Ken Whisenhunt says mistakes keeping Larry Fitzgerald from big plays

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald isn't putting up his typically impressive stats this season, even though the team is targeting him just as much as years past. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt says mistakes made by the whole team have made it hard to get Fitzgerald in positions to succeed.

Whisenhunt spoke with reporters on Monday about Fitzgerald's struggles, and recalled a number of plays where the receiver was open, but the execution was off, according to arizonasports.com:

"Two of those interceptions would've been big plays to Larry had we gone about it correctly, and that seems to be what's happening," Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said Monday. "We missed those two times and we missed him on a couple of other things. But we're going to continue to work to get opportunities to Larry."

Fitzgerald has caught 49 percent of his targets in 2012, a drop from 52 percent in 2011. The biggest change has come when he gets his hands on the ball. The wideout is gaining just 11.4 yards per catch this year, after netting 17.4 a season ago.

With their best playmaker struggling, the Cardinals have endured a tough stretch. After winning their first four games, they are now on a seven-game losing streak. They will hope to snap that against the New York Jets on Sunday.