Former Steelers' Tight End Describes His First Career Touchdown From 2011

Former Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Weslye Saunders recently sat down with SteelerNation's own Kaleb Everhart on Steeler Nations' Three Point Stance Podcast which is usually co-hosted by former Steelers' offensive lineman Derwin Grey. The conversation begins with Saunders discussing his college career and his mindset entering the draft. Saunders was eventually signed by the Steelers following the 2011 NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent, and unfortunately only played one year with the team in 2011. Everhart asks Saunders about his first career touchdown catch, and Saunders breaks down the motivation behind it.

Saunders' First Touchdown Catch In Steelers Win 

The Steelers were playing a Sunday Night Football game against the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2011 season in enemy territory. The game was a low-scoring affair, with the Steelers winning 13-9. The Steelers' offense was stagnant throughout the first quarter being unable to put any points on the board. The Steelers' first points came after the defense was able to pick off the Chiefs to set up a field goal. 

Later in the second quarter, the Steelers were finally able to find the endzone for the only touchdown scored of the game when Ben Roethlisberger was able to find Saunders in the back of the end zone, Saunders was able to get his two feet down for the touchdown while making the impressive catch. This score ended up being the deciding factor in the victory, with the Steelers being able to score another field goal and hold the Chiefs' offense from scoring meaningful points for the rest of the game. 

Saunders Breaks Down His Motivation Behind The Touchdown Reception

Saunders starts the story of his first touchdown reception at the beginning of the road trip when the team first got to Kansas City. He explains how he and Antonio Brown had become good friends, and the two had an autograph signing at a local Steelers bar in Kansas City. Everyone in attendance wanted Brown to sign their jerseys and other forms of memorabilia, while many were unsure of who Saunders was. He describes a story where a kid gave Saunders his jersey to sign, and then took it back before he could sign it after the kid didn't know who Saunders was. 

"I felt dejected at the moment, but he was right, I haven't done anything worthy of signing this jersey yet. That was definitely motivation for me. It's funny because as athletes we find any little thing that can motivate us."

Most fans probably think that athletes' motivation stems from a player on an opposing team talking smack or something a scout said about the player, while sometimes it can come from an unlikely source such as a young kid refusing to allow a player to sign their jersey. Saunders continued to talk about his emotions after the touchdown. 

"Of course thinking of my parents and all the people I knew at home watching, the first thing I thought about was that kid."

The Steelers very well could have lost this game had it not been for the kid disrespecting Saunders at an autograph signing giving him the motivation to perform. 

Motivation From Mike Tomlin 

Saunders also had other motivating factors aside from the kid at the autograph signing. He discusses Mike Tomlin's pregame speech the night before the game as something that made him want to perform well and make plays. Tomlin's speech revolved around 'A' players making 'A' plays, and he began to give examples that Saunders began to tell Everhart. 

"Timmons I expect him to make 'A' plays, Harrison, Ben we expect a lot out of you. We're not expecting Wes to go out there and win the game for us."

Saunders wasn't the starting tight end, but he sure wasn't expecting to get disrespected by Tomlin during the Steelers' pregame speech. Saunders was made an example of what was not to expect and this gave him something extra to think about that he could use as motivation to play well during Sunday Night Football. The story of what went behind just one touchdown says a lot about what can motivate athletes to perform and what can happen during the week before an NFL game.

What do you think about what Weslye Saunders had to say Steeler Nation? Let us know in the comments below!

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