Washington Commanders special teams coordinator Larry Izzo addressed the media after practice on Jan. 24. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
On what it means to be a part of this playoff run having been in the area when the franchise won it's first Super Bowls: **"Yeah, it's really surreal for me having spent time here in my younger days. I was here in '87 when they won and beat the Broncos. I remember how excited the city was and just the passion that the fan base had for this team and to be a part of bringing that back to the fans has been really exciting and just a cool experience."
On whether there is a sense that the Commanders/Eagles could be the next great rivalry in the NFC East:
"Well, you know, it's a divisional opponent and the NFC East has such a great tradition of just good football and a style of football and a lot of historic franchises in this division. So, it's cool to be a part of and to experience that. We're excited to go against a team that we're familiar with and they're familiar with us, and so it's time to just go out and play ball."
On what LB Nick Bellore has meant for the team on special teams:
"Nick is an elite special teams player, has been for a long time. He brings just an incredible amount of experience and just his play style is unique. We have a number of guys that fall into that category with him with [S] Jeremy Reaves, [S] Percy Butler, guys like that are really elite at what they do. They know that this is how they make a living and they take pride in that role. But just getting back to Nick, having worked with him for some time now, it's like having an extra coach on the field really with how he sees the game and how he plays and what he means to all the younger players in terms of just having a guy to look at and say that's what it's supposed to look like. I'm very fortunate to have guys like Nick and Reavo [Reaves] here coaching them. It makes my job easy, really. But they represent everything that we want to put out there in terms of our special teams units. They lead the show and they set the tone and love coaching both of those guys."
On what's unique about Bellore's play style:
**"Just in terms of the aggressiveness that he plays with. In terms of the instincts that he has. In terms of just how to get to the ball, how to defeat blocks, how to block. Just in all facets of the game he is an elite player. He's one of the best in the league. A lot of credit goes to the organization in terms of [General Manager] Adam [Peters] and DQ [Head Coach Dan Quinn] prioritizing special teams and bringing players like that here. Um, and they've done a great job for us all year."
On how often he has had guys like Jeremy and Nick on the same team and if there is anything specific he can point to as far as their impact on somebody else: **"Well just within the game, obviously with the new kickoff rules, there's been an adjustment in terms of how you are covering these kicks and just being able to kind of see how teams are blocking you and ways to defeat that. Those things kind of happen within a game and we are constantly talking during the game just getting the feedback that they have and they provide during the game has been helpful for us throughout the year. Also, just having them here from the get go in terms of the new kickoff rule as we were exploring the play and how it was going to affect things throughout the off season. Having Revo here amongst other guys just helping us identify what is the best way to approach this in terms of how we want to block, how we want to cover. So just having guys like that who are just so smart. Football intelligence is at a high level with guys like that. It just makes it fun as a coach and definitely makes the job easier."
On when he realized K Zane Gonzalez could do the job, especially in crunch time, big kick moments:
"Zane has been, this isn't like he's a rookie. He's been in these games before. He's kicked in a lot of big football games leading up to this season, so he'd already put that on tape. Then working with him throughout the year, it's evident that he's got a lot of confidence in himself and he's a pro. He knows what needs to be done and he's come through for us in the moments that we've needed him to."
On what he's looking for during field goals outside of clean snap and ball going through the uprights:
**"It all starts with the snap. You're looking at the snap and then you're looking at the whole operation, obviously. We are really fortunate that we have [LS Tyler] Ott and [P] Tress [Way] who do a great job of getting the ball down and putting it in a spot where the kicker, whoever it is, can trust it and just do his job. And then you're looking at the protection as well upfront. So, my eyes go to the snap first and then the rest of the play."
