Vance "Beastmode" McDonald Thread

Originally posted by SofaKing:

Originally posted by doc_brown_:
BUST!

Nah, too early to call him a bust. His role last year was vastly different than what he was doing in college. Technically he was still a TE, but he might as well have been learning a completely new position.

That's on the coaches for trying to force him to be Delanie Walker 2.0. He's not Delanie. He should be lined up in the slot as a big, receiving TE. That's his strength. I'd like to see use him more in that role when we go 2 TE.

He can't catch.

Sure he can be moved out in 2 TE sets, but he'll never be a reliable receiver.

Baalke became enamoured by his size/strength (Most bench press reps at the combine) and the fact that he played slot at Rice, but Vance had the "dropsies" in college as well, which was an oversight by the FO. I'm sure they were aware of his stone hands, but probable thought he was a work in progress, one who has experience as a receiver.

Still, you never draft receivers, who have suspect hands in the hopes that you can develop him into a reliable pass catcher. I feel that way about Kelvin Benjamin this year and I felt that way about Vance last year. There were quality players drafted after Vance who we definitely could use right now (Eddie Lacy, DJ Swearinger, Tyrann Mathieu, Keenan Allen, Terrance Williams, Logan Ryan, etc). So again...

BUST!

Originally posted by doc_brown_:
He can't catch.

Sure he can be moved out in 2 TE sets, but he'll never be a reliable receiver.

Baalke became enamoured by his size/strength (Most bench press reps at the combine) and the fact that he played slot at Rice, but Vance had the "dropsies" in college as well, which was an oversight by the FO. I'm sure they were aware of his stone hands, but probable thought he was a work in progress, one who has experience as a receiver.

Still, you never draft receivers, who have suspect hands in the hopes that you can develop him into a reliable pass catcher. I feel that way about Kelvin Benjamin this year and I felt that way about Vance last year. There were quality players drafted after Vance who we definitely could use right now (Eddie Lacy, DJ Swearinger, Tyrann Mathieu, Keenan Allen, Terrance Williams, Logan Ryan, etc). So again...

BUST!

Vernon Davis will also never be a reliable receiver. I know this because I watched his stone hands during his first 2 seasons and that's all the proof I need. BUST

Originally posted by doc_brown_:

Originally posted by SofaKing:

Originally posted by doc_brown_:
BUST!

Nah, too early to call him a bust. His role last year was vastly different than what he was doing in college. Technically he was still a TE, but he might as well have been learning a completely new position.

That's on the coaches for trying to force him to be Delanie Walker 2.0. He's not Delanie. He should be lined up in the slot as a big, receiving TE. That's his strength. I'd like to see use him more in that role when we go 2 TE.

He can't catch.

Sure he can be moved out in 2 TE sets, but he'll never be a reliable receiver.

Baalke became enamoured by his size/strength (Most bench press reps at the combine) and the fact that he played slot at Rice, but Vance had the "dropsies" in college as well, which was an oversight by the FO. I'm sure they were aware of his stone hands, but probable thought he was a work in progress, one who has experience as a receiver.

Still, you never draft receivers, who have suspect hands in the hopes that you can develop him into a reliable pass catcher. I feel that way about Kelvin Benjamin this year and I felt that way about Vance last year. There were quality players drafted after Vance who we definitely could use right now (Eddie Lacy, DJ Swearinger, Tyrann Mathieu, Keenan Allen, Terrance Williams, Logan Ryan, etc). So again...

BUST!

I hear you on the suspect hands. Also didn't like Kelvin Benjamin because of that. Just have to hope Vance improves in that regard. He can to a certain extent if he works hard at it. Vernon is not a natural catcher either, but spent a ton of time with the jugs machine and is now pretty sure handed despite his awkward style. You can't teach size/speed, but you can always clean up mechanics.

Originally posted by Disp:
Vernon Davis will also never be a reliable receiver. I know this because I watched his stone hands during his first 2 seasons and that's all the proof I need. BUST

Vernon STILL isn't a natural catcher, but he has the freakish ability to sprint past you, or jump higher than you, or both and body catch the ball. We've seen plenty of evidence. VD is also a terrific route runner and can execute cuts at a very high speed. Will Vance be able to separate from the LB's and S's who will be covering him? Certainly not the way VD can! There was a lot of talent left on the board after Vance was drafted and I'm just saying, it'll sting a little bit if he busts out, because we could have had a much better player...like Honey Badger.

Obviously, being a Niner fan, I hope I'm wrong.

Originally posted by doc_brown_:
BUST!

I still want to puke that the Niners could have drafted Zach Ertz. This was a case where the best thing to do was sit on the draft pick and take Ertz, a player who could have been with the Niners for 10-12 years.

Love the present FO, but this was a mistake in my opinion.

Originally posted by 9erred:

I still want to puke that the Niners could have drafted Zach Ertz. This was a case where the best thing to do was sit on the draft pick and take Ertz, a player who could have been with the Niners for 10-12 years.

Love the present FO, but this was a mistake in my opinion.

Didn't the move down yield us Tank?? I had Tank way higher on my wish list. Even injured. Give this move two more years and we will all see what a stud Tank can be compared to the pretty good player Ertz will be. Tank was worth it!

Some good news...

per MM:

He drilled a 14-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin between safeties Antoine Bethea and Eric Reid. Then, his last attempt of the offseason program resulted in a touchdown to a leaping Vance McDonald in traffic.

still concerned about this guys hands. yeah i know with a lot of hard work you can cure bad hands somewhat not unlike vernon davis. but after that report a few days ago about him dropping a few in one practice it is a cause for concern. this guy is going to get open, kaep will probably toss it to him a little more this year and its all going to come down to whether he can catch it.

Originally posted by crabman82:
still concerned about this guys hands. yeah i know with a lot of hard work you can cure bad hands somewhat not unlike vernon davis. but after that report a few days ago about him dropping a few in one practice it is a cause for concern. this guy is going to get open, kaep will probably toss it to him a little more this year and its all going to come down to whether he can catch it.

I agree, we should expect a bump in his production, but expecting anything more than 'ample' from him is being overly optimistic. Looking more and more like a reach

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by crabman82:
still concerned about this guys hands. yeah i know with a lot of hard work you can cure bad hands somewhat not unlike vernon davis. but after that report a few days ago about him dropping a few in one practice it is a cause for concern. this guy is going to get open, kaep will probably toss it to him a little more this year and its all going to come down to whether he can catch it.

I agree, we should expect a bump in his production, but expecting anything more than 'ample' from him is being overly optimistic. Looking more and more like a reach

he only had 3 drops last year !....some posted that on the zone

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by crabman82:
still concerned about this guys hands. yeah i know with a lot of hard work you can cure bad hands somewhat not unlike vernon davis. but after that report a few days ago about him dropping a few in one practice it is a cause for concern. this guy is going to get open, kaep will probably toss it to him a little more this year and its all going to come down to whether he can catch it.

I agree, we should expect a bump in his production, but expecting anything more than 'ample' from him is being overly optimistic. Looking more and more like a reach

he only had 3 drops last year !....some posted that on the zone

From the catches I've seen, he catches the ball with his body, not his hands. This will lead people to think he isn't sure-handed. But the Jugs Machine can cure that, just takes time.

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by crabman82:
still concerned about this guys hands. yeah i know with a lot of hard work you can cure bad hands somewhat not unlike vernon davis. but after that report a few days ago about him dropping a few in one practice it is a cause for concern. this guy is going to get open, kaep will probably toss it to him a little more this year and its all going to come down to whether he can catch it.

I agree, we should expect a bump in his production, but expecting anything more than 'ample' from him is being overly optimistic. Looking more and more like a reach

he only had 3 drops last year !....some posted that on the zone

From the catches I've seen, he catches the ball with his body, not his hands. This will lead people to think he isn't sure-handed. But the Jugs Machine can cure that, just takes time.

it's 50-50, Hands and body depending on the throw

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by crabman82:
still concerned about this guys hands. yeah i know with a lot of hard work you can cure bad hands somewhat not unlike vernon davis. but after that report a few days ago about him dropping a few in one practice it is a cause for concern. this guy is going to get open, kaep will probably toss it to him a little more this year and its all going to come down to whether he can catch it.

I agree, we should expect a bump in his production, but expecting anything more than 'ample' from him is being overly optimistic. Looking more and more like a reach

he only had 3 drops last year !....some posted that on the zone

he caught 8 passes all season. i've seen he was targeted 19 time last season according to espn. so in 19 targets he caught less than half and had 3 drops. thats not very good at all. you can handle the occasional drop from your star because you know they'll make up for it. for the role players its not the same, their number isnt called as much so they have to make their chances count.

Originally posted by crabman82:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by crabman82:
still concerned about this guys hands. yeah i know with a lot of hard work you can cure bad hands somewhat not unlike vernon davis. but after that report a few days ago about him dropping a few in one practice it is a cause for concern. this guy is going to get open, kaep will probably toss it to him a little more this year and its all going to come down to whether he can catch it.

I agree, we should expect a bump in his production, but expecting anything more than 'ample' from him is being overly optimistic. Looking more and more like a reach

he only had 3 drops last year !....some posted that on the zone

he caught 8 passes all season. i've seen he was targeted 19 time last season according to espn. so in 19 targets he caught less than half and had 3 drops. thats not very good at all. you can handle the occasional drop from your star because you know they'll make up for it. for the role players its not the same, their number isnt called as much so they have to make their chances count.

i will take 8 catches out of every 11 attempts anytime

Originally posted by 9erred:
I still want to puke that the Niners could have drafted Zach Ertz. This was a case where the best thing to do was sit on the draft pick and take Ertz, a player who could have been with the Niners for 10-12 years.

Love the present FO, but this was a mistake in my opinion.

McDonald beat Ertz in 6 of the 7 Combine events. While being 20 pounds heavier, and having a 3" arm length advantage and a 1" hand size advantage. I wouldn't be too quick to judge.