Box Break: 2013 Bowman Football

Posted by cardboard hogs on July 14, 2013

I’ve been sitting on this box of bowman football for a few weeks now and decided that I want to post the results. Bowman football is something that I kind of like…and kind of don’t. Just like the baseball set, they have loads of rookies and prospects for your prospecting desires, which I don’t typically desire. I desire the Redskins players and rookies. The last couple of years i’ve only picked up a few packs but decided a box was needing to be purchased for this season. I’m chalking it up to my hangover excitement to the Redskins winning the NFC East last year…and having some nice draft picks. Most of what i’m going to show are the guys from my favorite team, but if you are putting this set together, let me know and i may have some cards to complete your sets.

Card Design: 3 of 5

The card designs are nice and simple white bordered cards with all the typical info you’d expect on a nice piece of cardboard.

The backs are pretty simple as well. You get stats from last season, where the guy was drafted and the school he ~~received a degree from~~ attended. The vet players have a short write up under ‘The Next Coming:’ where they tell you how great this guy can be and how well he runs routes, or something. They are often compared to another player, sort of a changing of the guard commentary on the player in hand. The rookies on the other hand are titled ‘Next in Line:’ which makes sense, although pretty similar to the next coming.

At this point, i’m not really sure what line some of these guys should be in? If you didn’t play much in your rookie season, would that make you the next in line or next coming? I’m confused.

Photography: 2.5 of 5

I gotta knock the photos a little on this set. The veteran cards are ok, but nearly every player is chopped off at the ankles again.

If you’ve read my previous box break posts and as someone who enjoys photography, you will know that this drives me insane. Cropping in important and can be the difference in a good and a great photo. These photos are just good. Now, the reason why i’m knocking these guys down even more is the photography and weak photoshop work on the rookies. Lots of airbrush work that created some soft imagery on the cards.

You would figure that if Topps can muscle their way in to being the only show in town for MLB, they could work some magic and get their NCAA license locked down to show the schools logos and proper colors.

Just a thought…

Hits: 4 of 5

The hits for this box were good, not great. I did pull a very pretty TJ McDonald sparkle card of some sort that is significantly nicer than the weird looking scan.

I also pulled this sweet ass Alfred Morris. This is more than likely, at least from what I can remember, the best Redskin hit i’ve ever pulled from a box of my own. This card is a beauty in person and with it being numbered to 99, i am pretty happy with the pull.

There are minis, which aren’t really much of a hit, but this one was.

Bowman did do a great job of having some good second or third tier college guys put their autographs on cards. With 5 autos in the box, i was quite happy…although some of my Cal friends probably won’t appreciate the two Stanfurd autos 🙂

Review

I jumped on the pre-sell of my jumbo box from Dave and Adams Cardworld pretty early on, so I didn’t have to pay the outrageous prices that the boxes inflated to. I have no idea why these guys went up so high so quickly. The rookie selection this year wasn’t nearly as great as last years was. At least not now. The overall look and feel of the cards was good, not great, but you really can’t go wrong with 5 autographs and a memorabilia card. I really did love that I pulled a ton of Redskins too, don’t typically get them in the boxes I break.

Cedar Hills Show – The low budget version ep.III

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 30, 2013

Today is supposed to be all time Redskin day, but i’m too lazy to scan the next guys cards…so i’m going to push that off until I have the energy.

With that out of the way, I still have a few cards from the show last week to go over…and here we go!

The first card is of Brad Johnson and his apparent twin. This card is all kinds of weird. It’s not a jersey card, but sure looks like one with his big ass 14 in the background. Love the mesh number look, it gives you that old school practice/game jersey look of a high school uni. This was the big breathable technology before the breathable technology got out of control by Nike, Adidas and every other sporting product company. I really don’t understand the dual training camp photo thing either. This is the first Flair Showcase card that I recall seeing, so I have no idea if this was the case will all the cards, or if Brad was just special. Seems to me that two completely random photos would have made more sense. When I first saw this card, I thought it was another dude dropping back to sling it downfield. But nope, that mid-drift belongs to James Bradley Johnson in both photos.

This card was one of those great finds in a 7/$5 box. A black bordered Robert Griffin III from the 2013 Bowman release. I just happened to stumble upon this card. The table where it was purchased always has a ton of boxes, and when i say a ton, i’m talking 12-15 5000 count boxes filled with all types of cards. Going through this guys stuff is a challenge in patience and stick-to-itiveness that was waring me out. I had stopped at 12 cards and the guy told me that he was going to charge me $10 if I bought 12 or 14 cards…oh yeah…i get two more cards. I grabbed a handful of cards and once i found this one (and the Hanley in the previous post) i was done. Not bad for a freebee?

This card was from a nickel box. Not bad. Nothing special, but not bad either.

The last card in tonights post is a bit of a sad story. When i go to the shows, I take a small box, the 200-300 count type boxes so I have something to carry my purchases in and still look around. This time though, I couldn’t find an empty box so I was forced to take a 100 count box, card collector problems…i know. 100 cards seems like a good size box, but when you consider the amount of damage you can do on a nickel and dime box, plus the top loaders, they fill up quickly. This card was purchased without a penny sleeve and i put it in the box, but somehow it ended up on the bottom about 14 top loader packed cards with a closed lid…needless to say, when i got home the card was dented and scratched to crap. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but it’s pretty dinged up. Phillip would not be happy with the condition of his rookie card. The good point is that I picked the card up for a dollar so it wasn’t too much of a heartbreaker, but a definite lesson was learned. Don’t smash your stuff.

Hope you guys have a good, short week!

An RG3 autograph has come to my home.

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 24, 2013

No words to describe this one.

This is the card that I wanted as soon as I saw it and I got a pretty good deal for it on e-bay. After a few months of stewing over the piece of cardboard I went for it!

I really couldn’t pass up an on-card autograph of the Washington Redskins Rookie of Year Quarterback numbered to 25 (21 for Sean Taylor?)

One of the dealers at the local card shows had a different, higher serial numbered version of the card for the same price I paid and so I’m glad I waited. This is going to be a great addition to my collection and something that I will always enjoy owning…I keep telling myself that…it may just become an investment, if that’s something you believe in with football cards.

The piece itself is in pretty spectacular condition and has no scratches or dents anywhere on the card, plus the corners are all sharp. This is one card that I had thought about getting graded, but am going to pass at this point as I just can do that to a card on my own…not yet at least.

Bonus Redskins and a gift package

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 11, 2013

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.

The 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.

Next 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.

Colbey 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.

Next 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.

I’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!

I’m Back with a Break!

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 10, 2013

It’s funny how quickly you can get used to something and it become part of your routine. I was on quite a nice little streak of doing a post a night, or at the very least one every other night for a few weeks…but it’s been 5 whole days since i’ve created a new post.

The reality is that i haven’t picked up many new things and i’ve been a little exhausted and wanted a break from work and collecting. The drive from Texas took a lot out of me plus i’ve been riding my bike to work in hopes of losing a few pounds and getting in better shape. Not to mention, the wife and I decided to take a couple days together and spend some time in Seattle with our son. I have been jonesing to take him to his first baseball game and with the Yankees in town for a weekend series and a couple of day games, it was the perfect weekend…plus the weather has been fantastic! So, now i’m back and will hopefully get a few posts up and running in the next few days. I’ve missed the past two card shows, so i’m really excited about the one in a couple of weeks and am hoping to pick up some more of the new Redskins Draft Picks. I always manage to walk away happy and pick up a handful of great new Redskin cards.

I received the Redskins (and Dolphins) cards from Colbey at Cardboard Collections for his 2013 Score Box Break prior to heading out for the weekend, but wanted to post what I received.. He was kind enough to send a whole bunch of other great cards that I will get to in my next post, but for this one, I wanted to show all of the Redskin cars and the rookie cards from the Dolphins. This was my first online box break and it was cool to partake in the break. It’s a great way to get the cards that I want without investing in a box for myself and being stuck with a bunch of cards that don’t excite me as much as the Redskin cards do…I hope to get involved in more for the future.

First up, the base cards of the two great Rookies that got the team moving in a whole new direction. RG3 and The Butcher.

My Redskins can’t catch a break in My Cardboard Mistress Football Contest, especially against those pesky Giants, but it’s really nice to see RG3 break away on a card against the New York Football Giants.

Love the landscape cards Score put out this year, really nice job…and i believe this is a photo of Alfred Morris’ first NFL Touchdown.

I love both of the jumping receiver photos. Santana was one of the few receivers that was able to catch a ball in that Steelers game where the recievers had 11 drops and did nothing to win a game that was very win-able. The Garcon card is beautiful against the Cowboys in the Thanksgiving Day game. I haven’t screamed at a TV in so long as I did this game…it started with screams of joy and excitement and moved to screams of panic and concern as the Cowboys inched back in to it. Luckily the good guys won.

No idea what games these cards are from, but I’m glad Fletcher will be running out of the fog filled helmet for at least one more year. Also can’t wait to see how Kerrigan does this year with another successful season under his belt. He could become an elite LB in the league if he can get some help from a healthy Orakpo.

Sure hope Fred Davis can come back from the achilles tear and pick up where he left off…he can be a beast!

Here is a couple of nice cards from ol’ Bobby Three Sticks.

I kind of think the future is now with this guy…although, running backs tend to have short careers. Here’s hoping he has a great one that lasts a few years.

A nice parallel of London Fletcher.

David Amerson was taken in the second round and should become a nice player and hopefully can start before the year is out. The weakest area for the Redskins in the past few seasons has definitely been their secondary. The team did a good job of addressing that issue in the draft, now the players have to perform.

Here are the Dolphins rookies. I’m kind of excited to see Dion Jordan play. He was really solid at Oregon and can be a supremely talented Defensive End in the league. One thing about these Score retro cards that i wished they would have done was make them a studio portrait like the originals…I think that was what made them classics. A bunch of young guys with hopes of NFL stardom looking in to the camera lens…rather than some sideline photo. They are still well done though.

My last card purchase in the Alamo City

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 2, 2013

As i’ve mentioned in previous posts, I spent last week and a part of this week moving my mom from San Antonio to her new home in Portland. She is making this move to be closer to her only son and first grandson…and it’s a pretty big move for her. We moved to San Antonio in 1979 and remained there for most of our lives. Both of my parents worked for the Air Force and if you are a military person, you are aware that San Antonio is a large hub for military families to work and retire. But my mom has decided to retire in Portland and we are very happy to have her here.

So when I was in San Antonio, one of my goals in a short window of time, was to find Sports Cards Plus and pick up some cardboard for the road. When I left town, I had not visited this shop but had heard great things about it from random postings on line as well as Panini’s blog. Finding this shop for me was tough as San Antonio has grown 1,000x larger than when I left 10 years ago…so getting around was quite a task. I felt like a lost tourist looking Pee-Wee’s bike in the Alamo basement. After 45 minutes of driving and sitting in traffic i find my destination and walk in…My first impressions about the store were pretty high. It was everything I believe a card shop should be. Lots of cards laying around and boxes filled with commons organized for set builders. Opened and unopened boxes of high end cards for those that want to buy an expensive pack or a really expensive box. Lots of great stuff on display…and I loved everything about the shop. I wish i could have gone here when I lived in San Antonio.

My time was limited in the shop, so i just poked around for a few minutes and was able to find some Redskins cards to fill my PC…and boy were they gems!

and this one…

and this guy…

I was able to find a nice Stephen Davis card…wish they had a second one so I could add it to the Redskins PC and my Stephen Davis PC.

I also picked up a couple packs of the new Archives football just for fun and pulled a sweet base card of RG3.

Box Break: 2012 Panini Prizm

Posted by cardboard hogs on May 16, 2013

Prizm has had a huge impact on the hobby this year starting with the basketball version, to football and now to baseball. I picked up the football box a while ago and am just now getting around to reviewing it. Spoiler alert, i really liked what i saw.

My favorite part of the box is that the cover image of RG3 was removable and created a nice box topper, top box-er of sorts.

Card Design – 5 of 5

The cards for this set are awesome. Panini did a great job of bringing in the shininess that we like and adding in some texture as well. The cards have a feel of something from the future and the future is really cool…and shiny. Everything pops in the card and has a great thickness with the card stock used.

Photography – 5 of 5

Each image appears to jump out of the card. The players blend in and out of the border of the card and each picture has a bit of a 3D affect to them. Again, there is minimal processing and a very high image quality. The best part for me is the slight recess that traces the border of the player putting the focus on their intensity and emotion.

Hits – 3 of 5

The hits for me were terrible, but hey, the base cards are great and I don’t think you buy this brand for the hits. You buy them for the quality of card along with the strong visual and textural quality of each card. There were a couple of nice inserts in the box that offered a wide variety of players from Page to Peyton.

The Luke Kuechly auto is really cool and he seems to be one of the next great linebackers in the NFL.

There was a redemption

and there was a parallel die cut

Review

This is a great product and something i will be picking up next year. I’m not a fan of the baseball version since i can’t get over the lack of logos or photoshopped hats and jerseys. The quantity and quality of cards was great and i was able to get some of the base Redskins cards in my box.

Overpay, Underpay or just walk away?

Posted by cardboard hogs on April 23, 2013

I’ve never been a big fan of the Beckett price guides and think the ‘pricing’ guys have a little part in the destroying of my childhood hobby, but that’s just my opinion…and i have been called an asshole many times over. With both being the case, i never really have an idea how much a card costs or what it’s market value is. I tend to just look at the card and decide if it’s a $5 card or $20 card to me. I believe that the value of a card varies per person and so i don’t put too much weight in the value of cards, but rather what value it has TO ME. Right now, anything with RG3 has a ton of value for these eyes of mine (I’ve used value way too many times in this paragraph)…The last Cedar Hills show i went to, i purchased two RG3 cards from two different tables. Overpaid for one and underpaid for the other. Both guys asked me what i would pay for the card and here is how is went down.

The First Table: I was searching through a box of unorganized football cards from this past season and noticed a Prizm RG3 with a different photo than i had seen before. I put it aside and pulled a few other cards out including Alfred Morris serial number, Kirk Cousins chrome and a bunch of other Redskins you may not care about. I got about 15 cards and laid them out in front of the guy and reviewed them…he took a look at them. As we were reviewing the cards, I had a number in my head. $50. The number in his head was a much better deal for me. $20. I was a little confused and stared at him for way too long for two guys to be staring at each other over football cards. After we both realized how awkward this moment had become, I agreed to pay his price with little to no resistance. As i walked away from his table i felt a little guilt, but rationalized that it was his price and not mine and that i simply got a good deal. I agreed to pay what he was requesting. As I left his table, I did a quick Ebay search and was told by my iphone that this card alone is being sold for $10 to $20, so i felt pretty good about my purchase. Big smiles for me.

The Next table: This guy has been at the past couple of shows and has a bunch of cards laid out on his table in penny sleeves and top loaders as you do when you sale cards. No prices though. This kind of annoys me, because as i have mentioned, i have no idea how much something should cost and i am a sucker for the Burgundy and Gold on cardboard, especially when it’s got Bobby Three Sticks on it. The guy has this Leaf Metal Universe card in a screw down case, he must have felt it screw-worthy…which in turn I thought, i just may need to own this card. Now, I don’t know if it was the all white jersey, or the shiny metallic card or the screw down case that made me think this card was something i had to have or if it is just my addiction to the Redskins. The guy asks me what i think he should sale the card for. Numbers run through my mind like John Nash…60, 20, 50, 35, 40…it took about 5 minutes for me to come up with those 5 numbers until i blurted out TWENTY! The guy smiled and says…’Damn man, you must have been reading my mind! That’s the exact same number i was thinking!’ How convenient, eh? It’s like asking a painter for a quote on your house and you tell him, ‘I think we may have Lead paint’ and sure enough the bid comes back with an estimate for Lead paint without the guy even testing…(that’s a whole ‘mother blog). Back to my point…this was the last card of the show for me as it was my last $20. I leave the mall and get to the car to look up the prices on ebay and they were maxing out at $10 with most of them going for $5. CRAP! I got hustled!. Getting hustled made me a little upset though…completely unfair as I just got a bargain and now i overpaid. Karma works quick in my world.

The lesson here kids is that beckett can only be loved by those that care about the cost or perceived worth of things…just kidding, that’s not the lesson. Just a cheap, unwarranted shot by me. The real point is that you should always do a little research before you purchase anything to find out how much it should cost YOU.

One thing I’ve learned about collecting cards is that this hobby can rob you blind. It’s so easy to see these pieces of cardboard as an investment. But at the end of the day, most of them are simply little pieces of joy that have varying value to each of us. I am a collector, not an investor. I collect because i enjoy the pursuit of the cards, not how much money i can make when i flip the cards for more money…that said, don’t forget to check out my ebay store.

good night to you and yours.

A Goal has been reached

Posted by cardboard hogs on April 4, 2013

I am finally able to cross off a collecting goal of mine for 2013.

An on card short print autographed card of the Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III has been obtained by me…and it’s quite beautiful.

I have been looking online at Ebay, COMC and Collector’s Revolution for a good deal on a RGIII on card auto and wasn’t too happy with paying what most of the cards were selling for. Some of them were way out of this guys price range and some were ridiculously priced for a chunk of cardboard. There were quite a few decent priced cards, but they were sticker autos which i was trying to avoid.

How did i get this card you ask? Well, as i’ve mentioned in the past, i’ve been selling off some old personal items like books and CD’s, using that money to purchase cards this year. With each transaction i made, i would put aside a little extra so when i found a nice card i liked i could jump on it. So i did last week. It’s not a perfect card by any means as most of these thicker and darker cards tend to be, but i absolutely LOVE the photo and design of the Inception cards. Not to mention the on card ink! This is always a huge plus for my collector’s eye. The card is also a short print Green variation numbered to 50.

I am happy to have this in my collection, now i’ve been debating whether or not to get it graded. I have never been someone to get a card graded and honestly feel like that’s one of the many things destroying this hobby…but if it preserves my card and can turn it in to a future investment, it might be worth it.

Thoughts?

Box Break: 2012 Topps Magic Football

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 27, 2013

A busted box of Topps Magic Football has been sitting on my stack of cards for some time now just waiting to get judged, and now is the time.

Magic was something that i got into (cards, not tricks) a couple of years ago on a whim at Target during a deodorant shopping event. I saw a blaster box just sitting there and thought it would be a cool purchase and was hooked from that point on. I loved the retro look and the college unis on simple borders. Loved it so much so that i ended up buy a few more boxes from Target but never completing the set or buying any hobby packs. The following year, 2010 i wanted to pick up a hobby box to see if i still had a crush on these pieces of cardboard and sure enough, the love was there. I loved the photography and simple borders as well as the card stock. Although i do love shiny cards, i am a sucker for matte finish stuff that is done well. Again, i bought a bunch of cards, but couldn’t be bothered with completing the set…just wanted the few Redskins and any hits i could pull. Now, in 2011, it got a little tricky…and extremely annoying. Magic had become a set that i was tuned in to on when it would be dropping and where i could pick up some good packs. BUT, as Topps likes to do sometimes, they changed the rules, moved the goal posts and upset this collector. The only way to get a box of Magic was to purchase them from their online store and pay their exorbitant shipping fees, which was about the same price as the box itself if i remember correctly. SCREW THAT, no thanks. I was able to pick up a few singles from COMC and ebay but no packs, since they weren’t really issuing those this year. I never really found out why Topps decided this was a good idea, but would love to hear the reasoning if someone can help?

After the previous years experience, i had pretty much forgotten about the Magic cards and moved on with my life as we do with Topps at times. Until, i saw they were going to be releasing a new set and boxes that you can purchase at a store…holy crap! You mean i can buy cards from a store and not online only? Normally i wouldn’t be so snotty about this, as i am totally cool with purchasing online, i just don’t want my only options to be online purchases. Takes away from the fun of busting packs on a Wednesday afternoon after work.

So here is my take on the 2012 version of Topps Magic.

Card Design: 4 of 5

In keeping with the simple style, Topps has again followed through with the same KISS theme. Minimal information is on the front, but you get the basics; name, position, conference, team helmet, and a whole bunch of stars that make no sense to me. The banners blends in nicely with the border and unfolds to reveal the critical information like a scroll with an oversized shield.

The backs are nice and include some fun little facts with the Magical Memoranda. You don’t get your typical stats, but they tend to highlight some important information and single game stats for your FYI. As usual, nice card stock and the lovely matte finish. The matte finish is nice in a world of glossy cards. They have become the rarity in the hobby for the most part, save for the vintage inspired sets.

Photography: 5 of 5

The thing that i am most drawn to this set about is the photography. They have HDR’d the crap out of the photos and really over processed them, but i think it works well for these and tends to give the players a greater level of detail and grit. My wife is a photographer and she tends to stay away from over processing as it always looks…you guessed it, over processed. When you are doing family portraits or architectural photography it can become a distraction, but for professional athletes it works well.

Look at the intensity in those eyes!

Hits: 4 of 5

The hits with this brand are minimal, which is fine with me. I believe collectors get too hot and heavy about the hits. If that is your thing, this set isn’t for you. If you are OK with getting a nice auto or two than you may be happy with Magic. I ended up pulling 2 autographs and a redemption card. So, it’s not just Panini that is slapping me with redemption cards, Topps does it too. I’ve stated my thoughts on the redemption card here before and thought about it a little more. Still don’t like it, but maybe it’s not that bad…assuming you actually get the card. There have been times when i forgot about my redemption cards and come home to a manilla envelope. It’s like a little slice of cardboard heaven when you get one you weren’t really expecting.

There are a couple of subsets in the cards as well. Nothing to exciting. As a matter of fact, i must say that the Charismatic Combos is not only a weak insert, but a terrible name. Charismatic Combos, christ that’s terrible.

The ultra mini cards are cool, but a little too mini for my man hands. If i don’t get these in some penny sleeves quick they will have rounded corners.

There are also the Supernatural Stars, which are not that existential or starry either galactically or professionally.

Magic also has the Magical Moments inserts which makes sense, because it’s Magic. Drew Brees is on a 3 Mile Island. Cute.

I do like the Enchantment cards, especially the one that i pulled…big smiley face for the RG3.

There were also these other good looking young running backs that have some nice upside to their careers.

One of the autos i pulled was a Kaepernick. The HDR affect does his tats some serious justice although his auto is crazy sloppy. An odd thing about this card is the photoshop flub with his hands. It looks like the photo editor cloned his left hand over the football…kind of a crappy job for a big time player. Let’s try harder next time Mr. Topps Photoshop editor.

Review

Overall, i do like these cards a lot. They are simple and clean and the photos are nice. It’s a basic card and the price point isn’t too excessive for what you get. I haven’t decided if i am going to build the set, i did manage to get quite a bit of unique cards and minimal doubles, so i will see how i feel about it. I do hope that Topps issues these cards again next year and does not do the online only thing.

Here are a couple of the Redskins cards i pulled from the box. Funny that they decided to include Jabar Gaffney since he wasn’t on the team this year and he is wearing RG3’s number. Technically, there are two Redskin cards with a player wearing number 10.