Vance "Beastmode" McDonald Thread

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:

He's got Ben throwing to him so that def helps. But honestly, he looks like the exact same guy he was here. One moment Impressive splash plays that show off his tremendous athleticism and the next moment easy drops and fumbles.

But you got to admit he is far better than he was for us at any time. It's not even close IMO. Nobody is saying he is the best player ever. But jeez he was nowhere near this with us.

His current production says yes, as he's about to surpass his highest receiving yards ever. But my eye test tells me he's the same guy

Originally posted by Jeepzilla:

Dude was hurt constantly in San Fran
Glad he's gone

Hmmmm, much like the players we have now.

Originally posted by TexasGuero49:

Originally posted by Jeepzilla:

Dude was hurt constantly in San Fran
Glad he's gone

Hmmmm, much like the players we have now.

Soft strength and conditioning program.

Originally posted by LVJay:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

How does he do it? He adjusts for very difficult catches for TD's now. He could never do that as a 49er. Especially not in the endzone. The closer he got to the endzone the worse he got. What happened to him is an incredible transformation.

........

Coaching and development are a beautiful thing.

Obviously he wasn't playing up to his ability when he was coached up here

It's pretty simple. The more you're included in the game plan and the more targets you get, the more comfortable you are and the more production you have.

Does he even block in the run game anymore?

He'll probably always struggle some with his hands but he's so explosive, it's not as big of a deal for the Steelers.

That said, it would be interesting to see his targets every year with SF to now. IIRC he was almost exclusively used as a blocking TE under Harbaugh and then used more in the passing game the last couple years in SF...so he may just be a delayed developer.

His trade seemed more like a scheme-fit and salary dump issue like Trenton Brown but it would be nice to have him as the #2 TE right now.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by TexasGuero49:

Originally posted by Jeepzilla:

Dude was hurt constantly in San Fran
Glad he's gone

Hmmmm, much like the players we have now.

Soft strength and conditioning program.

And now he's fine. Hmmm.

This thread is hilarious

I'm so glad we have a top three tight end right now. We don't really have to worry about drops as much or injuries! Vance was great at trucking people, that Sherman play was great however he's inconsistent.

I'm just waiting (not really) to see if people who want to slam this regime for dropping McDonald, Brown, and Harold are now going to say Baalke wasn't as bad as a GM as they originally thought. Can't have it both ways.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:

I'm just waiting (not really) to see if people who want to slam this regime for dropping McDonald, Brown, and Harold are now going to say Baalke wasn't as bad as a GM as they originally thought. Can't have it both ways.

I've already seen it. LOL.

I think what this really demonstrates is how long it can take for players to develop.

A lot of our best players today (or now on other teams) in Buckner, Mostert, Tartt, Blair, Pinion, Ward, Person...even glimpses of Garnett when healthy...now you see Harold, McDonald & Brown, all have had years and years to develop and most are playing in good systems that fit their skill sets (today).

Back when Harbaugh joined, that was a team of top picks who had developed over 7 years. Same concept.

It's a reminder to be patient in growth and development and how important scheme fit is.

We're seeing the adverse of that with Solomon Thomas right now. But if he goes to another team and plays 3T full time, you'd probably see an upward trend like Harold, Brown and McDonald.

I always thought that guy should bulk up and play OT like Joe Staley.

Still hate this dude from all the critical drops he had for us at the worst times.

wtf is this thread title

Should have kept him over Celek

Originally posted by 49erman723:

Should have kept him over Celek

Yup. Imagine him and Kittle going deep.

Speeeeed

And then he drops it. But every once in a while he'd be amazing.