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| | | | | | | |  Tuesday, January 30, 2001
Getting Crazy with ... Miami LB Larry Izzo
By Marc Connolly
MondayNightFootball.com
Every week throughout the 2000 NFL season, ABC Sports Online senior writer Marc Connolly interviews one player from that week's upcoming Monday Night Football game on a variety of topics. In Week 8, Connolly caught up with Miami LB Larry Izzo, who was voted as an alternate as a special teamer on last year's AFC Pro Bowl squad. They spoke on Wednesday afternoon before Dolphins practice in preparation for their battle for AFC East supremacy with the New York Jets on Monday night (ABC, 9 p.m. ET). Here's what transpired:
Connolly: First off, what happens when a guy like me calls you "Lawrence?"
|  | | Larry Izzo is widely considered one of the best special teams players in football. |
Izzo: A guy like you ... Hmmm ... let's see. Well, you might have a problem. The only people that call me Lawrence are my mom or my girlfriend when she's mad at me.
Connolly: Did people call you that when you were growing up to get a rise out of you?
Izzo: Oh yeah. My brother would use that as a way to get after me. I could always have a good comeback since his name was Leonard. That's much better.
Connolly: Your name has come up a lot this week since Zach Thomas has a bad ankle sprain and you may get your first start at linebacker. How is Zach doing?
Izzo: He seems like he's doing well. He's rehabbing his ankle and he's gonna try and get out there on Monday night.
Connolly: How much has your preparation changed this week?
Izzo: There's more preparation, definitely. Every week I try to prepare myself for an emergency situation. But knowing that Zach is questionable I'm watching more film than usual and over-preparing myself so that when game time comes I don't have to think too much.
Connolly: Speaking of Zach, how does one describe him. I mean, the guy is all over the field on seemingly every play.
Izzo: He's just an instinctive football player. That's what he is, he's a football player. It doesn't matter his size. Just because the man is short (5-10), people tend to put limits on him or label him. I think of myself in the same terms as being undersized. You just have to get after it and don't let it affect you. Zach does a great job getting off blocks and being at the right place at the right time. That comes from a lot of preparation, which he does. He was also born with amazing instincts to play a game like this. I'm sure you could have lined him out there at 3 years old and he was doing the same stuff. (laughing)
Connolly: You're out of the same mold, but you went undrafted in '96. How hard was it for you on Draft Day?
Izzo: I had played four years at Rice and had a successful career. I was all-conference and had all kinds of honors. All the goals I had set for myself coming in I accomplished, but I knew that my chances weren't good at playing in the NFL considering my size (5-10, 228) and coming from a school that doesn't get a lot of attention or is known for producing NFL-caliber athletes. Going into Draft Day, I wasn't expecting much. I had some interest leading up to the Draft by teams as a free agent, but not enough that made me too disappointed when my name wasn't called the first day. There was some anticipation in the late rounds that someone would take a chance on me, but I wasn't devastated when my name wasn't called. Fortunately, I did get an opportunity to come here as an undrafted free agent to play for a new coach, Jimmy Johnson, who is known for giving guy's opportunities no matter where they are from or what size they are. He wanted guys that can make plays and I knew that I could make plays. The fact that we drafted two linebackers from my conference -- Zach Thomas and LaCurtis Jones - who I had played four years against and was on the same all-conference teams with, made me think that I could play once I got there.
Connolly:Did you ever start thinking that maybe you should look around at real jobs?
Izzo: No. When I got here I figured I'd just concentrate on making the most of the opportunity. I mean, I'm actually on the same practice field as Dan Marino. Every day was like a new dream come true for me. I realized as the camps went on that my shot of being on the team was getting better. I just tried to make the most of it. I do have an interesting story, though, when it comes to thinking about other things.
Throughout the offseason before the Draft, I was working out for the tryouts (NFL Combine) when an unnamed scout from an unnamed team worked out one of my teammates. I asked him to take a look at me and gave him one of my tapes. After working out with him and before he looked at my tape he said, "Larry, maybe it's time you start thinking about doing something else. The NFL is a physical game and we're looking for linebackers at such and such size and such and such speed and you just don't fit that category. Quite honestly, you could really get hurt playing in the NFL."
Connolly: That must have killed you at the time.
Izzo: It hit home, but I wasn't going to let that guy tell me that I can't make it happen before he's looked at me on tape. It was quite an eye-opener, though, as to how things work in the NFL.
Connolly: Have you run into that guy since?
Izzo: No, but I've had some success against his team in the past. I'm curious to know if he remembers. If I ever run into him, I'll point out that he said that to me five years ago and I'm still around playing football.
Connolly: And you nearly made it to Hawaii as well.
Izzo: Yep, that'd be in there.
Connolly You mentioned Jimmy Johnson before. Give us a good Jimmy story.
Izzo: There are too many to name. It's always comical with him at practice. He's a really intimidating guy in the way he carries himself and the way he approaches coaching. When you walk down the hall, the sight of him has made guys turn around and walk the other way. Knowing all this, whenever you see him with his little dog, Buttercup, it sort of ruins the whole "Coach Johnson the Intimidator" effect. He'll walk around with his Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts and little Buttercup in his hands.
Connolly: Don't tell me he talks baby-talk to the thing.
Izzo: I can't say for certain, but I'm sure he does. I can't say a lot of negative things about him, though. Here's a guy who was a hell of a football coach and he gave me my first opportunity to be here. Yet, seeing him with that dog is something I don't ever want to see.
Connolly: Everyone always wanted to mess his hair after a big one. How about if someone shaves Dave Wannstedt's mustache one of these days?
Izzo: On Coach Wannstedt? I don't know about that. Maybe Trace Armstrong, since those two have become pretty tight over the last couple of months. But I don't think anyone's going to be shaving anyone's mustache unless he promises to let us do it.
Connolly: Yeah, he's kind of a tough guy as well.
Izzo: Yep.
Connolly: You must realize that most of the country will probably pull for the Dolphins this week since they're sick of New York sports with the Subway Series and all.
Izzo: I'm sure the nation has their full as far as New York is concerned. I have family up there and all I hear about is the Subway Series and all that. My grandmother was a huge Jets fan before I got down here. I can see how the nation will be for us this week and against everything representing New York.
Connolly: More Yankees or Mets fans in your locker room?
Izzo: That's a tough question. I'm not sure right now, because a lot of us get so focused on football this time of year The older you get, the more you lose interest in things outside of what you do. But based on talking to some guys, it seems like the Mets are the team we're pulling for. I think people are a little tired of the Yankees. Plus, the Mets are more of a blue-collar team.
Connolly: If I'm heading to Miami and are looking for some of the Dolphin players to show me around South Beach, who should I ask?
Izzo: Now you're talkin'. I proclaim to be the definite tour guide of Miami. If anyone ever rolls down to Miami, give me a call. Zach can tag along too, since he's very familiar with the spots. Between Zach and I, we've hit every spot that you'd ever want to hit except the gay bars. Well, I know I haven't, but I can't speak for Zach (laughing).
Connolly: What are the strangest sights around South Beach?
Izzo:If you go down there on Monday nights to some clubs and they got a lot of drag going on. I've seen some guys in drag that are bigger than some of the men on my team. They got heels and wigs and everything. It makes them even bigger.
Connolly: You do some movie reviews on the team's website. How'd that start?
Izzo: A few years ago, Derrick Rodgers and I were asked to do that and I've just kept it going. My girlfriend and I go all the time - maybe two or three times a week. It's also something I take a lot of heat for. My friends check out my reviews and then call me saying I don't know what I'm talking about or that my grammar is bad. There's always something to gripe about.
Connolly: You seem okay to me since you list Pulp Fiction as your favorite film of all-time. What's your favorite scene in that? There's a lot of them.
Izzo: All the scenes with Uma Thurman are great since she was unbelievable. Probably all the gimp scenes with Bruce Willis and Marcellus Wallace. When they open that door down in the dungeon and heard what was going on with the gimp, I didn't know what the heck was going on. When you saw the gimp and how big he was and being all tied up, the creepiness of imagining what his life was like was pretty intense. The dialogue in that movie was unbelievable. Quentin Tarantino did an amazing job.
Connolly: I have to ask for your favorite football movies then.
Izzo: There have been some weak ones lately. I thought Any Given Sunday was garbage. I'd go back to All the Right Moves since that was about high school football. I'm sure everyone got chills at Rudy too. I also liked Remember the Titans. In fact, the entire team went and saw it together.
Connolly: When you see Dennis Miller, bring this up: He quotes old football movies like North Dallas Forty and Semi-Tough.
Izzo: Semi-Tough -- there's a good one too. That's based on a great Texas book.
Connolly: Of course, that's Dan Jenkins. Now, who would play who if Miami goes on and wins the Super Bowl and they make a cheesy TV movie about it?
Izzo: I'd play myself. I think Bruce Willis has to be in there. Trace Armstrong would be played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The whole Klingon crew from "Star Trek" would play Daryl Gardener. Damon Huard would have to be played by Matthew Perry, too.
Connolly: Getting back to football, do you have to be half-crazy to be a special teams standout like you have been the past few years?
Izzo: I don't know if you have to be crazy, but you have to enjoy football and like hitting people. It takes a certain kind of player to excel at special teams. You have to be intense. You have to be physical. You have to be instinctive. Then you have to have the ability to make plays. Going down there to bust up a wedge is much like how it is in Braveheart or Gladiator. Guys sacrifice their bodies and lay it on the line like you would in a war. OK, you do have to be half-crazy to do that to your body, I guess. Football is like a train wreck a lot of times. You walk out of there feeling like you were in a car accident.
Connolly: Due to your special teams exploits, you've been named to a few of those All-Tough Guy teams. Who would be on yours?
Izzo: I'd have a few on our team - Trace Armstrong. He's been playing for 2000 years and he gets it done every single day. I'd put Zach on there too. I always thought that Chuck Cecil was an incredible hitter. He'd be on there. So would Sam Gash, who is a bruising fullback. I'd have Eddie George on there too. Here's a guy I respect a lot because you can give it to him 50 times a game. Also, I don't know if there is a tougher guy in the league than my teammate O.J. McDuffie. He goes over the middle and takes all the hits.
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Dave Wannstedt says his team is ready for their next opponent.