While there, I noticed that some new football cards were in--including Bowman Draft Picks, which apparently replaced Topps Rookie Progression (which I didn't care for), which had replaced Topps Draft Picks & Prospects (which was actually a favorite of mine).

I asked how the reaction had been, and he said mostly positive in his shop--although he admitted he didn't think it was that great.  I decided, "What the heck, it's been almost a year--why not grab a box."

I wish I'd listened to him.

I got all the big base cards (Stafford, Sanchez, Harvin, etc), and I got my two hits--an auto of...someone (that's how impressive it was--I think it was a 7th round pick), and a letter auto of Aaron Kelly.

So how is it that I can remember Kelly (who was an undrafted free agent signed by the Falcons out of Clemson)?

Well, I figured I already had invested in a full box--why not invest a little more, and do something I'd always wanted--assemble a full players name of letter patches.  So, after a couple of weeks of playing around on eBay and assembling the best deals I could, this is what I put together:

Aaron Kelly Bowman Letter Patches

I figured, what the heck--it's a short name, I got all the patches for $10 or less, and who knows--maybe the guy will turn into something.  He is a 6-5, 205 pound WR who apparently was impressive at Clemson, and apparently has some skills.

Of course, I did find out he was waived today--although speculation is pretty strong that he will be brought back to the Falcons practice squad, if he clears waivers...

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2009 Bowman Draft Picks

Sure enough, a couple weeks back, as I was Christimas shopping at one of the local giant box stores, I took a quick peek at the card aisle, and while they had no blasters, they did have individual packs, so I grabbed a few (along with some Bowman Chrome--old habits die hard).

Sure enough, I was hooked--not a set I would ever expect to get rich busting, but great looking cards that mix classic football moments, icons, and modern day stars.  Some of my early "hits" included a couple decent rookies (Matt Forte & Kevin Smith), Brett Favre, Tom Brady and Joe Namath.

But my favorite card?  Brian Bosworth, sporting probably the best mullet in the NFL (until Jared Allen came along).

2008 Masterpieces YA Tittle

2008 Masterpieces Joe Namath

2008 Masterpieces Brian Bosworth

And when I stopped back tonight, they had a couple of blasters (and they must have been on sale, unless $15.99 is the normal price), so I've added to the collection--although I've already doubled (or tripled or quadrupled, in the case of Peyton Manning) up on some.

I'll try to get a list up of what I have and what I don't, in case I decide to go after a set--but I did get a kind of cool Favre/Paul Hornung card, a Bob Sanders tackling Lynn Swann card, and Scott Norwood Wide Right and multiple Eli Manning/David Tyree Helmet Catch cards (including a black bordered one)--but still now Slow Plow Game.

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Now Collecting: 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces

Pack 19:
#78 Reggie Bush
#CS-9 Brian Westbrook Century Stars
#67 Dwayne Bowe
#25 Donte Stallworth
#82 Derrick Ward

Pack 20:
#98 Ed Reed
#CS-9 Larry Johnson Century Stars
#6 Brian Urlacher
#64 Reggie Williams
#22 Jason Taylor

Pack 21:
#35 Tony Scheffler
#59 Reggie Wayne
#107 Santonio Holmes
#132 Maurice Morris
#147 Jason Campbell

Pack 22:
#56 Peyton Manning
#D-6 Joe Montana/Jerry Rice/Roger Craig Dynasty
#104 Willie Parker
#121 Devin Hester
#129 Derek Anderson

Pack 23:
#17 Julius Jones
#CGK-28 Mike Hart College Gridiron Kings
#39 Brandon Marshall
#96 Brian Westbrook
#12 Isaac Bruce
Pack 24:
#71 Tarvaris Jackson
#CGK-12 Early Doucet
#79 Marques Colston
#36 Jason Witten
#93 Ronald Curry

As expected, no big hits over the last six packs. The final tally was 124 cards in the box, including 105 of the "common" card set (as Donruss is calling it), which means it is 70% complete (or just a hair better than Chris at the Orlando Sentinel did).

The inserts included:
- one Bronze Century Proof (serial numbered to 250) - Dallas Clark #026/250
- two rookie cards (serial numbered to 999) - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie #447/999 & Pierre Garcon #611/999
- one rookie Bronze Century Proof (serial numbered to 250) - Ryan Torain #236/250
- one College Gridiron King Red Border (serial numbered to 100) - Ernie Wheelwright (#087/100)
- one Bronze College Gridiron King (serial numbered to 250) - Early Doucet (#152/250)
- two College Gridiron Kings - Mike Hart, Early Doucet
- one Pro Gridiron King - Donovan McNabb
- one Century Stars Jersey (serial numbered to 250) - Eli Manning (#013/250)
- two Century Stars - Brian Westbrook, Larry Johnson
- one Century Legends - John Elway
- one Dynasty - Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig
- one Generations - John Stallworth & Santonio Holmes
- one Jersey card (serial numbered to 250) - Carson Palmer #147/250
- one Rookie Collection Materials (serial numbered to 500) - Mario Manningham #015/500
- one Rookie Letter Patch Auto (serial numbered to 100) - Matt Ryan #020/100

Overall, a great box thanks to the Ryan auto--and I do actually really like the design again this year, even if they do take the less is more approach to the extreme on the backs.

I do have a second box, but I'm going to hold off opening it for a bit--we'll see how long that lasts.

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2008 Donruss Threads, Part VIII

Pack 15:
#5 Steve Smith
#63 Maurice Jones-Drew
#27 Eli Manning
#51 Matt Schaub
#9 Tony Gonzalez

See? Not much there...

2008 Donruss Threads Letterman Matt Ryan

Pack 16:
#60 Dallas Clark
#84 Leon Washington
#262 Matt Ryan Rookie Class Letter Patch Auto #020/100
#33 Donovan McNabb
#90 Alge Crumpler
#48 Donald Driver

Ho-ly Crap. I was just gonna bust a few packs before I took a quick nap before the big Vikings-Ravens Preseason game tonight--flipping going through the second pack, I notice that the thick card has printing on it.

"OK, another patch," I think.

Get there, notice that it's Matt Ryan and that I'm looking at the back of it.

"That's odd" I think. Also notice that it's numbered to 100--and my first thought is "Shoot, it's just a regular patch, not a premium swatch.

Then I flip it over--and it becomes the biggest hit in some time for me. Probably my biggest football hit ever (doesn't quite beat the 2002 Bowman Chrome David Wright Xfractor I pulled a few years ago when trying to pull a Mauer the old fashioned way).

Anyway--back to the last two packs I pulled.

Pack 17:
#21 Vince Young
#G-6 John Stallworth/Santonio Holmes Generations
#112 DeAngelo Williams
#124 TJ Houshmandzadeh
#141 Randy McMichael

Pack 18:
#41 Selvin Young
#CL-14 John Elway Century Legends
#134 Braylon Edwards
#149 Chris Cooley
#117 Bernard Berrian

OK, so I was wrong--Berrian is a 5th Viking in the set. And either he is absolutely ripped, or he tied off his biceps to pop some veins on his arms for the photo shoot.

Well, not much could beat the Ryan pull from this box--and there's still another box to go. While it's unlikely that I would hit another patch, to my knowledge, the Ryan was only the second patch to come out of that case (first one was a Dorien Bryant)--so I believe there is a chance.

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2008 Donruss Threads, Part VII

Pack 13:
#89 Justin Fargas
#47 Ryan Grant
RCM-2 Mario Manningham Rookie Collection Materials, #015/500
#120 Alex Smith
#128 Kenny Watson
#137 Marc Bulger

Manningham has some potential, although I'm not sure I see him contributing a lot this year, barring injury, since the Giants have Burress and Toomer as starters, and Steve Smith started to figure things out late last year. They also have Sinorice Moss and Super Bowl hero David Tyree on the roster.

Pack 14:
#44 Shaun McDonald
#2 Larry Fitzgerald
#122 Carson Palmer - Jersey Parallel #147/250
#126 Vernon Davis
#143 LenDale White
#109 DeShaun Foster

Hmmm...a Carson Palmer white jersey patch--at least it's official game worn, according to the back. Two other notes--first the McDonald card has an error--it says he had 79 receptions for 62 yards, when he actually had 943 yards (and yes, I know this will not make it more valuable--unless someone happens to have one that has the correct number), and second, the 49ers, much like my Vikings, really need to make their throwback uniforms their full time uniforms. Seriously, the drop shadow numbers? Ain't doing it for me. Better than 4-color combos, monochrome combos, and Nike swooshes down the side, but not by much.

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2008 Donruss Threads, Part VI

Pack 11:
#32 Correll Buckhalter
#PGK-46 Donovan McNabb Pro Gridiron King
#55 Ahman Green
#13 Jeff Garcia
#70 John Beck

Buckhalter and Green couldn't combine their stats from last year and deserve to be in the set. At least Green could be a starter, if he could stay healthy--but when was the last time that happened?

Pack 12:
#86 Matt Leinart
#PGK-18 Carson Palmer Pro Gridiron King
#94 Willis McGahee
#52 Owen Daniels
#76 Laurence Maroney

Two Gridiron Kings in two packs. Not much else to say. We're at the half-way point in the first box, and so far only one jersey, and no auto--so either the last half will yield a decent number of hits, or the number of hits per box is lower than I remember it being last year.

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2008 Donruss Threads, Part V

2008 Donruss Threads Century Stars Eli Manning

Needed an afternoon break, so I grabbed a couple more packs.

Pack 9:
#29 Thomas Jones
#CGK-12 College Gridiron Kings Early Doucet (#152/250)
#130 Jamal Lewis
#139 Marion Barber III
#145 Roydell Williams

Williams was better than I thought last year--still borderline on making a 150 card set, though.

Pack 10:
#18 Earnest Graham
#75 Wes Welker
#CS-11 Century Stars Eli Manning Jersey (#013/250)
#148 Clinton Portis
#116 Shawne Merriman
#103 Ben Roethlisberger

There's the first jersey swatch of the box--not a multi-color swatch, but it is blue, and it's of the reigning Super Bowl MVP, so I guess it's kinda cool.

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2008 Donruss Threads, Part IV

Pack 6:
#57 Marvin Harrison
#15 LaDanian Tomlinson
#118 Cedric Benson
#105 Lee Evans
#122 Carson Palmer

Despite Benson, that would be an ok fantasy football pack--if Harrison's knee can hold up. He killed one of my teams last year.

Pack 7:
#72 Adrian Peterson
#179 Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (#447/999)
#23 Tom Brady
#80 Brandon Jacobs
#37 DeMarcus Ware

Remember when the card number you got meant something? Well, I guess that was more on the Topps Baseball side--but you're really gonna put the guy who's on the box and on the packs in randomly at #72? It also looks to me like there might only be four Vikings in the set (Peterson, Tarvaris Jackson, Chester Taylor and Sidney Rice), unless I'm missing someone.

Pack 8:
#1 Anquan Boldin
#225 Pierre Garcon (#611/999)
#83 Kellen Clemens
#40 Brandon Stokley
#97 Kevin Curtis

Garcon has apparently looked good in training camp, but I doubt that means a lot of playing time this year, unless a couple guys get hurt. Clemens was possibly the biggest loser in the who Favre Fiasco--Pennington got cut, but will likely start in Miami, where the expectations will be lower, and the weather will be less likely to impact his rag arm throws. Say what you want about Clemens learning behind Favre--he never went out of his way to help Aaron Rodgers, so I don't know if it will be much different in New York Jersey. Stokley didn't deserve to make the checklist, and the Curtis card has to be one of the ugliest in the set, with the Eagles yellow and powder blue throwback on.

Overall, eight packs in, three rookies, one other parallel, and a red bordered Gridiron King--but no jerseys, no patches. Hopefully that bodes well for the rest of the box.

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2008 Donruss Threads, Part III

Anyway, into the cards:

Pack 3:
#85 Jerricho Cotchery
#43 Roy Williams (WR)
#142 Carnell Williams
#108 Jake Delhomme
#133 Nate Burleson

OK, nothing great in this pack at all. Burleson was another on the checklist that I was surprised was there--I guess he had an ok season, but one of the top 150 deserving of a card? And why is it that only Carnell Williams gets his nickname on his card every year? Or is his legal name Carnell "Cadillac" Williams? And if it is, how stupid is that? (Not very, compared to Chad Johnson apparently trying to legally change his name to "Ocho Cinco"...)

Pack #4:
#28 Michael Strahan
#60 Dallas Clark (Gold? #026/250)
#10 Rex Grossman
#68 Ted Ginn, Jr.
#26 Deuce McAllister

Would it kill you to fill us in on the parallels on the checklist Donruss? I'm sure I can find it online, but why include them if you can't use them? Also, while I'm ranting--is it really a checklist if it doesn't have the little boxes by it? There's nothing to check...

Pack #5:
#99 Ray Lewis
#229 Ryan Torian #236/250
#49 Greg Jennings
#7 Chad Johnson
#65 Larry Johnson

First rookie of the box--Torian might have had a chance to play some, given Mike Shanahan's penchant for rotating in a new RB every year--but he fractured his elbow in practice, and will miss at least 3 months.
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2008 Donruss Threads, Part II

2008 Donruss Threads Hobby Boxes

Well, finally broke down and purchased another hobby box of a 2008 product--in fact, two boxes, since I hadn't in quite some time, my local card shop gave me a bit of a deal.

Also, it might be the only 2008 product I collect this year--even Bowman Chrome, which I bought a ton of (too much?) in 2007 might be on the chopping block, depending on how the rookie class starts to look once the regular season gets under way. Right now, I'm not holding my breath--I still think what little superstar talent was in this draft was at positions that doesn't bode well for prospecting--so any additional 2008 cards I buy this year will have to be more for fun. Or of specific players.

I bought a bunch of Threads in 2007 as well (again, too much?), and did manage to pull a couple of the letter patches (Isaiah Stanback & Darius Walker--sold the Stanback, believe I still have the Walker), as well as a few other nice hits (Michael Bush Auto Patch card, Trent Edwards Prime Patch, Dan Marino Gridiron Kings Patch).

Anyway, since posts have been slow around here, I think I'll go at a slower pace for opening the boxes--not quite A Pack A Day style, but a few packs here, and a few there. Or I'll get bored in a few days and bust the rest, who knows?

Anyway, first two packs:

Pack #1:
#19 Joey Galloway
#42 Jon Kitna
#110 Heath Miller
#135 Josh Cribbs
#150 Ladell Betts

2008 Gridiron King Ernie Wheelwright

Pack #2:
#14 Santana Moss
#CGK-15 Ernie Wheelwright (Red Border, #087/100)
#138 Tony Romo
#113 Drew Carter
#125 Rudi Johnson

So, one ok hit in the first two packs--Wheelwright isn't a big name rookie, but he was a Minnesota Golden Gopher in college--my alma mater. Unfortunately, he was one of those frustrating players that just never really seemed to live up to his potential--he finished 3rd in school history in career receptions, yards and 100-yard games and 2nd in career receiving touchdowns--but at 6-5, 215 pounds, and starting as a freshmen, many fans (like myself) thought he had the tools to do more. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent.

I do think the cards are pretty sharp, though--but I'm not sure about the checklist. Only 150 non-rookie base cards, and Josh Cribbs makes the cut? Looking at the rest of the checklist, there are a handful of other players that I personally would rather see some more defensive players, or even offensive linemen in the set (linemen always get the shaft when it comes to the hobby).

Also, in addition to 150 veterans, there are another 150 rookie cards--which again seems a bit ridiculous. Especially with guys like Adarius Bowman on the list.

But, overall, I'm excited to be busting some cards again. Check back soon for some more packs--or subscribe to my RSS feed!

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Busting 2008 Donruss Threads