young’ns

Although the past Redskins season didn’t unfold as i had expected, there were a couple of bright spots…or at least areas that may appear to be bright if things unfold how i hope they will.  The rookie class from last years draft had minimal impact this season, starting of course with the much written about here, Josh Doctson.  Most of the kids drafted in April of 2016 didn’t see much playing time due to injuries or roster depth.

Take a quick peek:

  1. WR – Josh Doctson from TCU
  2. LB – Su’A Cravens from USC
  3. DB – Kendall Fuller from Virginia Tech
  4. DT – Matthew Ioannidis from Temple
  5. QB – Nate Sudfeld from Indiana
  6. LB – Steve Daniels from Boston College
  7. RB – Keith Marshall from Georgia

If you look closer at the draft though, the team managed to keep everyone in the organization and didn’t cut them.  What that means of course is that the organization felt they did a good job of drafting.  Now, who really knows who drafted these guys.  Could have been Scott McCloughan or Bruce Allen…or maybe it was Chris Cooley…who knows…!  I’m going to keep my hopes up and hope these guys have great futures with the team.

Besides Doctson, i’m really hoping for something great from Su’A Cravens.  He’s making the shift from LB to Safety next season.  Something that should have been done last year…but who has time to look backwards these days.

16 PS Su'a Cravens auto 39:49

Cravens likens himself to a Sean Taylor kind of player…most of the defensive backs that play for the Redskins or wear 21 do, so it’s cool that he gets to fulfill that wish i guess.  Taylor was a freak of nature and a complete beast on the field.  He also loved football and always went all out when he played…not saying Cravens can’t do that…but…i’m just sayin it’s a lot to live up to.

Not to mention, Cravens likes his social media which i really couldn’t imagine Sean Taylor posting photos of him posing near a waterfall during his vacation…but maybe…who knows.  I have hope that Su’A will become a dominant player, only time will tell.

16 IN Su'a Cravens auto 91:488

The only other player that really saw much time on the field last year was Kendall Fuller, although it was somewhat short lived.  He was coming off an ACL surgery from the prior season, so no telling how healthy he was last season.  His impact last year didn’t amount to much, but he seems like the kind of player that will be solid and have some great games.  Maybe not an All-Pro, but his blood line is that of an NFL’er…plus the new secondary coach for the Redskins was his DB coach at VTech.  So there’s that.

Nate Sudfeld is a bit of a curiosity for me.  Is the Cousin’s replacement next season?  Is he just a guy that will be a 2nd and 3rd string quarterback?  Who is he and what can he do!  Only time will tell for him.

16 LTC Nate Sudfeld auto

Since he’s a QB, i’ve been working to stock up on his autographs like i did with Cousins during RGIII’s rookie year.  That was some seriously major foresight on my part.  If things don’t work out for Cousins and the Redskins in the future, i’ll have my Sudfelds ready to go and fully invested in!

16 SC Nate Sudfeld

The other players i don’t have cards for yet are Steven Daniels and Matthew Ioannidis.  Daniels was injured during training camp and was placed on IR but had a decent start to his camp last year.  Seems like one of those small cannon ball kind of line backers that is everywhere and becomes a field leader…like London Fletcher was for so many seasons.  Keith Marshall was another player that was injured and didn’t have an impact on last season.

Looking back on t the draft, you really have to hope that these kids can get and stay healthy or this draft could turn out to be a huge bust.  But if they can get and stay healthy, who knows what their future holds for them.  Lots of potential and talent for them young’ns.

The music today is brought to you by a couple of enigmatic dual personality MC’s from New York.  Kool Keith and MF Doom.  A couple old guys that the young’ns love…especially Doom.  He has quite a cult following for those true hip hop fans.

An RG3 autograph has come to my home.

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?)

12 PS Robert Griffin III Auto 21:25

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.

A Rookie Redemption Auto comes home

I finally got one of my redemptions from Panini.

It only took 167 days and it was this beauty, Dontari Poe.  I know, I know…you all want a piece of this cardboard.  Well he is definitely available for trade and at the very least he will find himself on ebay in the next few months. I was getting a little inpatient with the redemption and just like Cardboard Conundrum was hoping i could swing another auto, so i emailed Panini about getting a Redskins auto or…really…anything.  I just wanted my redemption redeemed.  Within a week, this guy showed up in my mailbox.

12 PS Dontari Poe Auto 16:49

This card brings a lot in to focus for me.  It exemplifies the problem with higher end packs and boxes.  This was my big hit last November in a box of Prime Signatures that i purchased from The Sports Room.  I opened the pack in front of Rick and he could see the disappointment on my face when i not only pulled a redemption auto, but i pulled Dontari Poe.  A Defensive Tackle with the Kansas City Chiefs, who at the moment is most known for practically kissing Roger Goodell on draft day.

91939075-roger-goddell

Rick looked at me and said “wasn’t really worth it, now was it…”  Disappointment happens when you purchase these kinds of products more than excitement, at least in my experience.  It was still fun to open though.

Getting back to Poe, he has the potential to become the next great DT in the NFL.  As far as collecting goes though, DT’s don’t typically get you excited or draw major demand.

PLUS, he wears #92, the same number Big Fat Albert Haynesworth wore…and all Redsksins fans can feel my pain when they see the gif below from the Monday night massacre against Philly and Vick.  Jackass.

haynesworthsleepy

Dual Prime Signatures and Two Rookies

The two cards below were picked up from an ebay purchase last week and i didn’t really look at them until i scanned them.  Upon this additional inspection i noticed the word Rookie was different on each card and one was a sticker auto.  I’m assuming the shorter print Hankerson card was issued prior to the design being refined and finalized so it could be signed in person.  While the Niles Paul, not Paul Niles card was done later since it was a sticker card.  Either way a little odd that the same card would have different designs…is it a lack of quality control from Panini, or was i duped?!?!!?

12 PS Leonard Hankerson Auto 19:49

Both of these guys were drafted in the 2012 draft as receivers and have really caught on like the team would have liked.  I’m expecting big things from both Hankerson and Paul though, especially since Niles has taken on the Rambo personality on his Twitter account.  I’m sure this will no doubt carry on to the field as he grows in to his new Tight End position.  With Niles, Fred Davis and Logan Paulson the TE position is looking really nice for next season…although, i will miss Captain Chaos Chris Cooley.

12 PS Niles Paul Auto 87:199

Box Break: 2012 Panini Prime Signatures

Ok, i had a little time this evening with the baby and lovely wife off in the other room having some reading time.  So I thought I would open one of the Panini boxes I received last night…and I decide to open…the single pack Prime Signatures Box.

IMG_7685

I have purchased two of these boxes this year in the faint hopes of pulling an RGIII to no avail, BUT I am not a quitter and purchased one more box from the Panini online store.  The box was purchased last weekend when they had the 25% sale, so i managed to get a really good deal on the box…and i couldn’t pass up a good deal and an opportunity to pull a guaranteed autograph.

The box is simply one pack with 4 cards in each pack…so it’s always a gamble as to what you will be pulling from the box.  My other breaks have been fairly uneventful and something i was definitely bracing for with this box.  Although there were thoughts of better pulls since it was from the company that manufactures the cards.

IMG_7687

So much for the long winded intro, here are the cards I pulled!

Leaf Sig LeSean McCoy 452-499

LeSean McCoy 452/499

Leaf Sig Joe Greene 497:499

‘Mean’ Joe Greene 497/499

Leaf Sig Steven Jackson 17-99 PP

Steven Jackson Prime Proof 17/99

Leaf Sig Steelers Rookies 6-25

Pittsburgh Steelers Rookies Chris Rainey, David DeCastro, Marquis Maze

Card Design – 4 of 5

The main reason i keep going back to these cards is their design.  It’s simple, clean and always clear who the card is for and what it’s about…which I love.  The super thick card stock and clingy sound when the cards stack on top of each other is a fantastic feature for me.  Each card appears to have 3 intermediate layers with a face and backing for the card making 5 layers overall.  The text is also very clear and easy to read, due in part to the white background…although i would like to see cards of this design with a cleaner font, maybe something without serifs?  That’s my only real complaint though…very nice Panini

Photography – 4 of 5

Each photograph on the cards are very sharp, with the exception of the Mean Joe Greene card, but that’s due in part to older technology and repurposing an older photo.  That’s not a big issue.  I’m sure there are Steeler and Mean Joe collectors out there that are excited he is in this set.  One thing i like about the photographs is the vignetting around the player to focus on one player, one player in action.  The cropping on the Mean Joe Green card appears a little off though..bye bye arms!

Hits – 3 of 5

With 4 cards and 1 hit…it’s literally hit or miss.  Pulling a three autograph card is pretty cool, in fact I have never pulled such an auto card before, so this is a first for me…so embarrassing…As a Redskins fan, I tend to only pay attention to Redskin players and have no idea who these guys are.  I have heard about Chris Rainey and apparently so have the Pittsburgh Police Department.  I am also aware of David DeCastro…but a Guard isn’t always an exciting hit…not something you want to pull.  The other guy Marquis Maze is someone I know nothing about.  Maybe a Steelers fan out there has a clue for me?

Review

Overall, i am pretty happy with the box.  Although i didn’t pull any Redskins, i can’t complain about my 3 auto hit and the other 3 cards are/were solid football players.  This is definitely a product i would buy next season…and if I can find another good deal on a box, i just may have to see what’s inside.

Hope you guys enjoyed my first box review.  I have a few more to go right now and have some cards on their way very soon…could get really busy in the next few weeks with all the new baseball releases and the tail end of the football releases coming out.  If there are any Pittsburgh Steeler fans out there, send me an email and let me know if you have any interest in the autographed card or the Mean Joe Green…I’m looking at you Steven Jackson and LeSean McCoy fans too! -HTTR!

Panini America Delivers!

Just got home from work after another late night at the office, and i see two large boxes by the door…what could it be?  My Panini order has arrived!  Nice! 2013-01-28 21.51.01

Since i’m still on a deadline and dealing with a sick wife and child it may take a few days before I can enjoy what’s inside these beautiful *small expensive boxes.  I will be sure to post the results here along with my review of each product.  Here’s hoping i can pull an RGIII auto…or at the very least some nice Redskin hits.

come back soon! -HTTR!