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INDIANAPOLIS – Talking strictly scheme and philosophy, Anthony Castonzo is a major fan of the necessary changes coming to the Colts offensive line in 2018.
The simplicity of things up front is welcomed.
“Doesn’t seem like there’s going to be too much mental gymnastics going on,” Castonzo says of the line’s new approach. “Anytime you can have a simplified scheme as an offensive lineman that’s great, because you can just go out there and do your job.”
And how about the ball coming out quicker?
“That’s fantastic,” the most tenured Colt on the offensive side of the ball says. “It makes me smile. The quicker the ball comes out, the better.”
Castonzo is actually 1 of 2 Colts who was in Indianapolis when Frank Reich was on the staff back from 2006-11.
Along with Adam Vinatieri, Castonzo remembers that ’11 rookie season of his when Reich coached the wide receivers.
“I was pumped when I heard he was the head coach,” Castonzo says of his thoughts on the Josh McDaniels’ fiasco.
While Castonzo’s words praising the new staff aren’t as direct as Chester Rogers’ indictment of the previous culture in Indianapolis, a similar message can be heard.
Castonzo, who has been in and out of the lineup during the spring with an undisclosed injury, calls it a ‘youthful energy’ and something he believes will light a fire into some guys who might have become complacent.
“There’s no real relationships, (so) you’ve got to build relationships, and build trust,” Castonzo says of a new coaching staff. “It’s not a relationship that you’ve shown people in the past, ‘This is how I do things. This is how I play.’ So you’ve got to let all these people know anew that this is how I play, this is how I go about my business.
“Whether that kind of re-sparks something or whether it just kind of makes you dig in a little bit more, I think that the results are usually positive with that.”
When coaches watched 2017 film of Castonzo, they had to have already liked what they saw.
Despite the critic or two of the Colts’ left tackle, Castonzo graded out in the top half of NFL tackles last season.
“I think I played pretty well,” Castonzo says of himself last year. “I was more relaxed. I was able to get out of my head a little bit and play more relaxed. It showed up on Sunday’s with better play.”
That reliability is once again needed with no other competent left tackle option on the roster.
