INDIANAPOLIS — "I thought he had the best offseason he's had since at least I've been here and I've seen him. I think it's carried over into the season."
Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski said that about left tackle Anthony Castonzo last week, as the team prepared for its Week 10 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Castonzo has seemingly gotten better each and every week this season, and he was able to continue that theme against the Steelers, who boast one of the best overall defenses in the league.
And Pro Football Focus certainly took notice, naming Castonzo to its Week 10 "Team of the Week."
You can see the entire team by clicking here, but here's what PFF's Sam Monson wrote about Castonzo's performance, specifically:*
LT – Anthony Castonzo, Indianapolis Colts
PFF Grade: 87.4*
*Elite Stat: Anthony Castonzo allowed one pressure this week.
The Colts offensive line was largely overwhelmed against Pittsburgh, but most of the damage came up the middle against their defensive linemen. On the edge, they actually help up relatively well, and in particular Anthony Castonzo was excellent on the blind side. Castonzo allowed just a single hurry across 31 pass-blocking snaps, but also was the one member of the line to perform well in the run game.
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In his seventh year in the NFL, and with the Colts, Castonzo has been a constant for a Colts offensive line that has seen a great deal of turnover the last few seasons.
That status was in question a couple weeks ago, however, when he suffered a knee injury and was a gametime decision heading into the Colts' Week 9 matchup on the road against the Houston Texans. But Castonzo fought through the pain to play a major role in his team's 20-14 victory.
"I was real impressed with Anthony (against the Texans)," Chudzinski said. "He obviously was hurting and injured and it was touch and go whether he was going to be able to play or not. He sucked it up for everybody and went out and played an outstanding game."
With the Colts (3-7) in the midst of their bye week, Castonzo hopes the time away will be just what the doctor ordered for his team to turn it around for the final six games of the season.
"It's always good to kind of get away from it a little bit, kind of reset," he said. "It's almost like a new season starts, which obviously with us with the way it's gone, we could use that. It's going to be good."
