Thursday, April 28, 2011

Colts draft Anthony Costanzo from BC

Well the Colts did what was expected of them and got offensive line help with their 1st round pick in the person of Anthony Costanzo.  Presumably he is slated for the LT spot at some point with Charlie Johnson sliding to guard to replace a previous failed draft pick.


Ordinarily I would say that you could expect him to start from day one at LT; but with the current labor situation I don't see him getting the coaching that he would need to step right in.  I'm sure that Manning will do a great job organizing the offense for the duration of the lockout/foolishness, but I doubt Manning is going to be teaching Costanzo how to slide and punch.


As for the talent of Costanzo, I'm not really excited about him.  Based on the film I have seen of him:


Pluses:



  • Very Smart
  • Good size (6'7", 308 lbs) with some room to put on more weight
  • Good character guy
  • Motivated
  • Better than average movement skills
  • Pretty good blocking downfield for the run (good for the stretch and screens for sure)



Negatives:



  • Does not play with power
  • Plays high in the run game and frequently loses contact with his assignment
  • A bit slow out of his stance at times
  • Prone to being bull-rushed
  • His height and lack of natural knee bend make him vulnerable to Robert Mathis-style small rush ends.





You really see his lack of power in pass blocking against a strong DE, he struggles against rushers with good rip moves.  Looks light up top with somewhat narrow shoulders.


This may seem critical, but he does not measure up to the top LTs in the league in the areas that matter most.


He looks like a mid 2nd round pick in most drafts.




All that said I do expect him to be a upgrade for the Colts and to be a long-time starter.  This is based on what we have already and the style of offense the Colts play.


We have had some bad timing in the draft the last few years: 


When we were desperate for a running back to replace Edgerrin James, we were stuck with a thin draft for running backs and ended up with the shockingly average Joseph Addai.


When we were desperate to replace a departing Tarik Glenn, we were stuck with a thin draft for Offensive Tackles and ended up with the mechanical and passionless Tony Ugoh.


And now with us desperate to replace the busted out Tony Ugoh, again we have a weak draft for Offensive Tackles and we end up with the bright but flawed Anthony Costanzo.


Lets hope this works out.  Just the fact that he actually cares about football puts him miles ahead of Ugoh.

6 comments:

  1. Do you think the Colts should have taken someone else at 22? I didn't see a single player after Castonzo who deserved to go that high. I think he is the best tackle in this years draft class. More athletic than Carimi, more power than Sherrod, more smart and motivated than Smith, and a better technician than Solder.

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  2. NO, I think they picked who they should have. I'm just disappointed that he seems to be just a younger version of what we have had for a while.

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  3. I don't see it that way. There is no tackle on the roster right now who is more talented than Castonzo. He has far more talent and ability than CJ. Putting Johnson back at RT while inserting Castonzo at LT could be just the thing this line needs to at least be above above average.

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  4. I'd say with Costanzo at LT, we still have a line in the lower third of the NFL. Lets put it this way, with Costanzo as a starter - what starter do we have on the offesive line that would be an upgrade to his *counterpart* on the Patriots, Ravens, Jets, Steelers, Bengals, Titans, or Chargers?

    That is just the AFC.

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  5. Castonzo/Johnson/Saturday/Linkenbach/Diem

    its better then last year by far. And who knows maybe we take a guy like Rodney Hudson for RG and maybe a future Saturday replacement. Or sign someone in FA.

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  6. Linkenbach showed last year he could be a serviceable tackle - and he also showed that he was a disaster at guard. I don't think we will be seeing him at guard again.

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