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When we last left Phillipkeith Manley, many fans were predicting he would be cut. After all, there were "whispers" that he was clocking in at 380 pounds, which apparently means he was eating an entire elephant seal for breakfast every morning, given that he ended the 2012 season at like 310 pounds.
At the time, I grumbled about D. Orlando Ledbetter's sourcing. Because he hadn't actually seen Manley, and because so many were ready to boot one of my favorite young linemen off the team, I kept a watchful eye for visual proof that Manley was tipping the scales at 380 from my icy cave in New England. And it has finally arrived.
SOURCE: www.atlantafalcons.com
Compare this photo of Manley bowling (great form!) to the photo headlining this post. Do you see an extra sixty pounds on that dude? Because I don't. I could see making an argument for ten, but that's within a normal off-season variance, and the coaching staff has undoubtedly asked a few dudes to bulk up.
Off-season rumors are going to be inaccurate much of the time. I recognize that, and as long as reporters make a good faith effort to confirm, you can't rake them over the coals for it. This one felt incredible from the start—who gains 60-70 pounds in three months?—and it felt deeply careless.
Many fans were persuaded to write Manley off the roster based on this, which makes it a little dangerous to put that out there with absolutely no effort made at confirming. Now that we can actually see Manley from a recent event, it's pretty clear those whispers were wrong. I'm glad they were, but I can't imagine Manley enjoyed the allusions to his transformation into Fatty Fatty Fat Whale.
Weigh (ha!) in on the PK Manley situation.