Palko looks to fly high with the Cardinals

Tyler Palko looks like an NFL quarterback. Not that he didn’t before, but his physique has… Tyler Palko looks like an NFL quarterback. Not that he didn’t before, but his physique has changed over the past two years since the ex-Pitt star quarterback graduated, as have the teams he’s played for and his health. But come March, Palko is going to find himself among familiar faces. On the first day of March, Palko will fly to Phoenix to start training with the Arizona Cardinals ‘mdash; a team that will make a storybook appearance in Super Bowl XLIII ‘mdash; as a free agent vying for an official spot on the roster. When he gets there, he’ll be reacquainted with former Panther linebacker Gerald Hayes and reunited with his best friend ‘mdash; another former Panther ‘mdash; Larry Fitzgerald. ‘I’m excited to be playing with Tyler again,’ wrote Fitzgerald in an e-mail. ‘It shows that God rewards people who continue to work hard and do things right.’ I’m looking forward to being in the huddle with him again.’ Palko and Fitzgerald knew each other from football camps in high school, and both made the decision to come to Pitt together. They were roommates for two years until Fitzgerald entered the draft after his sophomore season in 2004 and became the No. 3-overall pick, landing with Arizona. Since then, Palko has made trips to see Fitzgerald in the offseason to work out and visit as any other friend would. But he hopes that next season, he’ll be throwing Fitzgerald passes. ‘It’ll be good to see him again and be back on the team again,’ said Palko. ‘I’m going to go in there and have a good chance to’ compete, and that’s all you can ask for. The bottom line is you really have to play.’ After graduating from Pitt in 2007, Palko signed with the New Orleans Saints and was a third-string quarterback for the team, as well as a member of the practice squad during the 2007-08 season. Though he didn’t see much playing time during the regular season, Palko got to play with who he now believes is the best quarterback in the NFL: Drew Brees. ‘ ‘I wasn’t a first-round draft pick, so I had to fight, scrap and claw my way to try to get where you want to go,’ said Palko. ‘I owe a lot of my progress as far as how I’ve progressed in my first year to [Brees]. He’s really helped me out a ton, he’s a great guy.’ In his first preseason with the Saints, Palko went 27-of-48 passing with a total of 271 yards and one touchdown in three games. But in the final preseason game of the 2008-09 season, Palko tore the ligaments in his thumb that make it opposable and was waived from the Saints on Aug. 30. The injury to his right thumb cost him his chances with New Orleans, but it did lead him back home to Pittsburgh. ‘It was kind of a freak injury,’ said Palko. ‘I didn’t feel it. I just remember looking down at my thumb, and it was turned upside down and backward.” He turned to UPMC hand specialist Dr. Robert Kaufmann for surgery and continued to practice and rehab at Pitt’s athletic complex in the South Side as well as work with Pitt players and quarterbacks all season. ‘I’m stubborn when it comes to following protocol because I want to make sure I get out ahead of schedule,’ said Palko. ‘I did everything they told me to do, I just pushed the envelope a little bit and finished way ahead of schedule.’ Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh said that dedication was one of the things that makes Palko who he is. ‘Without a doubt, Tyler is one of the most dedicated players I have ever been around,’ said Cavanaugh, who spent some time with Palko during his rehabilitation this season. Along the way, Palko got a chance to follow Cavanaugh and his old team. And although Pitt’s most recent season didn’t end the way fans might have wished, Palko said it was just a low point on an otherwise great season. ‘I think they’ve shown signs of improvement, especially on the defensive part,’ said Palko. ‘Offensively they were hot and cold sometimes, but that’s just some inexperience at quarterback with Billy [Stull]. All in all, they got nine wins, that’s the bottom line. ‘Anytime you play quarterback, especially in this town, if you have a bad season or a bad game, you’re going to get criticized. In Pittsburgh, you want to win, but they don’t want to win today, they want to win yesterday. All you can do is find out how to fix the problems, work at it, and next time you get a chance to perform, perform better.’ It’s similar to the situation Palko is in himself. He hasn’t stopped working. He’s pushed his athleticism and hopes to see some results in Arizona, where he will be vying for either Matt Leinart or Brian St. Pierre’s jobs behind starting quarterback Kurt Warner. ‘ ‘The NFL is a bottom line business, it’s based on good performance, and that’s why I love it,’ said Palko. ‘When you look back on it, you really can’t blame anybody but yourself.’