Organizing at 2005

After numerous years of threatening to get organized, this year it is truly happening.  It’s a slow go, but I’m getting there.  How do I get there you ask…well, let me give you an example!

The 2005 Washington Redskins…and google docs.  That’s right two things that have nothing to do with each other have come together for today’s post.  A post about a team that was anxiety inducing to watch and a blast to look back through the cards from that year. 

Now, when I mention google docs…there are layers to this.  I like, well…I require and love organization.  I can’t stand it when things are not in the place I expect them to be.  I also love and require a ‘complete’ version of something.  If is buy #3 and #7 of something, it’s only a matter of time before I’m searching for numbers 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.  I could go on too depending on when it all ends, but I think you get the idea.  I’m a completionist…not sure that’s a word, but neither was ‘blog’ 15 years ago.  I like to have a COMPLETE list of things.  That’s an incredible challenge when dealing with sports cards, especially modern sports cards… 

Parallels

Rainbows

Inserts

Variations

Serial Numbers

SP’s

SSP’s

1 of 1’s

The list goes on and on and on and I want my list to contain each and every single one of these cards.  Now, I know I won’t get everyone.  That’s insanity and I don’t have that kind of cash.  That’s not the point.  The point is the chase.  The pursuit of the low hanging Topps flagship vs. the extra hard to find Upper Deck something or another for a specific year with a specific color variation and the SN on the back…or front.  (Do we have opinions on where those should be?  Front or Back?  I’m a back of the card guy FWIW).  So, in order to get a complete list, or at least that I can feel is 97% complete I take the inventory of cards from the Beckett database and Trading Card Database and combine them into one google sheet…here’s the Washington Redskins version (name change will happen at some point soon…).  Insane I know.  The list covers every card, some objects and a few magazines from what I could find from 1935 – Today.  That’s upwards of 70,000 cards….seems like there would be more, but 70k is what I like to call – A SHIT TON – of cards.  The frightening part is that I’m sure I’m missing a few.  I’ve already found a few cards I have that are not in the google doc.  It’s only maddening if I know about the missing misses…a bit of Schrödinger’s plates going on…ok, maybe not.  So, yeah…the list…it’s insane.  I’ve tracked everything up to 2005 and have combined the lists up to 2012.  Some more work ahead of me, but that’s part of the hobby I enjoy.

Here’s the list…if you dare!

So, the cards from 2005.  The team from 2004.  The pain.

Here’s a sampling of what I’ve checked off the list, an image of a few of my favorite cards or players from the ’04 season and ’05 designs.

First off, the Quarterbacks.  When you have two QB’s that’s ok, because a great backup is hard to come by…but when you have three…that’s too many.  It’s like an exponential thing.  Two is ok, Three is what the hell are you even doing!

Next player is LaVar Arrington.  For a few years he was hands down my favorite player.  Never really reached superstardom at Linebacker, but he was a solid player.  Then a few injuries piled up and he was quickly overlooked and shuttled off for other players that didn’t really match his caliber.  Seeing him in New York as a Giant was a heartbreaker for me…

Chris Cooley was great.  He had a tremendous sense of humor and once even showed off his prick while (I’ll let you google that and have it in your search history) snapping a pick of the playbook…not sure what was more egregious…NFL playbooks are sacred.

Santana MOSS!  Absolutely loved this guy in Washington…so much so, that I’ve been collecting his Jets cards as well.  He was so incredible and passionate, how could you not want a guy like that on your team.  He was traded for Laveranues Coles…who, ironically was traded to Washington from the Jets originally.  The second trade worked out better for my team.

The next guy, Carlos Rogers was…well…I really thought he would be special.  A high draft pick in ’05 that just didn’t pan out as a big time player in DC.  He moved on to the 49ers and had a bit of a rebirth, then on to the Raiders where he ended his career.

Ok.  Here are a couple Miami guys…I could have grouped Moss in here as well, but these two were special.  I love Portis.  One of my top 5 Washington guys of all time…Love everything he brought to the team, including Sean Taylor.  Not saying that Portis was the reason Taylor came to the team, but he did push hard.  To be honest, I don’t think it would have been wise for Joe Gibbs to pass on such a talented player…still miss ST21.

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The last group of guys are Redskins greats, guys that had a huge impact on the organization.  All three are in the Redskins ring of Fame.  Bobby Mitchell and Charley Taylor are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

oh yeah, found this one too…Alex Smith Rookie Card…along with one of the numerous Browns QB draft picks Charlie Frye…and future Browns QB Jason Campbell. Let’s play six degrees of separation with these guys some day.

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Since 2020 is almost done. YAY. I thought i’d share the most 2020 video from one of my favorite groups in the world. RTJ – Run The Jewels. Love these guys!

Crazy Card Show success!

This past Saturday, Mall 205 had their monthly show (although there wasn’t one in February).  I hadn’t been to a show since the end of last year (although I stopped at the Cedar Hills show for about 20 minutes) and was really excited to see some new product and pick up a few cards for my various personal collections (way too many of those things for me right now).  As usual, I stopped by Tom’s table.

Tom is always my first stop.  He’s extremely personable, easy to talk to and is more than happy to pull cards for the regulars…like me.  He also works at Check Out my Cards (COMC.com for the cool kids)…which is cool…really cool.  They seem to be one of the few companies that are working to strengthen the hobby rather than dictate it’s direction.  Their new plan for databasing cards seems like a wonderful idea and one that the hobby is in desperate need of.  I’m not really sure how the details work for the database creation, but that’s not my job to figure out…only to contribute in some way.

Now that i’ve completely lost track of what I was talking about…I should get back to the card show.

Tom’s table.

So a few weeks ago, I sent Tom a list of cards to fill my Redskins Topps team sets and didn’t think much of it.  Apparently Tom took the list very seriously and hit me off with a huge stack of cards from the 70’s and 80’s nearly obliterating my checklist.

Redskins Lot 1

So freakin’ wonderful.  Plus!  He put them all in penny sleeves and top loaders.  Double Plus!  He told me he pulled most of them off the COMC.com inventory, which saved me a few dollars in shipping and more than likely a few dollars in the asking price.

Redskins Lot 1:2Redskins Lot 2:2

Needless to say, I was blown away.  The only bad thing was the stack of cards was going to cost me my card show budget for the day.  I sifted through what Tom had and saw he had a few other cards I didn’t need.  Pulled the ones I wanted and needed and we made a deal that allowed me to troll around the show for a few other bargains. I was more than happy to part with a chunk of my cash for this chunk of cards.

I need to get my checklists updated for the 90’s and 2000’s now.  Gotta keep Tom busy, you know.  Once again, Tom, if you are reading this…thank you very much.  You saved me some money and no telling how much time.

Here is a peek of some of the other Redskins cards I got from Tom.  New stuff and some rando’s that will soon be crossed off a list thas has yet to be generated.  Yes, those are mini cards, not some weird proportion bending photo.

Redskins Lot 3

There were also these kids.  Some new rookies, some Cooleys and some 2000’s thingys.

Redskins Lot 4

I did pick up a few other Harper’s, Hanley’s and Strasburg’s at the show which I hope to scan and post in the coming days (months depending on the lil boys needs…)

 

One Free Cooley

I stopped in to my LCS last weekend to see what was out and chat with Rick for a little bit.  He was kind enough to have a sweet little piece of cardboard behind the counter waiting for me.  This beauty from the Donruss Threads 2009 set of Chris Cooley.  A piece of the sleeve trim dual colored jersey card numbered 37/50.

09 DT Chris Cooley Jersey 37:50

Not bad for a free piece of Cooley paraphernalia!

Cedar Hills Show – The low budget version ep.IV

I’m finding that scanning cards is an arduous task.  I imagine this is why so many bloggers choose to not scan that many cards or just eventually allow their blogs to fade to black.  So I’m going to ride out the next couple of posts with some more cards that are sitting in my queue.  As you would imagine they are all Redskin cards, so I understand if you stop reading from this point on…but you really shouldn’t bail…this is going to be a great visit.  I’m feeling wordy tonight and have a ton of stuff to show.

Buckle your seat belts.

Digging through dusty old boxes gives you time to think about things.  Things you could have done.  Things you should be doing and most importantly, things you completely struck out on.  That’s what this trifecta of young, future stars represents for me.  Justin Tryon and Malcolm Kelly were products of a Cerrato draft.  Those last two words are almost always followed by the following two words ‘…which sucked’.  Look at those crazy eyes!

cerrato_vinny

Vinny did all he could to single handedly destroy the franchise for many many years.  Constantly selecting guys that should have never been drafted or shouldn’t have been drafted so high.  That’s all assuming, of course that the Redskins had picks to make.  Cerrato hyped Kelly up so much that he mad me believing we had the next Art Monk on the roster.  Unfortunately for Kelly, he had Greg Oden knees and never really played that much…but made some nice money.  Tryon was supposed to be a nice kick/punt returner and future cornerback.  Neither really happened and he was eventually jettisoned to Indy.  Thompson was a free agent pick up for the Redskins in 1999, never really making an impact with the team.  BUT he was the homecoming King for Cedar Hill High School, so that’s a thing.  He did two things I will never accomplish. Play in the NFL and be called a King by anyone, ever…

00 Tryon Kelly Thompson

Speaking of big disappointments, Michael Westbrook.  This guy and Health Shuler should have been the next great QB/WR duo, but both never really panned out.  When these cards initially came out, they were probably going for $8-$10 each…now, you can pick the trifecta up for fifteen cents.  Don’t let your kids ‘invest’ in cards.

95 PR Michael Westbrook

This is a great trio right here.  B-Mitch, Stephen Davis and Champ.  Mitchell should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame already!  Dude is only behind Jerry Rice in all purpose yards for a career.  JERRY RICE!  That’s it.  Anytime you are on a list and the only guy ahead of you is Jerry Rice, you are a winner.  Davis is really special…He’s from Spartanburg, SC.  I have lots of family there.  I should write something about him soon, very soon.  Champ.  This is the guy that brought Portis to DC.  There was a time that I really disliked (read hated) Champ.  Anytime a player begs to not play for my favorite team, they might as well be dead to me.  But, being the forgiving man that I am, I have seen the light and appreciate his phenomenal career.  I just wish he could have had his success with the Redskins.

00 TO Mitchell Davis Bailey

The three greatest Redskin quarterbacks.  Sammy, Sonny and Joe.  Three photos.  Three face mask bars.  These guys are old school like suede pumas.  Sammy Baugh was a Texan and was one of the main catalyst for the forward pass in the NFL.  If money was no object, he is a guy that I would love to get some vintage stuff of…instead i’m relegated to reprints and new releases.  The Sonny card is pretty fantastic.  Love the colors and the determination in his eyes is priceless.  Plus I love the spear helmet.  The Theismann sticker is actually a duplicate, but i figured for a nickel, you couldn’t go wrong.

00 TU Sammy Sonny Joe

Mark Rypien was one of the three quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl under Joe Gibbs.  He’s sort of a local guy…went to Washington State and still lives in Spokane I believe.  He’s also made a few appearances in Vancouver just across the big river.

92 FL Mark Rypien Performance Highlights

Who loves parallels.  I always have to double check these things…’I know i’ve seen this card before…do I have this one or that one?’  #cardcollectorproblems

08 TO Cooley Portis Moss

08 TK Moss Portis Campbell

I’m losing gas here, so i’m just going to show you the goods.  Coles was annoying, so glad he’s didn’t last long.  LaVar was the first jersey I ever bought and Gardner goes along side Westbrook for good, but not as good as he could have been.

04 UD Coles Arrington Gardner

 

09 UD Campbell Fletcher Randle El

06 TO Cooley Betts Portis

00 Mayhew Davis Green

00 Gilbert Davis Portis

 

I love the Redskins.  This is MY team.  I love going through all of the old cardboard and seeing guys that had great careers.  Some players have the ability to meet or exceed their talent while others fail to live up to whatever standards have been set for them.  As a fan, it’s difficult to understand that these guys deal with a lot each day and sacrifice their physical health and well being to entertain us.  So that said, I would personally like to apologize to Champ Bailey, Lav….Coles (sorry dude, your name is weird), Michael Westbrook, Sean Gilbert and Rod Gardner.  I have said many bad things about you guys in the past and it wasn’t fair to you.  You have accomplished things that I wish I could have done…and made a lot of fans happy (or pissed! Vinny!)  That’s what I was really thinking about when sorting through these pieces of cardboard, not getting upset with these men in Burgundy and Gold.  They are doing their best.

This was probably one of the most rambling posts about nothing I have ever done.  It will get better…

 

Bonus Redskins and a gift package

As I mentioned in the previous post Colbey from Cardboard Collections hooked me up with a few extra Redskin cards, which was very cool.  As I was flipping through the team bag of cards, I noticed most of the cards I do not have for my team sets, so they will be great additions.  Thank, Colbey!

Here is a peek at the cards that stood out for me.

09 TA Brian OrakpoThe Orakpo is really nice.  One of my favorite players on the team and a Rookie card to boot.  This one of those cards that i’ve never seen before either…so a really nice piece of cardboard.

09 SP Clinton Portis Jason CampbellNext is a couple of blasts from the not so far past.  SP Threads of Portis and Campbell…wish I had done a better job of aligning the card banding.

13 UD Robert Griffin III Football HeroesColbey also sent the two Griffin’s from this years Upper Deck set that I noticed on his blog…and really wanted for my RG3 personal collection.  Love the Baylor jerseys.

12 GG Moss Orakpo HankersonNext is a three card filmstrip of sorts of Moss, Orakpo and Hankerson.  I absolutely love the Orakpo photo…although it was used on the Topps issue as well…or at least the same pose…not really sure right now and too lazy to look it up.  The Hankerson card is a little disconcerting as it is cropped really poorly and he is chopped off at the ankles…not to mention the gigantic offensive lineman ass poking out from the right.  Ass.

09 DT Chris CooleyI’m ending with Captain Chaos, Chris Cooooooley because I don’t believe he will be back next year…and I hope he ends up retiring.  Can’t wait to watch him in the booth calling games in the future…or maybe he will become some crazy weed smoking hippy living in the hills and making pottery.

As I said, there were a lot of great cards and these were just a small handful of my favorites from Colbey.  Thanks again!

Top 12 All Time Redskins: Chris Cooley

Captain Chaos, Chris Cooley is next up on my all time favorite Redskins list, coming in at number 9.

10 LC Chris Cooley  Shirt off my Back 37:50

Cooley was drafted in 2004 and part of Joe Gibbs first draft class since returning to coach the Redskins.  The unheralded TE from Utah State ended up being selected in the 3rd round (81st overall) and was the 6th TE picked behind guys with marginal NFL success such as…Kellen Winslow, Benjamin Watson, Ben Troupe, Kris Wilson and Ben Hartsock.  Not sure why he was able to slip this deep in to the draft?  The only thing i could suspect was his performance at a small school in Utah (football small…)… it could also have been that he played in the Sun Belt conference.  Not exactly the SEC when it comes to talent pools.  This kind of oversight always happens to the small school kids.  You see guys that go to the tradition football powerhouses and get pushed to the top of the draft or taken higher than they should be and fail to meet the high NFL expectations.  I always love it when the small school guys succeed, kind of the all american redemption story.

10 PP Chris Cooley Jersey 94:150

Cooley became one of the leagues premier Tight Ends in 9 short seasons, and putting up solid numbers with a franchise that was nothing short of chaotic.  New coaches, coordinators and QB’s seemed to come through each year, but he always managed to put up solid numbers.

09 TC Chris Cooley Blue Refractor

One of my favorite stories was when the Redskins were looking at drafting him, Joe Gibbs fell in love with the guy and thought he was a Mormon, being from Utah and all, you know?  That’s where they keep the Mormons and all of the fine folks of Utah are indeed Mormon!  Joe Gibbs couldn’t have been more wrong.  Captain Chaos was a beer drinking, prank calling wild child that let everything hang out…literally…or figuratively…whatever.

foghorn-cooley

One of my favorite Cooley moments was his second season with the Redskins, 2005, agains the Dallas Cowboys.  The Redskins were in the midst of turning around the season and making a late season push, needing to win out to even have hope of making the playoffs.  That game was a huge breakout moment for Cooley as he put up 3 of the Redskins 4 first half TD’s, with the last being a beautiful 30 yard run down the sidelines.  I remember shouting COOOOOOOOLEY as loud as i could at my tv, just in case anyone could hear me.  Such an exciting game and fantastic season.  It’s moments like these that make you love your sports team…and make everything seem so much enjoyable.

11 TT Chris Cooley Auto Jersey 11:25

The Redskins ended up winning the game 35-7 and making the playoffs.  They beat the Buccaneers in Tampa and traveled to Seattle where my wife and I attended our first Redskins game together.  Although the good guys lost, it was great to see my favorite team in a playoff game…how many kids get to do that!

11 LL Chris Cooley Auto 13:25

Cooley is also a bit of a renaissance man.  An artist, a painter and a potter.  He has had multiple gallery exhibits in DC and involved in the art community as well.  But instead of showing his art, i’m choosing to show his crusty heavy metaled out practice shorts…cause that’s just more fun!

cooley-metal-shorts

He also married a Redskins cheerleader, which is pretty cool…kind of high school-ish, but cool no less…

Cooley wife

…and eventually ended up wearing this at his wedding…what a guy!

chris-cooley-on-the-dancefloor

Last season was more than likely his last.  Cooley was cut just before the start of the season as the development of Fred Davis and transition of Niles Paul to TE made his role less critical.  It became pretty obvious that his tenure was coming to an end.  Cooley ended up coming back for 8 games last year but only caught one pass.  At this point, i’m hoping he hangs it up and does the traditional signing of a one day contract as a Redskin.

IMG_0566

All Cooley fans remember the great stories about him…his oddball personality and all around fun lovin attitude from a one of a kind character.  He reminded me a lot of John Riggins with some of the things he did on and off the field and will alway be one of my favorite Redskins.

Chris Cooley

#9 – Chris Cooley

#10 – Gary Clark

#11 – Brian Orakpo

#12 – The Hogs

Check out my Cards…no seriously…

Hey, check out my cards!

I’m just getting around to posting my recent purchases from COMC and am pretty happy about all the new shiny-ness and extra thick card stock i received from the state up north.

One of the many things I love about COMC is that i can add items to my cart and sit on it for a couple of days or weeks and come back to add or subtract anything, then place the order when i am damn good and ready.  This process keeps my compulsiveness with cards under control.  It also allows me a chance to double check on whether or not i already have the card…i’ve actually bought the same card a couple of times from these guys…IKNOWRIGHT!  Card collector problems…

As you would expect, my entire purchase was Redskin players.  When i start loading up the cart i tend to focus on 2 or 3 guys, this time it was 4.  Clinton Portis, Chris Cooley, Brian Orakpo and RGIII.  I was looking for cards that spoke to me in a visual way, and they had to have a serial number on it somewhere.  Any jersey or autos were targets of my visual affection, but only the ones i could afford…still couldn’t pull the trigger on an RGIII auto.  The Mall 205 show is this weekend and assuming my wifey lets me go, i may get lucky and find something in my range that meets my on card auto goal.  I’ve been selling a lot of old CD’s and records, so i have some extra $20’s burning holes in my denim.

Now on to the loot

2013-03-04 22.11.44

Initially i was going to do separate posts for each player, but then realized that i didn’t want to do 5 posts this evening…plus we have a screaming baby that doesn’t understand how to go to sleep without screaming.

So here goes.

Clinton Portis or C-Po

11 NT Clinton Portis Colossal 23:25 03 SP Clinton Portis Supreme Signatures Auto

This is a beast of a card, if i ever get to a point where i hate Portis, this can easily act as a coaster or be cut in to one of those cool ninja stars.

10 FS Clinton Portis Autograph 13:35

Chris Cooley or Captain Chaos

12 PS Chris Cooley 27:49 09 DC Chris Cooley VIP Membership 142:299 06 SS Chris Cooley Scorecard 3:100

Brian Orakpo or Rak

…why yes, it is quite Mammoth.

12 PP Brian Orakpo Mammoth Jersey 41:99Love the Prime Sig cards, nice stock and good vignetting on the photos.

12 PS Brian Orakpo Prime Proof 1:49

One day, this card will be a part of my Ultimate Collection…as soon as i pick up other Orakpo cards.

09 UD Brian Orakpo Ultimate Collection Rookies 263:375

RGIII or Bobby Three Sticks

12 SP Robert Griffin III

this one is shiny and makes me smile, except for the giant Cowboy star in the background surrounded by other little Cowboy stars…who designed this crap!

12 LV Robert Griffin III All Rookie Team

and of course the Rookie Stallion…with the flying locks from under the helmet

12 PC Robert Griffin III Rookie Stallions

and a nice die-cut with pink sleeves

12 PC Robert Griffin III ROY Contender

A Redskins Post

When I re-started this blog, I wanted it to be a way of tracking my new Redskins cards and display them to the other bloggers out there.  I figured it would also be a great way to fill in some of the holes in my collection, while helping others through trades.  Another reason was really to show off some of the great card designs.  Although the Redskins may not be one of your favorite teams, I think these pieces of cardboard can be appreciated by all sports fans and collectors.

Since the season ended with a big loud thud and the franchise QB laying face down on the dirt in Landover, i haven’t been overly excited about buying new Redskins cards.  As with anything, time heals all wounds.  So i’m back in the saddle and purchasing new Redskin cards.

Part of my visit to the Sports Room on Friday was to see what new Redskin cards they had for sale.  In the past these guys have been great about putting together fantastic team packs for a very affordable price.  Through the years, I have managed to pick up the majority of the Redskin sets as there are not too many fans here in Portland – HTTR!  With this visit, they had a couple new packs for $3 and $4.  That’s a pretty great deal for any collector.

Buying these things is a bit of a gamble since i can only see the front and back card but i did notice multiple thick cards as well as some shiny ones…PLUS, you just cannot beat that $4 sticker!

Each pack turned out to be a great deal for me as i didn’t have most of the cards.  They were from higher end sets that i have had to avoid this year due to our new child and the fact that some of these boxes and packs are just too expensive for me right now.  I’ve found that this is the best way for me to collect, just wait out all the rush to buy the new stuff and pick up the cards that i collect, rather than buying boxes and getting players i don’t really care about.  ALTHOUGH, i still reserve the right to buy boxes…they are still fun to open.

12 Momentum Fred Davis

There were a couple serial numbered cards and new pieces to add to my PC.  Gotta love it when you can buy cards you need to complete a checklist rather than something to simply put in a box and store away, never to be seen again…

12 Elite Brian Orakpo 12 Inception Fred Davis

There were quite a few Santana Moss cards that filled the gaps in their respective binder.  I loved the Momentum cards this year.  Nice cards on thick pieces of card stock and a simple, clean design.  I really love the font at the top of the cards too, nice and clean with no serifs.

12 Momentum Santana Moss

12 Finest Santana Moss

12 Absolute Santana Moss

A very nice serial numbered Art Monk card as well.  One of my all time favorites…it took way too long for him to get in to the Hall of Fame by the way.

12 Contenders Art Monk 508:897

The topper of the whole visit and the reason why i love stopping at my LCS is this card.

09 Elite Chris Cooley 47:47

Rick just gave it to me, had it sitting on the shelf waiting for me too, pretty awesome!  A nice shiny, die cut serial numbered card of Captain Chaos!  Looking a little closer, you see that it’s number 47/47 and Cooley wears 47.  The 47 trifecta!  Rick tried to convince me that this is a great card because it’s a 1/1!  Not really buying it, but thanks for the free Captain Chaos card!  As much as i love Cooley, I really hope he retires this offseason and doesn’t play for another team next year.  Can’t really see him making the team next year since he only had 1 catch.  A great career no less.

That’s it, my latest Redskin haul.  All together, there were 36 unique cards in the two team packs and i needed exactly 25 of them.  Not a bad deal.

Free Cards!

Hey kids, i just scored some free cards! Ain’t life GRAND!

One of the great things about Dave and Adam’s card world is the free stuff they send when you order from them, love it.

With my jumbo ’13 Topps box and presell Heritage stuff, i got four blaster boxes of 2011 Rookies and Stars. I bought a few of these cards last year and wasn’t too impressed with them, but hey, free is free. I was hoping to pull some Redskin inserts i don’t have yet…didn’t really happen, but managed to get a couple cards i didn’t have for my team sets. Also pulled a couple jersey rookie cards and some weird ass burnt orange or red or whatever color it is, I had no idea these were a thing.. Can’t be too rare as i got 4 of them in the 4 boxes. All in all, not a bad group of cards. Most of them will end up getting sorted and put away in boxes, never to be seen again until i can trade them or find some time to post them on the ebay.

Here is the notable haul for your viewing pleasure.

The Redskin collective. Funny thing about these cards is that they all came in the same box along with the Hankerson (below). Can you feel the heartache in the face of Aldrick Robinson and his photoshopped jersey, the kid looks befuddled! I needed this card, so i feel good about it, just not comfortable with his look on this one. The other card i didn’t have was the McNabb card. The reason i didn’t have it was because i refused to purchase it on a few occasions. I liked McNabb as an Eagles QB, played well but never great. So when he was traded to the Redskins a couple years ago, i about shit a brick…sideways. This old crapper is coming to play for my team? Seriously? Luckily he played poorly from the get go, so there were no long term plans to keep him around…AND it opened the phenomenal RGVIII phase, that’s Rex Grossman, number 8. That’s a whole ‘nother other post.

Redskins cards

Here is the Hankerson card.  I wish this guy would get rid of the alligator arms, could be a great receiver for years to come for the Redskins.

Leonard Hankerson Rookie Revolution

So, i was speaking to my wife and apparently these cards look gold to her. Burnt orange, Red, gold…don’t really care. They are just odd to me, especially the way Best and Breaston are slowly bursting out of the faded edges. Nothing much else to say. I may do more research to get an idea of print run on these or who they were meant for (target, wal mart…) or not. They are what they are.

Burnt Orange background

The next group is the shiny and somewhat glossy Longevity cards. I think these are a much better parallel than the gold aura gems from above. Panini managed to do some killer super font type branding on these guys, but I think it works nicely here. They are numbered to 249, so that’s good. The two QB’s are marginal at best, so I don’t expect these guys to skyrocket in price. If there’s a Texans fan out there, I got a card for you!

Longevity of 249

Last up are the jersey cards. I have somewhat of an affinity for really thick cards. Their nice and hearty plus they always have a different sound to them. Almost a little hollow sounding…or tinny? Not sure. Both guys are WR’s and were rookies as the name of the set would suggest.  I know Greg Little has shown some flashes of brilliance, but it’s been tempered by McCoy and Weeden’s ability to get him the ball.  The back of the card mentions his fanatical attraction to Anquan Boldin and Andre Johnson, which is great because they are both fantastic WR’s…not sure if Little can get to their level, but he’s still young.  He is also wearing double zero, which is not good for binary coding…gotta think he could have picked some number, any number and would have been ok, right?

Greg Little Studio Rookies 291:299

The other guy is just that…the other guy.  I think i heard of him on last season’s hard knocks, but don’t really remember.  His cut jersey is a little nicer and he appears to have numerous tattoos.  When are they going to come out with tattoo cards?  They could call be rip cards called tear for tats or something more witty than that.

Clyde Gates Rookie Revolution Jersey 187:299

that’s all i have for now.  I have a couple more box reviews i want to do and should get another few posts in soon, hope you are reading whomever you are.

enjoy. -HTTR!