Trade Post: My Cardboard Mistress

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 26, 2014

When I broke down a few weeks ago and picked up a few retail packs of Prizm from my local friendly Target store i pulled a couple of cards for Adam over at My Cardboard Mistress and sent them along. Adam was nice enough to return the favor with the Redskins he pulled from his recent hobby box of Topps Strata.

As he mentioned in his blog posting, the Jordan Reed autograph numbered to /99 was on it’s way…and it’s a beauty. The colors of the card are great and i love the thicker card stock on the hobby cards. I have been able to pick up quite a few Reed autos and he isn’t exactly winning me over with his ‘less is more’ autograph approach. Just a simple JR is all we’re getting right now. Still a pretty nice card though.

Adam also sent along the base version of Reed’s card.

The last card sent over was the Topaz/orangy/goldish parallel for Pierre Garcon, or boy waiter if you are prone to speak the language of love, French. Maybe, you’re Canadian, eh?

Thanks Adam! Love the cards.

I should be receiving my box of Topps Magic this week and doing a break review of the exciting cards i pull from the box. If i come across any Hokies, they will be headed your way.

Also, Dave…if you are reading, your Heritage stuff is on it’s way in the morning. Hope it helps.

This man is no boy, Pierre Garçon

Posted by cardboard hogs on November 20, 2013

One bright shining star in a dimly lit season has been Pierre Garçon. In his second season with the Redskins he has clearly become RGIII’s number one target. Mostly because he can catch just about any poorly thrown pass, whether it be at his ankles or 8 feet above his head…Pierre’s got this!

And i got this! An autograph refractor numbered to 10. It’s shiny and pretty. As with all sticker autos, i hate them, they suck…and this is the reason why. His autograph is decent and fairly clean, except for the part where, you know, the autograph runs off the sticker. The autograph is certified by Topps and that means the world to me, doesn’t it do the same for you? No matter, still a beautiful piece of cardboard or card stock.

When he was signed last season as a free agent and one of their ‘big’ signings under the $36M cap hit, i immediately thought…great, another free agent bust in a time when the team really can’t afford one. My instincts failed me miserably and Garçon has quickly become one of my favorite Redskins to watch each week. Win or lose, i don’t think anyone else on the field plays with as much passion or intensity as he does. The guy runs angry, like he really wants to injure someone…seriously injure them…possibly maim them for life as he runs through them violently.

the PDX Fantasy Draft

Posted by cardboard hogs on August 28, 2013

Hey kids, big draft tonight in the PDX Fantasy League. Wish me luck. The wife wants me to go RG3 for the 6th pick. Not sure i have it in me to do that…but we will see…:)

-HTTR

1st pick (6) – LeSean McCoy RB…I love this pick, this is the guy I wanted but wasn’t sure he would make it to pick 6.

2nd pick (23) – Robert Griffin III QB…ok, this is really the guy i wanted but couldn’t justify taking him in the first round, kind of wished i had waited until the 3rd, but i wasn’t sure he would make it that far. Might have been a reach in this league at 23.

3rd pick (34) – Jimmy Graham TE…got a top ranked TE and i love the guy. plus he doesn’t seem like the murdering type.

4th pick (51) – Montee Ball RB…this is a gamble, i don’t know much about the kid and i know the Broncos have a litany of running backs, plus Peyton likes to throw TD’s, not hand them off.

5th pick (62) – Pierre Garcon WR…love getting Garcon in the 5th. Hope he can stay healthy and have another great year.

6th pick (79) – Anquan Boldin WR…i was thinking with all of the injuries, i couldn’t go wrong with Boldin, not to mention he is a great receiver of balls to the hands.

7th pick (90) – Seahawks DEF/ST…ok, this was a huge reach. i’ve never taken a defense this high before. the only reason i went for it was because of the junk that was still out there…that i didn’t want to mess with. so i decided i would go for the #1 defense and see what happens.

8th pick (107) – Alshon Jeffery WR…lots of upside here, hope it pans out.

9th pick (118) – Kendall Wright WR…lots of upside here, hope it pans out…and that Locker can get him the ball.

10th pick (135) – Roy Helu RB…I’ve loved Helu since his rookie year, hope he can bounce back from the achilles last year. he’s looked great so far, the only problem is how many touches will he get?

11th pick (146) – Mohamed Sanu WR…ever since he threw a bomb of a touchdown against my Redskins, i’ve kind of been following this kid.

12th pick (163) – Josh Brown K…i always wait until the very end to pick up a kicker and drop them as soon as they have a bye week. kickers get no love from me.

All in all, i am really happy with my draft and feel pretty confident. I’m a little thin at RB which i am every season…so we will see!

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.

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.

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.

Box Break: 2012 Panini Contenders

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 22, 2013

I am finally getting around to opening the boxes that have been sitting on my desk for a while now and wanted to start with one of my favorites. Panini’s Contenders. I have always enjoyed the design of these cards and their quality. The simplicity and continuity of the cards each year with the ticket on the sidebar and singular player focus is something that I enjoy in a card. In general, I think Panini does a nice job on their card designs and this set is no different. Contenders is in their 20th year now, which i initially had no idea they were around this long until I remembered the flip box I still have from the first year with Barry Sanders on the inside cover…memories. They used to make the boxes much nicer back then…now it’s just a small box with lots of cards in them.

Now for the review…

Card Design 4 of 5

As i said in the intro, i really like the consistent design. Each card has the basic player information on the front with the name, team, position and player number. Contenders goes a step further with the name of the stadium and years the player has been a pro which is kind of a cool feature you either don’t find on a card or only find on the back. Panini has also managed to incorporate the teams colors in the left bar ‘tickets’. I personally like the Redskins cards, but am partial to the Burgundy and Gold on cards…I think it makes them punch really nicely. What’s up with Carolina Panthers and their 1984 Trapper Keeper font? I’m glad they finally decided to dump it and go with something more contemporary.

One design piece that i don’t think is that successful is the ‘super graphic’ last name ghosted in the background with a very subtle shadow line. My problem with this is that they already have the players full name on the card, so adding the last name again is simply redundant and unnecessary in my opinion. I would also like to have seen the team logo on the top right be a little larger and the helmet on the ticket gone…or maybe this could be where the larger logo occurs. It’s just a little redundant to these eyes.

Contenders does a nice job on their subsets and have continued with the die-cut love fest. The Rookie of the Year Contenders are quite nice and the die cut works well here as they fit nicely in my gentle, yet manly grasp. These types of die cuts don’t work well in sleeves or top loaders and always seems to lean to one side or another.

Another subset is the MVP Contenders and are really nice looking. The die-cut and supergraphic MVP font work very well, even though none of the guys i pulled had any real shot at winning the MVP, it’s still a nice subset for player collectors.

Photography 4 of 5

Panini has managed to gather full length photos of each of the player for the majority of the cards, keeping their knees, ankles and feet in tact! Football cards tend to be overcropped these days so it’s nice to see a full body shot of the player on his card. Each photo is crisp and there is no clutter with unnecessary background action…just the player for whom the card is representing. The photos on the back are a simple blow up of the one on the front of the card. Kind of wish they would use a different photo, maybe a portrait shot or something…different.

Hits 4 of 5

The box advertises 5 autos per box and that is pretty much what you get. I happened to get what i believe is an extra auto with the dreaded redemption card, an Alshon Jeffrey Rookie Ticket RPS. As i’ve stated in the past, i really hate redemption cards. I understand why they do it and that it just needs to be done sometimes…it’s just disappointing to have to wait months for your hit. Sometimes a guy just needs a hit.

The second pack I opened in this box had an awesomely shiny Redskins rookie card Autograph numbered 66/99…Kirk Cousins. I was really hoping for the other rookie Redskins QB, but this guy might end up being the guy…somewhere. I believe i have 5 Cousins autos now…and zero RG3 autos…FML! Here’s a fun fact. No matter what orientation you lay the card out, the serial number always says 66/99…fun with sixes and nines you kinky freaks!

The other autos in the box weren’t that spectacular and quite frankly i think the kids these days seriously need to work on their penmanship. They are probably signing hundreds of items, but the Chris Polk auto is just begging to be forged by a man of lesser character.

I got a kicker auto, that’s a little weird. Zeurlein had a great season, but he’s still a kicker. I’m just really i didn’t pull yet another Dontari Poe auto!

The Bucs and the Cardinals guys are not on my radar, if anyone has an idea who they are or just needs them for a PC, let me know. Otherwise they are ebay bound.

This Panini product seems to give you a good number of autos, but nothing spectacular.

Review

All in all i am pretty happy with the box. I managed to get quite a few Redskins, no RG3, but i did pull a serial numbered Kirk Cousins auto. By the way, i used to write just like Captain Kirk when i was in the 5th grade. At least his auto is clean and legible…looking at you Chris Polk! Contenders is a box that i tend to buy each year and will continue to do so…but one a year is more than enough for me. The cards are great and you get a good amount of inserts, I just don’t know if the price justifies the cards you pull and their value.

This years subsets look great as usual. I mentioned the MVP Contenders and the Rookie of the Year Contenders, but the subset I love is the Rookie Stallion cards…the name is a little…um…weird. But the photos are great and i love the layout and use of fonts.

Not too crazy about the Legendary Champion cards, nice idea and great player selection, just don’t love the design.

Here are the Redskins from the box!

That’s it folks. I have a couple more breaks to cover and i will be caught up! Hope you enjoy the reviews.

Redskins lose 14-24

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 7, 2013

It’s a sad day in our house as the Redskins season has come to a sad ending…At the end of the day, the big difference was an unhealthy RG3. He lead the team all season and did everything he could the last 7 weeks, but it just was not enough. It’s always tough to lose a game when your leader is injured as you are filled with the what ifs…Although the season ended in a manner that I am not happy about, the 20123 season was filled with hope and a very bright future. There were lots of ups and downs and the a ton of players got some playing time due to some major injuries. I am very excited to see what 2013 has to offer. The Redskins will have all the guys back and healthy, hopefully including Robert Griffin III…pending the MRI tomorrow morning.

One of my favorite Redskins, Brian Orakpo, was injured in the game agains the Rams early on which led to plenty of playing time for Rob Jackson and Perry Riley. Here’s hoping Rak can get his shoulder back to full strength in the off season and come back strong in September. The card below was part of a blaster box I picked up at Target last week and decided to open before today’s game. It is one of my favorite cards or Rak’s…although this photo is very similar to his Topps issued card. I’ve always loved his passion for the game and this card definitely captures that.

Roy Helu Jr. is another guy that missed the year due to injury with an achilles injury. Assuming good health, he will be a great compliment to Alfred ‘the butcher’ Morris next year. You can never have enough running backs and his speed will be a nice addition to the Redskins running game.

In Pierre Garcon’s first season, he had some huge game changing plays and showed off his #1 Receiver ability. Although he had to deal with injury allyear he still managed to step up down the stretch run and play big during the 7 game winning streak. Here’s hoping he too can get healthy and come back full strength next season to dominate for 16 games. The Garcon card below is one of the reasons i don’t care for the Gridiron design by Panini. I have seen a ton of great hits online from this product, but their base cards tend to be cluttered with too much ‘stuff’ in the background. If i didn’t know any better, i would have thought this was a Redskins team card rather than a Garcon card. You can clearly see Fred Davis and Adam Gettis on the card celebrating with Petite Waiter (see Tony Kornheiser for reference) would be nice to see him isolated on his own card.

The last guy that i am curious about is Kirk Cousins. Right now, there is no telling what to expect from RGIII’s injury and if he will miss any games next year. If he needs any type of surgery, i hope he consults Adrian Peterson prior to getting cut on or rehabbing. Next season will also be his second year in the system and he appears to be a quick learner and smart QB…exactly what you need for a backup, especially if they have to start a few games. The two cards below have been sitting around my collection for a couple of weeks now. I managed to pick up his Score autograph the Saturday before the Ravens game for a nice price. His cards have since gone up in value and anticipation that he will get a chance one day.

Although i am filled with dissapointment right now, all Redskins fans should look back on this season and be proud and excited about the future…there is a lot to build on and a lot that needs to be addressed, but the foundation is definitely there. As always Hail to the Redskins!

With the season over, future posts will be directed towards cards that i purchase and my opinions on their design, content and price. Baseball cards are coming out soon too, so that should be fun to explore and review. -HTTR!