Locomotives’ Capizzi not resting on Super Bowl laurels

By Case Keefer (contact)

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Jason Capizzi is the envy of nearly every player in the United Football League because of one simple possession — a Super Bowl ring.

Problem is, Capizzi, left tackle for the Las Vegas Locomotives and member of the last year’s NFL champion Pittsburgh Steelers, can’t exactly show the ultimate football prize off. He left it some 2,000 miles behind in a Pittsburgh bank to continue to chase his football dreams.

“It’s a cool experience because there are a lot of guys who went through the NFL and never got one,” Capizzi said. “Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, they never got one and I have one. It’s special, but in the same token, I want to play football. I don’t want to sit there and watch football.”

Capizzi has gotten that opportunity for the Locomotives (1-1), who play the Florida Tuskers (3-0) Friday at 4 p.m. in St. Petersburg, Fla. The game will be aired on HDNet and streamed live on ufl-football.com.

Two weeks ago, the Tuskers routed the Locomotives 29-15. A major problem for the Locomotives was the offensive line play, which allowed quarterback J.P. Losman to be sacked five times.

“They out-performed us in the trenches,” Las Vegas coach Jim Fassel said after the game. “I’m just disappointed.”

Capizzi said he was part of the problem. Although he thought he played well overall, Capizzi said he made four costly mistakes.

That was representative of the Locomotives’ game.

“We came into the second game thinking we were all high and mighty,” Capizzi said. “We got put back to earth. That’s what has to happen sometime.”

Since then, Fassel has intensified practices. Capizzi compared it to a second training camp, because the Locomotives have had two weeks in between games.

The players have found easy motivation in getting a rematch with the Tuskers so shortly after falling to them.

“You never want to get beat,” Capizzi said. “But if you are going to get beat, why not go play the same team and see if it’s a fluke.”

Indications are that the Tuskers are no fluke. They’ve played each of the three teams in the UFL and beaten them by a combined score of 98-35.

Florida quarterback Brooks Bollinger is the league’s leading passer. He is complemented by three former NFL running backs in Tatum Bell, Michael Pittman and Shaud Williams.

Against the Locomotives, the Tuskers gained 399 yards of total offense.

“Their guys executed and made some plays,” Fassel said.

But Capizzi is confident heading into the rematch. He said everything started on the offensive line and he was sure that they had improved in the last two weeks.

He’s happy to have another shot at the Tuskers. And mostly, he’s happy to be in the UFL. Even though it took a little convincing.

After the Steelers cut Capizzi before this season, he was content with waiting around to be added to someone’s practice squad. But Fassel and Capizzi’s agent convinced him the UFL was a better option.

“They said this was a league for guys trying to get back to the NFL and get better,” Capizzi said. “That’s what I need.”