Vance "Beastmode" McDonald Thread

Originally posted by GNielsen:
It's always so easy to predict failure early on. Some of us were just so damn sure McDonald wasn't an answer at TE.

Originally posted by Need4Speed:
Yes his 4 touchdowns his senior year shows how he dominates the 5 9 cb's he faces in a mid major conference Oh wait 4 touchdowns aint that much. Hmmm maybe we just wanting him to be better than he has been. I know one thing he is good at, he is good at dropping passes and stalk blocking. Stop reading combine numbers and watching highlights to evaluate if a guy can play. Watch one game and you won't be so koolaid about a guy that was a 4th option on a bad team.

After this last mini-camp, maybe some of you would like to re-examine your opinions about Vance McDonald:

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee singled out McDonald's play as one of the key takeaways from veteran minicamp."Vance McDonald may have been the biggest standout among the 11-man (rookie) draft class," Barrows wrote. "He was a favorite for all the quarterbacks this spring, and he showed a real knack for catching passes that weren't exactly on target… He also is quite agile for his size, and on several occasions was able to twist his body and reach back for passes that were thrown behind him. Quarterbacks love to see that, and it builds confidence that he is a safe and reliable target."

It sounds like he has laid the "bad hands" story to rest, at least for now. I will admit to being somewhat biased here in that he fills a need for an agile TE that can get open in tight places quickly and catch passes thrown under pressure. A lot of the QB sacks in the past couple of years have been the result of not having a TE that can do what McDonald appears capable of doing.

Originally posted by Hitman49:
http://www.sbnation.com/2013/6/17/4438344/vance-mcdonald-on-new-49ers-language-and-jim-harbaugh

Nice.

Real excited about this dude. With how much we run 2 TE sets he could be a massive weapon if he turns out to be good as good as he's looked so far. He's huge, fast, and if he's plucking balls out of the air then he'll be a great fit for our offense.

Originally posted by Afrikan:
How can you say that is way too light when Walker weighed 242 when he was with us, and was 6'0. He was a mismatch because he moved like a WR when going out for routes, very agile. That is how Reed is, looks like a WR. From McDonald's highlights, he runs like a big TE that can move. I don't think he'll be the threat like how Walker was for us, or Aaron Hernandez is for the Pats. He will be a different type of threat....like Owen Daniels, Dennis Pitta, Kyle Rudolph.

some keep saying that Vance runs a 4.6...but its actually 4.69..which is basically a 4.7. Now the good thing is McDonald is f**kin huge, and I expect the team to make him lose alittle weight..so I'm sure he will be faster come Preseason.

I'll start a thread when I get a chance, but I think Boldin will be used in certain situations that we used Walker.

Just because one loses weight doesn't mean they will get faster, plus I think the niners want him big. He will be matched up with LB and S, where he will cause mismatches in speed or size. He will have 50 lbs on the safteys and twenty lbs on most lb not to mention speed. If his hands develope and he runs into Earl Thomas over the middle, I am liking his chances of keeping his feet or getting up compared to earl. Plus, after he learns how to block better, he'll be hell of a player to block the speed rushers if necessary and neutralize them with his size while using his own to keep up with.

I like this dude, but honestly i am more excited about what he will alow us to do with VD. They will feed off each others skillsets, and inflate each others numbers based on the complimentary skillsets. Lov the way this team is being built.

I was a bit surprised that we passed on the two TEs that scouts rated above vance. If JH and trent liked him that much, plus we have seen what he can do in camp, it just looks like our GM/HC took other teams to the cleaners with the vance pick. That ought to be one helluva 2 TE set.

Originally posted by iLL49er:

at 6'4"..he's not quite as tall as gronk but if he can out muscle and out leap smaller db's/lb's at or around the goal line he should be a real force

Height doesn't matter as much as 'catch radius' and reach, and McDonald has an equal catch radius and even better athleticism than Gronk

Originally posted by maxsmart:

Originally posted by iLL49er:
at 6'4"..he's not quite as tall as gronk but if he can out muscle and out leap smaller db's/lb's at or around the goal line he should be a real force

Height doesn't matter as much as 'catch radius' and reach, and McDonald has an equal catch radius and even better athleticism than Gronk

Can you imagine having VD and Gronk on the same team? I'm not saying that Vance is gonna be gronk, he has a lot to prove before that but if he can even be close, that would be huge. Makes me moist just thinkin about it.

The reports from camp about his pass catching ability are very promising too. It sounds like he has the combination of athleticism, jumping ability and body control that makes guys like Graham and Tony G such great RZ threats. Really looking forward to watching his progression come TC and preseason.

Didn't see this posted: http://blog.49ers.com/2013/06/17/mt-mcdonald-shines-at-minicamp/

"Vance McDonald may have been the biggest standout among the 11-man (rookie) draft class," Barrows wrote. "He was a favorite for all the quarterbacks this spring, and he showed a real knack for catching passes that weren't exactly on target… He also is quite agile for his size, and on several occasions was able to twist his body and reach back for passes that were thrown behind him. Quarterbacks love to see that, and it builds confidence that he is a safe and reliable target."

Originally posted by maxsmart:
Height doesn't matter as much as 'catch radius' and reach, and McDonald has an equal catch radius and even better athleticism than Gronk

Yes, and he is evidently proving that he can catch balls behind him, over him, etc. The knock on McDonald by many were that his hands were a bit shaky...that hasn't shown up yet, but they aren't hitting. Totally different story playing catch or getting thwacked while catching. Hope the stories about his hands were wrong and he continues developing into a legitimate NFL TE. Still my favorite draft pick.

Exciting and I agree with you all...he will allow VD to be free and move around all over the place to create mismatches whereby in the past, we had to leave VD in for pass protection or the run game. Now McDonald can do all the dirty work AND be a legit receiving target and outlet for CK which will be VERY scary for defenses. Now VD can line up at all three WR positions, on the LOS and even in the backfield from the Q formation. It's an absolute nightmare for defenses.

ManRoman will have a field day drawing plays in the sand this year!

PS: With VD, McDonald and Boldin, we now have some "men" that can match up against a roided up Hawk defenses with their own set of rules. Bring it!

Originally posted by NCommand:
Exciting and I agree with you all...he will allow VD to be free and move around all over the place to create mismatches whereby in the past, we had to leave VD in for pass protection or the run game. Now McDonald can do all the dirty work AND be a legit receiving target and outlet for CK which will be VERY scary for defenses. Now VD can line up at all three WR positions, on the LOS and even in the backfield from the Q formation. It's an absolute nightmare for defenses.

ManRoman will have a field day drawing plays in the sand this year!

PS: With VD, McDonald and Boldin, we now have some "men" that can match up against a roided up Hawk defenses with their own set of rules. Bring it!

I disagree. Davis not moving around more in the past has more to do with his own limitations than our personnel. Having another big, athletic TE isn't going to magically make VD a better receiver. His production will likely increase but I believe he will be used much the same as always.

He is an elite straight line threat as well as the best blocking TE in the game. He is not a move the chains kind of receiver and I believe if we attempt to feature him as that, we will be sorry.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Exciting and I agree with you all...he will allow VD to be free and move around all over the place to create mismatches whereby in the past, we had to leave VD in for pass protection or the run game. Now McDonald can do all the dirty work AND be a legit receiving target and outlet for CK which will be VERY scary for defenses. Now VD can line up at all three WR positions, on the LOS and even in the backfield from the Q formation. It's an absolute nightmare for defenses.

ManRoman will have a field day drawing plays in the sand this year!

PS: With VD, McDonald and Boldin, we now have some "men" that can match up against a roided up Hawk defenses with their own set of rules. Bring it!

I think Walker already did alot of the dirty work last year.

And also expect to see more of Celek in blocking packages. He is a good run blocker

Originally posted by kush:
I disagree. Davis not moving around more in the past has more to do with his own limitations than our personnel. Having another big, athletic TE isn't going to magically make VD a better receiver. His production will likely increase but I believe he will be used much the same as always.

He is an elite straight line threat as well as the best blocking TE in the game. He is not a move the chains kind of receiver and I believe if we attempt to feature him as that, we will be sorry.

Interesting take by both you and Frisco69ers. IIRC, it seems like Walker was the receiving weapon of choice most of the year until CK and Roman remembered we had VD. We were just installing the Q offense and working on the fly. Our pass protection wasn't stellar to begin with (Staley getting abused) and VD was in a lot for extra protection and we ran a lot of jumbo packages. The TE overall, wasn't a feature in the passing game as it was more an outlet. Granted, the "wheel route" would be dialed up once in a while but neither VD or Walker were ever really featured IMHO...until the playoffs where VD always goes off and is a mismatch wherever you line him up at.

I believe this year "may" be different though b/c we've had an entire off season to install more feature plays for players and we're more established running from the Q. I think like with VD/Walker, they will continue to be used more interchangeably but it will now be VD/McDonald with quite a few more plays where both are featured in the RZ and out wide and inside at the slot. I think we'll see even more of both (maybe at the same time) lining up next to CK out of the Q. That lineup alone would be a nightmare for defenses.

I agree he isn't a chain-mover like a Boldin but it sounds like he's been working with the WR groups and should learn from Boldin (the best at using his body). We've got all off season to try him out in different packages. Same with McDonald. He's not going to be getting slants called but out-and-ups, wheel routes, seam routes, post patterns, quick WR screens, passes out of the backfield, etc...all plays where he is much bigger, stronger and faster than anyone he'll be facing.

Originally posted by kush:
I disagree. Davis not moving around more in the past has more to do with his own limitations than our personnel. Having another big, athletic TE isn't going to magically make VD a better receiver. His production will likely increase but I believe he will be used much the same as always.

He is an elite straight line threat as well as the best blocking TE in the game. He is not a move the chains kind of receiver and I believe if we attempt to feature him as that, we will be sorry.

Davis has improved almost every year in the NFL. His ability to catch over his shoulder is an example of this. Remember as a rookie, he had to stop and turn around in order to catch those balls, now he can catch them without slowing down. His biggest limitation has always been not reading the defense well...but I could never tell how much of that was VD versus the offense used. Smith hit him in the back a few times, almost to say...read and react!

With another true threat at #2 TE he will likely see more one-on-one coverage, which will help his numbers...but then, he will need to share those numbers with McDonald if the latter turns out to be as good as mini-camp makes him look.

Originally posted by Frisco69ers:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Exciting and I agree with you all...he will allow VD to be free and move around all over the place to create mismatches whereby in the past, we had to leave VD in for pass protection or the run game. Now McDonald can do all the dirty work AND be a legit receiving target and outlet for CK which will be VERY scary for defenses. Now VD can line up at all three WR positions, on the LOS and even in the backfield from the Q formation. It's an absolute nightmare for defenses.

ManRoman will have a field day drawing plays in the sand this year!

PS: With VD, McDonald and Boldin, we now have some "men" that can match up against a roided up Hawk defenses with their own set of rules. Bring it!

I think Walker already did alot of the dirty work last year.

And also expect to see more of Celek in blocking packages. He is a good run blocker

Celek is an excellent blocker, just needs to work on his hands. It will be very telling which direction we are going if we keep a receiving H-back like Gray over Celek. If Vance can prove his size and strength translate to inline blocking ( Im very confident they will ) and we also keep a great blocking TE like Celek as well, then it may hint at a bit of a role change for Vern. If we can get Vance and Celek staying in to block more, VD may have a chance to get freed up for more work outside and some of the Walker motion plays. Now if we keep Gray over Celek, that may hint at little to no change for Vern who will be asked to stay in like he did last year.

Should be interesting