Vance McDonald: “My first mentality always is to run over anyone who gets in the way.”

SANTA CLARA – Here’s what Vance McDonald said at his locker Tuesday afternoon.

Q: After watching the film, what did this offense learn?

V. McDonald: First and foremost we’ve just got to take care of the ball. That’s the most important thing. Without the ball you can’t score points.

Q: We all know that’s a very physical defensive front in Seattle. Did they bring anything different than you expected?

V. McDonald: We knew that they were going to shift around, especially their front. And we knew they were going to play a hard box. It’s just all about execution and we could have done a lot better in execution.

Q: You think that was the main issue?

V. McDonald: Yeah, just guys taking care of their assignments, little things, little details all 11 guys aren’t doing on a given play. It costs you sometimes and gives the defense an opportunity to make a big play.

Q: Was that the main issue in establishing the run?

V. McDonald: That’s where it starts. You’ve just got to make holes for Frank and let him do his thing. We’ve got to do a better job of that.

Q: That was your first time in that environment. What was your impression of it and how did it impact you?

V. McDonald: The noise is always fun. It hyped me up personally. Give props to the Seattle fans. They’re pretty loud.

Q: Did it impact the offensive rhythm?

V. McDonald: Not at all. We were expecting it and we were prepared for it and we handled it well. We didn’t miss anything communication-wise.

Q: How did they handle you mostly defensively?

V. McDonald: They did the same thing we thought they were going to do. A lot of it was on Anquan and Vernon. It just didn’t work out like we wanted it to.

Q: How were they playing you specifically?

V. McDonald: They were just playing their drop coverage. They didn’t get into man too much.

Q: You had your one catch down the right side where you took out Richard Sherman. How did that feel?

V. McDonald: Good. My first mentality always is to run over anyone who gets in the way. I’m glad it worked out for me.

Q: Do you feel you’re ready to become a bigger part of this offense, become a bigger receiving threat?

V. McDonald: If that’s what’s asked, then I’m certainly ready and willing to step up and do it. I’m just taking it like I have the past two weeks – prepare, get the game plan down, know my assignments and go from there.

Q: How did they play Vernon?

V. McDonald: Just really tight. They did a great job the first five yards. Have to give it to them. They didn’t let him get the separation like we wanted to. That’s just something going in they game planned for and they did a good job.

Q: This week going against the Colts, what have you seen and what are you expecting?

V. McDonald: We’re game planning today, just doing baseline stuff right now. We’ll get more specific as the week goes on.

ME: How has blocking gone for you so far?

V. McDonald: It’s improved a lot. The big thing is you have all week long to know your opponent and know their emphasis and how they like to play. That makes it easier on game day identifying their fronts. It’s coming along.

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