Special team leader -- again
By Ben Rohrbach/ Daily News Staff
Thursday, August 17, 2006

FOXBORO -- While the media crowded around Patriots backup quarterback Matt Cassel during training camp yesterday, Larry Izzo walked alone toward the exit at the corner of Foxboro Stadium's practice field.
        The last man off the field, Izzo appeared like a man not expecting to be stopped by the New England public relations staff.
        "There's a core group of special teams guys that make their careers on the kicking game," said Izzo. "Obviously, we have pride, because if it wasn't for that role you wouldn't be here. So, I'd hope we have pride in that. If you don't have pride in that role, then you're probably not going to stick around or be that productive." 7
        Izzo has stuck around almost solely for his ability to contribute on special teams. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dolphins in 1996, Izzo is listed as a third-string inside linebacker on the team's unofficial depth chart.
        Still, his contributions are crucial, and his teammates recognize that fact, voting him a Patriots captain in each of his five seasons with the Patriots.
        "I think special teams -- the kicking game -- is a very important part of the game," Pats head coach Bill Belichick, who got his start with the Detroit Lions in 1976, said last week. "I was a special teams coach for the better part of my career in the early years. I guess when your job hinges on that, you tend to realize the importance to it."
        In Izzo's 10 previous years in the league -- including three Pro Bowl seasons in 2000, 2002 and 2004 -- Izzo has seen his fair share of special teamers come and go. And each year, as with the defense and offense, it's an adjustment incorporating new players into the fold in training camp.
        "It's the same situation," said Izzo. "You're taking new guys and trying to teach them your system and how you want it done here, and sometimes that's different than how they did it wherever they were previously. So, there is an adjustment period, but the sooner you can pick it up and do it the right way -- the way we do it -- the better off you'll be, and the better off we'll be."
        Guys like free agent linebacker Barry Gardner or rookie Stephen Gostkowski -- who was the lone kicker at practice yesterday with the absence of Martin Gramatica -- have to learn a new system, just as rookie running back Laurence Maroney has to pick up the offense.
        "We do a lot of different things, but we do a lot of things that are the same," said Izzo. "Based on our personnel, our coaches -- (special teams coach) Brad Seely -- will find things to take advantage of particular skills that one guy might have over the other guy, so that can change year to year or week to week."
        And if lower-round picks like defensive back Willie Andrews and linebacker Jeremy Mincey don't learn quickly, they might not be walking off an NFL practice field 10 years from now.

DOUBLE DUTY: Special teams ace likely to play more LB

By ERIC McHUGH
The Patriot Ledger

FOXBORO - Don’t go there.

‘‘There’’ in this case being the sideline scuffle between linebackers Larry Izzo and Willie McGinest during the New England Patriots’ playoff loss in Denver in January.

To refresh your memory: The Broncos’ Mike Anderson had just darted in for a 1-yard touchdown run - a play set up by Champ Bailey’s 100-yard interception return. Moments earlier, the Patriots had been knocking on Denver’s door, threatening to take the lead. Now all of a sudden they were down, 17-6, and McGinest was jawing at Izzo, even sticking a hand in his face before fellow linebacker Mike Vrabel moved in to play peacemaker.

It was a rare PDA (Patriot Display of Animosity), one played out in full view of CBS television cameras. That’s what losing in the postseason will do for you.

From his new home in Cleveland, McGinest already has trashed former Patriots cornerback Duane Starks. So far, McGinest hasn’t added Izzo to his hit list, and Izzo has made it quite clear that he wants no part of either revisiting the incident, or giving his side of the story.

‘‘Like I said, bro, we’re done with last year,’’ Izzo said. ‘‘Come on ... I don’t even remember that issue. Turn the page. Turn the page.’’

Consider it turned.

And yet, one angle of the dustup might still be relevant. While Izzo’s 11-year career has been built on the bedrock of special teams prowess (three Pro Bowl nods, five straight seasons as the Patriots’ special teams captain), it was his work on defense in that playoff loss that sparked McGinest’s ire. The crime? Izzo, who had outside containment in the goal-line package, had let Anderson get outside him for the TD.

With McGinest having relocated, Tedy Bruschi nursing a broken wrist (the team confirmed the severity of the injury last night) and Chad Brown also out with a hand/wrist problem, the Patriots’ linebacking corps is short-staffed. Beginning with Friday’s preseason opener in Atlanta, that likely means more defensive snaps for three players who projected to be core special teamers - returning veterans Don Davis, 33, and Izzo, 31, plus free agent Barry Gardner, 29.

‘‘I’d love to play (defense),’’ Izzo said before Bruschi and Brown went down. ‘‘I’d love to see the field more. Obviously, it depends on how I do out there. As (coach) Bill (Belichick) says, your role on this team is what you make of it. Hopefully, I’ll go out and play well and compete and earn a spot. Whether or not that role is expanded is not really up to me.’’

Despite being undersized for the Patriots’ system at 5-11, 228 pounds, Izzo received a pre-injury vote of confidence from Bruschi, who said early on in camp, ‘‘If the situation arises where Larry Izzo has to play regular defense on an every-down basis, I would have no concerns. Do I have to say any more?’’

Three defensive plays stand out from Izzo’s first five seasons with the Patriots.

In 2002, he couldn’t prevent Kansas City’s Priest Holmes from vaulting over the pile to score the tying touchdown on the final play of regulation in a game the Patriots won in overtime. In 2003, his late end-zone interception preserved a 31-0 shutout over Buffalo in the regular-season finale. Last year, he and Vrabel combined to rake a potential touchdown catch out of the arms of KC’s Tony Gonzalez.

‘‘I feel good about what I’m capable of,’’ said Izzo, who has 214 career special teams tackles but only 17 on defense. ‘‘I have to go out there every day and try to get better and be perfect. I’m trying to be perfect every day. I had a bust out there today mentally, so I don’t feel good about it going into the locker room. I gotta work on that and hopefully correct the mistake and get better.’’

Of course, Izzo’s other responsibility during training camp is presiding over the new-look special teams. Gone are kicker Adam Vinatieri, punt returner Tim Dwight, kickoff returner Bethel Johnson and sure tacklers Matt Chatham and Michael Stone. Free agent safety Mel Mitchell, who was expected to give the unit a boost, is out for the year with an arm injury.

The competition to fill those spots is wide open at this point.

‘‘You (media) guys are out here watching,’’ Izzo said. ‘‘There a lot of new faces, a lot of bodies. Everybody’s fighting for a job. Whoever is there at the end of the day, that’s who’s going to be there. It’s not for me to decide or for (another player) to decide or for anybody to predict. It’s kind of pointless to do predictions because there’s so much that could happen between now and the opening games.’’

Maybe change will be good for the Patriots’ special teams, whose lackluster showing last season culminated in a disastrous outing in the playoff loss - three penalties, two turnovers and a missed field goal.

It’s not all on Izzo’s shoulders to get that fixed, but there’s no doubt that his fellow special teamers - if not a certain ex-teammate - hold his skills in high regard.

‘‘Larry’s been doing this a long time,’’ Davis said. ‘‘This is what he’s majored in. He’s been very good at it over the years. He’s a Pro Bowl guy, the type of guy you want to lead the special teams.’’

Eric McHugh may be reached at emchugh@ledger.com .

Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Izzo's father, Larry, lost a seven-month bout with pancreatic cancer on Saturday, Oct. 25. Izzo had learned the day before that his father didn't have much time and immediately left Foxborough for the family's Houston home. He was with his father in his final hours. He returned Saturday night and played the next day against Cleveland -- his 100th career game. He made two special teams tackles and reportedly received a game ball in the postgame locker room.

That night, Izzo boarded a plane back to Houston. A memorial service for his father, who had served in the US military, was held Tuesday, Oct. 28. Izzo was back at Gillette Stadium by Wednesday night. He was with the team Thursday and with his family that Friday morning, Oct. 31, for his father's funeral at West Point, N.Y.

On Monday, Nov. 3, Izzo made four special teams tackles in Denver.

"I already had a lot of respect for Larry, so it would be hard to have any more," linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "But that just shows you the character he has."

Nothing special. Chalk it up to upbringing.

"This is my job," Izzo said last week. "And that's the way I was raised by my father. He didn't take days off. That's what he would have wanted, was for me to go out and play. I mean, it wasn't even an option. Secondly, it was helpful for my family for me to be doing what I do. It enabled them, and it continues to enable them, to have a break away from thinking about things."

Izzo's father was the one who first put the football in Larry's and his brother's hands. The Izzos are a football family. They still have home video of the Izzo boys tackling each other in the backyard on Sunday afternoons.

"My family's always been very supportive of my career," said Izzo, 29. "Anything that would take away from my career, no matter what, they were against. That's how my dad always was and that's how my family continues to be. They're very concerned about me staying focused on my career, which enables me not to be worried about being home with them because the most important thing to them is my career.

"It was just important for me, on Sunday, to pay tribute to my dad by playing in that game. I was grateful for the opportunity to play and pay tribute to him, and also it enabled my family, who was all together, to come together as a group and watch the game and take their mind off other things."

As one might imagine, it has been difficult for Izzo to keep his thoughts on how the Patriots can better provide protection on field goals and punts.

"My dad's always on my mind," said Izzo, who made it a point to spend summer vacation with his father. "Every day he's popping in my head. And it will continue to be like that. Football has been a way for me to get away from the mourning process. It's been a relief to be able to play football."

The Patriots helped make that possible by excusing Izzo from practice during game week and seeing to it that he had the game plans and scouting reports.

"Bill [Belichick] was very flexible," said Izzo. "The whole organization, from Mr. [Robert] Kraft, to the coaches, to Bill, to the players, was very supportive. That's something I'm very thankful for. They gave me as much flexibility as I needed. I missed some days of practice and they got me the information I needed. Just the support I received through that was something I'm grateful for. I'm glad they enabled me to get the time I needed with my family but then come back and play."

Izzo was home for the recent bye week, but certainly it was no vacation. He had a homecoming of sorts last weekend when the Patriots visited the Houston Texans, but something, or rather someone, was missing from the celebration. As will be the case come February, when Izzo is married in Houston.

Izzo takes comfort in knowing his father lived a good life. And that he was a good man. Izzo said approximately 500 people attended the memorial service.

"The love and respect that he was shown was a great tribute to him," said Izzo, "and my family was very appreciative of that."

More than 100 paid their respects at West Point.

"And it's not easy to get to West Point," said Izzo. "No one lived there. It was a beautiful fall day. My dad loved the fall. The foliage up there off the Hudson River. It was a wonderful day.

"To see all his classmates from West Point, there were 30 or 40 of them that attended the services. People who were part of my dad's life all through my life, to see them, whether I saw them 20 years ago, 10 years ago, they were all there to pay tribute. It was very touching for my family. It was very fitting for the man that my dad was."