Blake Costanzo

Blake Costanzo (born April 14, 1984) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Lafayette.

Blake Costanzo
refer to caption
Costanzo in 2012 during his tenure with the Bears
No. 51, 52, 54
Position:Linebacker / Special teamer
Personal information
Born: (1984-04-14) April 14, 1984
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school:Ramapo
(Franklin Lakes, New Jersey)
College:Lafayette (PA)
Undrafted:2006
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:75
Forced fumbles:5
Fumble recoveries:5
Player stats at NFL.com

Costanzo has also played for the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Chicago Bears.

He is currently an assistant coach at Paramus Catholic High School (New Jersey).

Early years

He played high school football at Ramapo High School in his New Jersey hometown as a linebacker and a tight end. He helped lead his team to two state championships. He played linebacker and tight end, and was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year Award. In his high school career, he recorded 210 tackles, 24 sacks, and 11 blocked punts. He was named three times to the All-League first-team, as well as the All-Bergen County first-team. In 2001, he was named the Defensive Player of the Year after recording 111 tackles, 15 sacks, and five blocked punts.[1]

College career

2002

In 2002, Costanzo recorded 34 tackles and finish fourth among the Leopard freshmen in tackles. He also made two sacks, while leading the team in forced fumbles with two.[1]

2003

In 2003, he ranked third among the Leopards and seventh in the Patriot League with 94 total tackles. He also blocked a three kicks, and recorded 13 stops and blocked a PAT against the Colgate Raiders. He also recorded 12 tackles and blocked two punts against Towson. He also recorded 12 tackles against Georgetown and Columbia, as well as recording his first career interception against Holy Cross.[1]

2004

In 2004, he was the team's Most Outstanding Linebacker, as he ranked second on the team and seventh in the Patriot League with 93 tackles. He had 5.5 sacks, and recorded 1.5 sacks against Bucknell. Against the Holy Cross Crusaders, he made 12 tackles, forced a fumble, and blocked an extra point. Against the Columbia Lions, he made 11 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. Against the Fordham Rams, he recorded a sack vs. Fordham, as well as blocking a fourth-quarter field goal against Colgate, along with recording a sack against Delaware.[1]

College statistics
YearDefense[1]
GPGSTacklesFF/FRSacksIntTDs
2002120342/12.000
20031111940/04.010
20041212931/15.500
Totals35232213/211.510

Professional career

New York Jets

Costanzo was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets in 2006, and was on the practice squad until 2007.

Buffalo Bills

Costanzo played for the Buffalo Bills in 2007 and 2009 seasons.

Cleveland Browns

In the 2010 season, Costanzo played in ten games before injuring his groin and being placed on injured reserve.[2]

San Francisco 49ers

Costanzo was signed by the San Francisco 49ers in 2011.[2] Costanzo was notable for forcing a fumble in the 2011–12 NFL playoffs against the New Orleans Saints on a kickoff and recovering another, en route to a 49ers 36–32 victory.[3]

In 61 career games, Costanzo has recorded 71 tackles on special teams with eight forced fumble/fumble recoveries (four force fumbles, four fumble recoveries). In the 2011 season, Costanzo recorded 17 special teams tackles, which ranks second on the 49ers.[4]

Chicago Bears

Costanzo was signed by the Chicago Bears in 2012 on a two-year deal.[5] General manager Phil Emery commented, "Blake has done some dynamic things as a special teams player, as is evident from his four forced fumbles with one of them in a playoff game against New Orleans this past year."[6]

Costanzo ended the 2013 season leading the Bears with 17 special teams tackles.[7]

San Francisco 49ers

On June 3, 2014, Costanzo signed a one-year deal to return to the 49ers. He was released later in the year.[8]

Career statistics

Source Retrieved on September 2, 2014

Career statistics Tackles Sacks Interceptions Other
Season Team Games Solo Ast Total Sack Int Yds IntTD DefTD FFum PD Safety
2007 BUF 3 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008 BUF 16 15 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
2009 CLE 16 9 5 14 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
2010 CLE 10 5 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011 SF 16 11 1 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012 CHI 14 6 3 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2013 CHI 16 7 2 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2014 SF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 91 59 13 72 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0

References
  1. "Player Bio: Blake Costanzo - Lafayette Leopards Official Athletic Site". Goleopards.com. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  2. Photo Courtesy of Cleveland Browns (August 4, 2011). "Blake Costanzo signs one-year deal with San Francisco 49ers". lehighvalleylive.com. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  3. "Blake Costanzo '06 Helps 49ers Advance to NFC Championship Game · About · Lafayette College". Lafayette.edu. Archived from the original on December 19, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  4. "Bears a special team for Costanzo". Chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  5. Brad Biggs (March 13, 2012). "Bears sign veteran linebacker Blake Costanzo". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  6. "Bears fill key needs, bolster their roster". Chicagobears.com. March 20, 2012. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  7. "2013 Season Highlights". Chicago Bears. January 8, 2014. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  8. "49ers Sign Blake Costanzo".
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