The golden quote from Middleton is that the Phillies plan to “maybe even be a little bi

If you’re a Phillies fan Qadree Ollison Atlanta Falcons Jersey , then the words that you heard from owner John Middleton on Friday via Bob Nightengale of USA Today. t stupid” about spending money this offseason. He quickly tried to laugh it off by saying that they weren’t going to be “completely stupid” but by then, the hype train had left the station. You heard it straight from man who is signing the checks in Philadelphia: The Phillies are going to be aggressive spenders this offseason, to the point where it could be considered stupid. Naturally, this means that Phillies fans and baseball fans in general could now have dreams of potentially seeing both Manny Machado and Bryce Harper running around Citizens Bank Park in those familiar red pinstripes. That’s exactly what the crew over at The Good Phight is dreaming of at the moment, as they went into detail about just how Philadelphia could possibly afford both superstars and maybe even a couple of other stars as well. They also made sure to note that this doesn’t necessarily mean that Philadelphia is now a lock to go after both. The luxury tax is still a thing and while the baseball decision-makers for the Phillies probably appreciate having the purse strings considerably lightened up, that could be the line that is considered as being “completely stupid.” Maybe we will see Philadelphia go after the two biggest jewels of the free agency class and maybe a miracle can happen and they could end up finding a way to land both superstars and make it work for everybody involved. The odds of that happening are pretty small but at the same time, the baseball world may as well get ready to see the Phillies involved in plenty of Hot Stove rumors and rumblings. This could be an incredibly memorable offseason for Philadelphia or it could end up being relatively disappointing if they don’t go on a spending spree that was hinted at by the owner, himself. Either way, it’s going to be interesting and that’s all that us neutral fans could really ask of them at this point in the offseason. Let’s set this Hot Stove on fire.Hey look, the Marlins have new uniforms (again). In my opinion, they’re not bad at all. What does Grant Brisbee think of them? If you want to know, then he gave his opinion on each new jersey. If you haven’t seen them yet, then now’s your chance. Here’s a spoiler alert: Trevor Story hit the longest home run of the 2018 season. But I’m sure that you want to see that dinger. Fortunately for us, MLB decided to post a video with not just that dinger but 19 of the longest dingers of the season. Apparently the Padres believe that they can get Noah Syndergaard to come to San Diego via trade. If it sounds crazy, Whitney McIntosh believes that it’s actually not all that crazy of an idea. This week has been a long month for the Seattle Mariners. They ended Friday with a bit of a news dump concerning their HR’s review of the ugly situation concerning their treatment of Dr. Lorena Martin. Steve Pearce became a popular figure for the Red Sox during their run to yet another World Series title. He’ll continue to be popular in Boston for 2019 after he agreed to a one-year deal to stay with the Red Sox. We’ve already talked about how the Phillies could be super-aggressive this offseason. Meanwhile in the Bay Area Color Rush Qadree Ollison Jersey , how aggressive should the A’s be?Anibal Sanchez had himself a nice season pitching for the Braves in 2018 but it’s clear that he’s going to be moving on. Is Milwaukee going to be his next destination?It’s only November but David Robertson is already having himself an adventure of an offseason, for multiple reasons.Meanwhile, here’s hoping that Kenley Jansen’s upcoming heart surgery goes well. The date has officially been set in stone and hopefully all goes well and he can finally put these issues with his heart behind him. Mike Elias has been officially announced as the new GM of the Orioles. Camden Chat came up with five reasons why Orioles fans should be happy with this move. New Era and the Marlins both unveiled neon (or neon-adjecent) gear near the end of this week. According to Whitney McIntosh, one organization did it right and the other organization missed out on a great opportunity. The Falcons selected Washington OT Kaleb McGary with the 31st overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. We break down McGary’s film to find out if he was worth the trade-up, and how he fits into Atlanta’s offensive line revamp."With the 2019 NFL Draft behind us, it’s time to break down the Falcons’ seven draft selections. My compatriot Eric Robinson got things started with Atlanta’s 14th overall pick, G Chris Lindstrom. Next up is the Falcons’ second first-round selection, which they achieved via a trade up with the Rams. At 31st overall, Atlanta added OT Kaleb McGary from Washington. McGary played right tackle throughout his career at Washington, and he’ll be competing for the same spot with the Falcons—who just moved on from RT Ryan Schraeder.The McGary pick was instantly polarizing because it was perceived as a pretty significant reach, including by me. But after doing some digging—and with the persistent buzz that the Patriots were planning to take McGary at pick 32—I have come full circle on the pick. Read on for the reasons why I’ve changed my mind on McGary’s evaluation and now view him as a vital part of this draft class.Scouting Report: OT Kaleb McGary (#58), WashingtonGames Watched: Ohio State (Rose Bowl), Utah (Pac-12 Championship), @Auburn, @UtahAthletic ProfileStrengthsAggressive Qadree Ollison Atlanta Falcons Jersey , physical blocker at the point of attack—always looking to pancake someonePunch has a lot of power in pass protectionAlways looking for work as a blockerImpressive athlete with good mobility in space. Can execute second-level blocks with easeStrong anchor, rarely pushed back by power rushersExcellent football IQ and blocking instincts—very capable of reading and reacting to stunts, twists, and blitzesQuick, controlled footworkAggressive, unconventional technique in pass protection can catch defenders off guardNot always pretty, but consistently gets the job doneWeaknessesStruggles at times against speed rushersAngles to block defenders on the second level can be sloppyLack of ideal length for an OTCan his unconventional technique work consistently in the NFL?Tall frame can lead to leverage and balance difficulties at timesGrade: 1.5 (late first-early second)AnalysisWhen I first watched Kaleb McGary, there were certainly aspects of his game that I liked. His physicality, athletic ability, and football IQ all stood out—but I couldn’t get past his technique, which seemed unusual at best. That’s why I graded him out as my OT9: he was well-worth a Day 2 pick, but concerns about his “lack” of technique and short arms for the position gave me pause. After reading Cover 1’s excellent breakdown of McGary’s technique—which everyone should do, because the article explains it better than I possibly could—I began to see McGary in a whole new light.What I mistook for poor or erroneous pass protection technique was actually a completely different style of offensive line play. Calling it “unconventional” might be the best way to phrase it—because as McGary’s film can attest, it wasn’t as if he was getting beat often on film. While his aggressive pass protection style can lead to some ugly reps, one thing seemed to stand out about McGary: his play wasn’t always pretty Youth Qadree Ollison Jersey , but it consistently got the job done.The aggressive style can lead to McGary getting beat off the line by speed, but it can also allow him an opportunity to recover. I highlighted a particular play on Twitter, which you can view below:Aggressive pass protection does two things that standard, “passive” pass protection does not: 1) it engages the defender earlier than normal, forcing them to adjust their plan of attack, and 2) it creates a wider pocket by putting more distance between the edge rusher and the QB. In the above play, McGary gets beat off the line, but it doesn’t end up affecting the play. The defender was forced to take a very wide angle to get around the aggressive set of McGary, which essentially forced him out of the play.With aggressive pass protection, however, you’re more likely to get beat on inside moves and can fall prey to stunts and twists. This is why it’s important for OTs using this style to have very good blocking instincts and football IQ. McGary would often anticipate his opponent’s responses to his aggressive sets, stonewalling their inside moves by waiting them out or handing them off to the guard. Here’s a particularly impressive example of McGary’s awareness as a blocker:I honestly don’t know how he saw that blitzer. Perhaps I’ll ask him about it if I ever get the chance. Until then, I’m assuming he simply sensed a disturbance in the force.Can McGary’s style work consistently in the NFL, against the most athletically gifted and savvy defensive linemen in the world? That’s the big question—but it’s not like every OL coming out using traditional technique is guaranteed success, either.There’s a lot to like about McGary outside of his technique. You can tell he’s a player that Dan Quinn would love—he’s nasty and can be downright dominant at the point of attack. I counted at least a dozen pancake blocks. His anchor is strong and he’s very good at handling power rushers. McGary is always looking for work as a blocker Black Desmond Trufant Jersey , making him a big factor on screens and broken plays. Here’s a particularly good example:As you can see, McGary’s got plenty of athleticism and tons of experience as a zone blocker. The one thing I could nitpick is that he doesn’t always take great angles to second-level defenders, but his punch is so strong that it didn’t usually matter.McGary isn’t a perfect prospect. He needs to improve his game against pure speed rushers. His aggressive sets have helped him in this regard, but he’ll need to keep working at it to find success against Von Miller types. Physically, he’s got great size (6’7, 318) but less than ideal length (only 33 inch arms, 7th percentile for OTs). That could give him some problems against players with truly elite length in the NFL. His frame sometimes led to issues with balance and leverage, which is to be expected when you’re 6’7.At the end of the day, Kaleb McGary is a very good RT prospect. He’s got the attitude that Quinn covets from his linemen. The run blocking chops and athleticism are there, and he’ll bring an element of nastiness to the line that fans have been clamoring for. Can his unconventional pass protection technique succeed in the NFL? Who knows, but I know it’ll be exciting to watch. If anyone can make it work, it’s McGary. Also, I submit one final scouting note—keep in mind, the following video is NSFW:I rest my case.