Rookie R******S Autos

Posted by cardboard hogs on July 23, 2013

I got some nice autographs! Wanna See!

I got a great deal on them…and really happy to jump on these cards before they go through the roof, because as we all know, the football team from Washington is going to be great once again! -HTTR!

I’m going to go alphabetically by first name, so the first player is Brandon Jenkins from Florida State University and his Bowman Chrome Refractor. The light in the scanner is making this thing look like a urine stained card…but trust me, it’s in mint condition and smells wonderful.

Next up, we have Chris Thompson, also from FSU (pronounced ay-fay-shu). Since Shanahan has been the head coach slash GM, the football team from Washington has tended to draft multiple players from the same school in their drafts. I have no idea if this is common place around the league since i tend to not pay too much attention to the other teams drafts…but it’s a little curious.

2010 – Perry Riley and Dennis Morris from LSU
2011 – Roy Helu, DeJon Gomes and Niles Paul from Nebraska
2012 – Josh LeRibeus and Richard Crawford from SMU (Aldrick Robinson from the 2011 draft)
2013 – Chris Thompson and Brandon Jenkins from Florida State

The next couple of guys will hopefully have a huge impact this season. Jawan Jamison and Jordan Reed. Jamison is coming off a pretty solid career at Rutgers, but was injured in his last season. I guess he’s one of those big upside guys that you either hit a home run with or strike out with…but don’t lose too much in the loss.

Jordan Reed is quite intriguing. He has mentioned in the very recent past that Aaron Hernandez was a role model of his and someone that he looked up to while he was at Florida…kind of scary since the darkside of Hernandez is being peeled back each day and only getting worse. Let’s hope that Reed was only referencing Hernandez for his on-field abilities and not his propensity to murder people…allegedly…of course. Innocent until proven guilty.

why is the chrome auto picture zoomed in?

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.

One Free Cooley

Posted by cardboard hogs on July 9, 2013

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.

Not bad for a free piece of Cooley paraphernalia!

Cedar Hills Show – The low budget version ep.IV

Posted by cardboard hogs on July 2, 2013

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!

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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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…

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!

Sort-of Vintage Redskins

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 25, 2013

The last show didn’t have too much going which turned out to be great for my wallet. I spent the least amount at this show than i ever had in the past…which is great. I was also able to pick up some older Redskin cards for the Topps air brushed days…like this gem of a card of Diron Talbert. This beauty set me back one american dollar. That price alone covers the bad assness of Mr. Talbert. When i see the burgundy and gold along with number 72, I can’t help but think of Dexter Manly, the Secretary of Defense. I guess that would make Diron the dean of the National Defense University, or something? Diron. What is the origin of that name anyway? Apparently this guy is the proud owner of a grocery store in Texas. Growing up, the only grocery stores in San Antonio was H.E.B. and they had a pretty strong hold of Texas. Winn Dixie and Piggly Wiggly didn’t have a chance.

I also stumbled across this trifecta of Skins. The card in the middle is the only one that really matters. The Cowboys getting thumped in the NFC Championship game. This was about 3 years before I was born, so I only know what i’ve read about the ’72 team which was apparently a fun bunch of cast offs led by George Allen. This was also the year the Dolphins finished perfect with a not so overwhelming victory over the over the hill gang. You can’t win them all…plus the Redskins would get their revenge 10 years later

Hip

Hooray!

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.

Road Trip Packs IV – Lost and Found

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 15, 2013

I had a little time this beautiful Saturday morning and was looking through my scanned/undocumented folder and noticed a couple more cards that I picked up while I was in San Antonio.

The three cards were pulled from a dime box, so you are looking at 30 cents of hard earned money.

The first pairing of cards is DeAngelo Hall and Santana Moss.

Hall has always been a polarizing player. You love him or hate him. I have yet to hear anyone say ‘eh, he’s alright…’ It’s always love or hate with the guy. Personally, I love him. I think he’s passionate and truly cares about what he does…doesn’t hurt that he made a boatload of money from the Raiders and Redskins. He was cut earlier this year and it looked like he wouldn’t be back, but no one around the league really gave him much notice so he ended up back with the Redskins…which makes me happy, especially with all the young players in the secondary this year.

Moss is my man and I love the photo of him in this card. Nice of Panini to get the whole body in the shot too.

The last card is Triple Threads Clinton Portis numbered to 1350. This brings up one of the big issues with the hobby. I’m sure this card was immediately discarded when pulled from a box costing over $150 and redirected to a dime box. Someone was probably trying to pull the big hit and got stuck with this Clinton Portis card…no auto, no jersey, no patch. The only redeeming value is the serial number, but really it’s not that great either…1350! This is why I don’t typically buy boxes anymore, especially of the high end stuff. Had I purchased a box of 2010 Triple Threads and pulled this card, I would have been super excited and more than happy to put it in my Portis collection…but financially, it would not have been worth the price of the box. In this case, I win. Someone else spent the high price and I got a sweet card!

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.

Road Trip Packs II

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 3, 2013

The next pack along the road was actually a blaster of 2013 Leaf Draft from Wal-Mart. Purchased at 12:30am. This was actually the first group of cards I purchased on the trip and were picked up on a midnight run for ‘snacks’…plus I was really curious what type of Wal-Martians I could find around 1am on a Friday night…and just like the box of cards, the Wal-Martians were just ok.

This is a product I buy a few packs of each year in hopes of getting the Redskins draft picks…the value of these cards is minimal and the quality of them is about the same, but if you like a specific college or NFL team, it’s nice to get the players first (or last) card depending on your perspective. I’ve never picked up a blaster box of these guys before, so I’m not sure if this is typical, but the package came with 2 autographs in top loaders and placed in a team bag. I thought that was pretty cool. No need to open any packs to see what your hits were. They were just there! I also thought it was pretty cool that Leaf managed to package them so nicely to keep them in as close to mint condition as possible.

The first auto was Markus Wheaton. A receiver from Oregon State who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round. Not a bad auto considering what else I could have pulled.

The second auto was of Sean Porter, whom quite ironically is from Schertz, Texas and went to Samuel Clemens. The box of cards was purchased in little ol’ Schertz, Texas. Porter is an A&M product and played Linebacker during his four year career. He was drafted in the fourth round by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Next up are the Redskins players.

Jordan Reed TE – 3rd round from Florida. Early reports from the couple of practices he participated in were really high on this kid. It sounds like he can become a big time playmaker at Tight End and hopefully compliment Fred Davis for years to come.

Brandon Jenkins DE – 5th round from Florida State. When healthy, he was pretty much a beast at FSU and could have gone much earlier had he indeed been healthy. If Jenkins is able to rebound, he should be a nice compliment to Orakpo and Kerrigan next year and hopefully the next 5 years.

Jawan Jamison RB – 7th round from Rutgers. Mike Shanahan has a way of hitting on running backs. Here’s hoping Jamison can be another one. He too was injured but has a huge upside…but injuries tend to derail the greatest of athletes, especially if they limit opportunities in practice and games.

Although the cards were not that impressive, I was pretty happy with what i pulled. If anyone out there has a desire to trade for the autos, please let me know…could be nice for a Bengals or Steelers collector!