling his teammates a "really good group of guys" that are "always enthusiastic and ready to go out there and win the day."

"Everybody takes it upon themselves to lead their units. We really talk a lot about leadership in the locker room. Everyone is stepping up—to a man. It’s not the same guy every single week. We have a whole group of guys, like lions around their prey in a hunt."

One of the interesting things about the makeup of the Cardinals is that their coaching staff has a lot of...shall we say, experienced coaches who have been around the block a few times. Head coach Bruce Arians, 62, was about to retire at one point before being lured to Indianapolis and eventually getting a shot as interim head coach and then earning a job in Arizona. 

Arians is practically a pup compared to assistant head coach and offensive consultant Tom Moore, 76, who has been in semi-retirement for years but is more hands-on with Arizona than he might otherwise be at his age. He prepares a number of quarterbacks to run an offensive scheme that is not exactly easy to pick up for young passers. 

Assistant offensive line coach Larry Zierlein, 69, is a guru of line play and was working with his son, Houston-area radio star Lance, on a football website after spending some time in the UFL and then out of football. 

Fitzgerald pointed to some of that experience, saying, "We have a wonderful blend of old-school and newer coaches, former players that had long, successful careers. We have a lot of experience in terms of leaders."

As a new-school, former-player kind of coach, Fitzgerald pointed to guys like defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, who has helped keep this ship heading toward the playoffs through all of the aforementioned issues. Fitzgerald called that defense the best defense in the division, which is a pretty big statement for the NFC West, which contains the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. 

Fitzgerald then corrected himself: "Not just in the division, but in the league."

As for having to win playoff games and score points with backup Drew Stanton under center, Fitzgerald said, "I think we all have a great belief in Drew—strong guy, athletic player. The running game has come on in recent weeks and helped us control the line of scrimmage.

"Our game plan is still the same. Nothing has changed. Nothing has been scaled back."

Maybe it's obvious that Fitzgerald would think and speak this way. Certainly he's not going to be fatalist or give up with the playoffs in their sights, but the attitude that he showcases is part of what's carried them through. The Cardinals have been one of the best teams in the NFL because they truly believe they're the best.

"There's no roadblocks. There's some really good teams we'll have to beat, but we are in control."

Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.