by By KAREN GUREGIAN , The Boston Herald

As Izzo said from his home in Houston on Friday, even though you must turn the page quickly when you join a new team, you just can't wipe out the impact of being coached by a great like Bill Belichick, or playing alongside Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel or Tom Brady overnight, if ever.

You have to put those memories aside, and move forward.

While it was a bit odd at first, Izzo said he has already gotten used to again wearing enemy colors, just as he did nine years ago when he left the Dolphins for the Patriots . Signed as a free agent by the Jets in March, Izzo has gone green without too much difficulty.

``I've been very excited about getting to know my new teammates, learning the defense, the terminology in the kicking game, and trying to figure out how they do things,'' the three-time Pro Bowl special teams player said. ``The quicker you can do that, the more successful you're going to be.''

Until this past week, Izzo really hadn't talked much about his departure from Foxboro and hooking on with the Pats' bitter rivals.

In a wide-ranging telephone interview, the longtime Pats special teams captain waxed poetic about Belichick, his new coach Rex Ryan, his favorite Patriots memories, and whether or not his intimate knowledge of the Pats playbook may come into play when the AFC East rivals meet.

The 13-year veteran thanked Belichick and the organization when he left, but Friday he went into great detail about what the coach meant to him.

``My experience with Bill, I think we all owe him a great deal, especially anyone who's been a part of those Super Bowl teams,'' Izzo said. ``Our lives are a lot better because of Bill Belichick. There's no better coach in Football in the history of the game. I learned a lot from him on a daily basis. The attention to details, things of that nature.

``The last couple years, he really spent a lot of time with the linebackers. Obviously, I didn't get much time as a linebacker, but having sat in those meetings, I always enjoyed listening to him . . . I really couldn't say enough good things about Bill. He's a great coach and played a huge role in my life. I enjoyed my eight years there, and I'm very grateful that he valued the role that I played and what I brought to the table.''

With New York, Izzo is just getting to know Ryan, who made waves recently by saying he wasn't about to bow to Belichick, or, as he put it, ``kiss'' Belichick's rings. When asked what he thought about his new coach's bravado, Izzo gave Ryan high marks.

``I think a lot of times a team takes on the personna of the coach. And what we have, we have a very confident coach. I wouldn't want to go into battle with some guy that thought we were going to get out butt kicked,'' Izzo said. ``There's different approaches to things. . . . I'm enjoying every minute of playing for Rex. I'm excited about the season.''

The decision to sign with Gang Green was made easier for the 34-year-old Izzo, given his history with Jets special teams coach Mike Westoff, who coached him with the Dolphins. No doubt Westoff pushed for Izzo, knowing his leadership abilities, skills and his schooling in the ``Patriot way.''

Izzo said no one has yet picked his brain about the Pats, their tendencies or their playbook. That may occur closer to Week 2 this season, when the teams hook up for the first time. Izzo downplayed the notion that he may provide great intelligence on the Pats, although he didn't deny having some secrets to share.

``We really haven't crossed that bridge yet. But as you know, everything is on film these days. I could sit there and say, `Hey, Tom Brady's pretty good. Or, Wes Welker, watch him on third down, or watch Kevin Faulk. Or (Randy) Moss can run real fast.' Those are the basics right there,'' Izzo said with a laugh. ``Obviously, having spent eight years in one place, you learn a lot about the system and stuff. But I don't know how much that benefits. Coaches have the same preparation each week for their opponent. Even if you sit there, and you think you know some secret, you're still going to prepare the way you do.''

Unlike Miami's Joey Porter, Izzo isn't about to make any bold proclamations about the Jets being the team to beat in the AFC. Even though he's no longer a Patriot, he hasn't forgotten many of the lessons, especially when it comes to what players should and shouldn't say.

``I think it's going to be a very competitive AFC East. I think it's going to be a dogfight,'' he said. ``I'm very excited about what we have going. We have a lot of talent in our locker room.''

Izzo, who was appreciated locally for his tireless charitable work and his popular ``Larry-oke'' night, which raised money for military charities, couldn't cite one favorite Patriots memory. ``We had some great victories, whether it was a last-second win with a field goal, or blowing someone out. I'll cherish every one of them,'' he said. ``But for me, the main thing is the relationships. Any time you have those experiences where you have a goal at the beginning of the year, you work your butt off, and you have a bunch of adversity, and you still achieve that goal . . . and at the end of the year, to say you're the champion, there's nothing like that, and to do it with some people you consider with great friends, and to do it when some people counted you out, like we did the first year . . . those are all great memories I'll always have.'' Izzo and his wife, Mara, became first-time parents to a son, Boston, who is 3 1/2 months old. Given his name, it's pretty obvious they enjoyed their time here.

``I'll always love the city of Boston. It's such a great place, one of the greatest cities in the world. I'll never forget those parades,'' Izzo said. ``You'd sit there in a three-hour parade, and you'd see a million-and-a-half people showing you love like that, I'll never forget that. It shows how great those fans are. It was a lot of fun playing for those fans. They've always been good to me and my family. I'm thankful I'm going to another team (whose fans) have a similar mind-set.''

- kguregian@bostonherald.com

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