PITTSBURGH -- A renewed perspective is timely for Vance McDonald, who is still working toward his first catch with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Years ago, anger would have consumed the veteran tight end over a drop or two. The drives home from practices or games were the toughest, with a temptation to turn on some hard rock and scream in the car.
"You’re angry all the time; you’re thinking about it for the rest of the game throughout the night," said McDonald, acquired in August via a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. "My wife would be mad at me; parents might even be in town and I wouldn’t even talk to them because I was so mad about the game."
McDonald has had a few chances to make plays over the middle, including a Week 4 drop in Baltimore and a Week 1 pass that was broken up by Browns linebacker James Burgess but probably should have been caught.
McDonald is in a good place despite the start, knowing he's contributing to a winner and believing that the breakthrough will come. Coach Mike Tomlin has given McDonald a positive review for his overall contribution with hustle plays, run blocking and getting open. But drops still feel "terrible," McDonald says. He had experience with this in San Francisco with several drops.
Learning to move on from them takes practice.
"I was known as an explosive-type-of-anger person growing up, for sure," said McDonald, who signed a three-year, $19.65 million extension with San Francisco this past offseason. "That’s something I’ve dealt with. It helped me when it came to football, taking anger and being aggressive in terms of how you play the game, for sure. Emotionally, not so much."
Having a son has taught McDonald patience, which he's translated to the field. Every day McDonald drives home, 15-month-old Coman is waiting for him at the door.
That's the cue for play-wrestle time. And that "makes everything go away," McDonald said.
He also relies on encouragement from teammates and coaches after a bad play. Dwelling on a drop entices what he calls the "whirlwind."
"Whatever you can do to get out of that as quickly as you can do that, you're going to get yourself out of the gutter," McDonald said. "If you focus on the play before, you’re going to miss the opportunity to pull yourself out of it. If the next play they come to you, and you're still thinking about it and, boom, another one happens, it can spiral out of control."
McDonald knows it will feel great when he strings a few catches together. But he's also savoring the moment regardless because he's on a contender, which hasn't been the case for much of his high school, college and pro career.
"Production's fun. Don't get me wrong," he said. "When your team is winning, that's what makes the rest of the week great."
