The Football Card Blog » New Products http://www.thefootballcardblog.com Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:07:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 2008 Topps Progressions http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/05/22/2008-topps-progressions/ http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/05/22/2008-topps-progressions/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 16:08:29 +0000 Tony http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/?p=85 Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

2008 Topps Progressions

]]> 2008 Topps Progression Matt Ryan Silver InsertStopped by the local card shop yesterday, as per usual with no real intent of picking anything up (I was actually dropping something off this time). And, as often happens, I walked out with a box of cards, as it was the first time I'd been in since 2008 Topps Progressions came out.

A few things conspired against me--first, my wife is out of town, and for some reason, I tend to buy cards when she's gone (I wonder if she actually reads the blog?  Guess I'll find out).  Second, the boxes were cheaper than I expected, priced at under $100.  Third, there was a guy there opening some, and he was loving it--the Adrian Peterson jersey he pulled certainly helped, but he really was enjoying the cards.

So, despite the reservations I've had about this new Topps product, I grabbed a box and thought, "Maybe Gellman got it wrong."  Hoped, might be a better way to describe it.

Before we get into the actual break, a few general comments.  First, hobby boxes only have 20 packs in them--I looked back at my piles of hobby boxes from years past, and for Topps Draft Picks & Prospects, I could only find a 2006 box--but that had 24 packs.  So the price, while it may be lower, is not cheaper.  Strike one.

Second, the design--on first viewing last night, I agreed 100% with Gellman that the design is an epic failure on conjuring up a retro feel.  Upon looking this morning, I don't think they're quite as bad as I did last night--but they're still not good.  The design makes all of the pictures feel like they were taken with cell phone cameras, and some of the pictures on the inserts look like they may have been. 

Oh, and don't forget about the obligatory airbrushing--I only saw one example (DeShaun Foster in his 49ers uniform), but it's pretty bad.  I did also notice that rather than airbrush Warrick Dunn into a Bucs uniform, they just used a picture of him from back in the day.

As for the college uniform pictures, I actually don't mind them--often I think they're better than the rookie photo shoot pictures, since at least it's usually an in game photo, rather than an unrealistic shot of Matt Ryan "making a throw" while diving parallel to the ground, or Kyle Orton standing like a statue getting ready to throw (wait, that one's pretty accurate).  What does bug me (and did in DP&P too) is the Senior Bowl pictures--if the guy wasn't important enough to have someone snap a shot at a real game, then he's probably not worthy of a card in the set.

Finally, speaking of inserts--one reason I liked Draft Picks & Prospects was the inserts.  You'd usually get 1 chrome parallel per pack, with maybe a handful of bronze/silver/gold chromes in a box, and if you were lucky, possibly a refractor.  This year?  The inserts are all over the board, the majority of which are not just parallels, but actual inserts--most of which I could do without.  A thicker, unnumbered Progression Veteran card of Steven Jackson?  Great.  A thicker, unnumbered Progression Legend Braylon Edwards?  Legend?  Nice player and all, but maybe he should have more than one good season before we declare him a legend.

Now, on to the details:

Base cards: 78 total, 0 duplicates--26 rookies, 50 veterans, and 2 legends (because just what we needed was another base set card of Elway, Young, Montana and Aikman--although Favre apparently isn't in the set--but we gotta have that Kenny Watson card).

2008 Topps Progression Adrian Peterson Gold Parallel2008 Topps Progression Darren McFadden Gold ParallelParallels: 6 (Wes Welker Bronze #018/389, Mike Jenkins rookie Bronze #051/389, Andre Johnson Silver #053/299, Matt Ryan rookie Silver #122/299, Adrian Peterson Gold #077/199, Darren McFadden rookie Gold #029/199)

Progression Legend Cards: 3 (Troy Aikman, Braylon Edwards, Antonio Gates Bronze #180/389)

Progression Veteran Cards: 4 (TJ Houshmandzadeh, Steven Jackson, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning Silver #111/299)

Progression Rookie Cards: 6 (Matt Ryan, Marcus Smith, Mike Jenkins, Harry Douglas Bronze #150/389, Jacob Hester Gold #153/199, Andre Caldwell Bronze Relic #052/299)

Progression Single Relic Card: 1 (Dorien Bryant #183/249)

Progression Single Signature Cards: 2 (Fred Davis, Adarius Bowman)

Needless to say, not a set I intend to complete--a couple of ok pulls, but not enough to get me to plunk down any more on the set.  Unless I get really bored in the next couple months.

Check back later today, as I'm hopefully going to get another mini-rant against Beckett posted--and despite my recent love for all thing Sports Card Uncensored, it's not what you might think it is.

Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

2008 Topps Progressions

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]]> http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/05/22/2008-topps-progressions/feed/ 1 2008 Playoff Prestige Football Review (kind of) http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/05/14/2008-playoff-prestige-football-review-kind-of/ http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/05/14/2008-playoff-prestige-football-review-kind-of/#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 04:58:40 +0000 Tony http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/?p=84 Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

2008 Playoff Prestige Football Review (kind of)

]]> Sorry for the lack of posts lately--I haven't forgotten or given up, I just picked a really crappy time to start a blog devoted to football cards, heading into the offseason.  And even with the new product coming out, it's kind of a lull right now, as mandatory mini camps just don't do much for me. 

I will get back on the Card of the Week bandwagon here pretty soon--been working on another couple of themes ideas to run with, and trying to pull together enough interesting cards to last hopefully until training camp.

Like I said, though, there are some new products hitting the shelves, like 2008 Playoff Prestige.  Unfortunately, I'm on a bit of a budget right now, since I went a little nuts on eBay a couple months back, and I'm getting ready for a little side trip to Vegas (I really hate it when the wife's company sends her there).  More on that in a bit.

I also actually did pick up a bunch of Playoff Prestige in 2007, and I don't remember being all that impressed.  So I think I'll hold off for now, and I'll let Gellman over at Sports Card Uncensored review it for you (if you haven't been to his site before, I definitely recommend checking it out--as long as there are no eyes or ears sensitive to language in the room).

Back to the Vegas trip--anybody got any thoughts on some early Super Bowl bets to place?  I'm thinking of throwing down a bet on my Vikings--seems like I do every year for fun, and I like the Jared Allen deal, although I'm not convinced it makes us a frontrunner, but I also like the 30:1 odds their getting right now.  Anyone else got any thoughts?

Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

2008 Playoff Prestige Football Review (kind of)

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]]> http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/05/14/2008-playoff-prestige-football-review-kind-of/feed/ 1 First 2008 Product “Hit”s The Shelves? http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/04/15/first-2008-product-hits-the-shelves/ http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/04/15/first-2008-product-hits-the-shelves/#comments Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:17:41 +0000 Tony http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/04/15/first-2008-product-hits-the-shelves/ Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

First 2008 Product “Hit”s The Shelves?

]]> I was trading emails with fellow Minnesota Football Card Collector and new TheFootballCardBlog.com reader Daryl last night and this morning, and he dropped a bit of a big one on us when he said:

"I did go to [unnamed local card shop] a couple weeks ago it was the only card store I was able to find and I bought a pack of 2008 Sage Hit and pulled a Matt Ryan Gold Autograph out of it."

2008 Sage HIT Hobby BoxSomehow, 2008 Sage Hit hit the shelves in the last couple weeks, and I didn't even know it.  Granted, Sage Hit has never been something I've bought, other than a few packs mixed in with the re-packed retail sucker boxes I've bought--but you know what this news meant--I happened to find myself in the neighborhood of said unnamed card shop this afternoon, and grabbed a box.

Some quick details--each box features 6 autographs (on average), and ALL CARDS ARE INSERTED (NO REDEMPTIONS!)!  There are 30 packs in a box, five cards in a pack, and one insert per pack.

There are 50 base cards, silver and gold inserts, a base auto and a silver auto that aren't numbered, a gold auto #'d to 250, a Saturday Colors insert and a Saturday Colors Auto #'d to 100, "Make-Ready" inserts #'d to 50, Write Stuff insert and Write Stuff Autos #'d to 25, and randomly inserted 1/1 printer plates and autographed printers plates.

So how'd I fare?

2008 Sage HIT CardsBase cards:
Singles: 2
Doubles: 31
Triples: 12
Quadruples: 5 (including Matt Ryan--maybe Sage HIT somehow got me a loaded box?)

Inserts:
Silver: 10, no duplicates
Gold: 3, no duplicates
Saturday Colors: 6, John David Booty, Matt Ryan, Dennis Dixon, Early Doucet, Derrick Harvey, Jamaal Charles
The Write Stuff: 3, Brian Brohm, John David Booty, Early Doucet

2008 Sage HIT Cards 2HIT Hits:
Base Auto: 3, Kevin O'Connell, Xavier Adibi, Lawrence Jackson
Silver Auto: 1, Brian Brohm
Gold Auto: 1, Kalvin McRae, #217/250
Saturday Colors Auto: 1, Derrick Harvey, #84/100
Make Ready: 2, Sam Baker, magenta, #05/50; and Bernard Morris, yellow, #31/50

My Take:
I'm not all that impressed, but I guess I'm not suprised.  The design of the base cards, combined with some of the limited/poor photography choices for some guys makes the cards just look dirty. 

I actually like most of the inserts and autos--sharp designs and photos, but I don't think I'll be buying any more of Sage HIT, especially since I already have almost two complete sets of the base cards.  Especially not at what I paid for this box.

Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

First 2008 Product “Hit”s The Shelves?

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]]> http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/04/15/first-2008-product-hits-the-shelves/feed/ 0 Donruss Playoff National Treasures http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/01/21/donruss-playoff-national-treasures/ http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/01/21/donruss-playoff-national-treasures/#comments Mon, 21 Jan 2008 04:42:19 +0000 Tony http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/01/21/donruss-playoff-national-treasures/ Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

Donruss Playoff National Treasures

]]> Benjamin Harrison Historical Cuts 2007 Donruss Playoff National Treasures AutographJust in time for the Super Bowl, Donruss is releasing the second installment of its Playoff National Treasures line.  In addition to the standard short print rookies, autographs, and jersey cut cards, the set will once again also feature cut signatures from hall of famers and historical figures, including presidents (like the Benjamin Harrison shown).

Each pack promises six autograph or memorabilia cards out of the seven cards in the pack.  And the set does feature a LOT of prime cards.  In addition, the set features some signifcant advances from a technological stand point--perhaps most importantly, the set marks the debut of Donruss' unique partnership with Kodak aimed at combating fake patch cards, with the inclusion of Kodak's invisible Tracerless Anticounterfeiting system on all prime jersey patch cards.

2007 Donruss Playoff National Treasure Jim Thorpe Autograph2007 Donruss Playoff National Treasure Adrian Peterson Rookie Jersey Autograph CardWhile the single pack boxes have a suggested retail price of $500 a piece, there are already some listed for as little as $350 on eBay.

Our Take: Not surprisingly, if we're not willing to pay $150 a pack for Topps Performance Football, I don't think I'll be dropping even $350 for a pack of National Treasures.  At the same time, I really like the look of the set--and the enhanced security.  So if I happen to come into some money in the next few weeks, who knows what might happen?

Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

Donruss Playoff National Treasures

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]]> http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/01/21/donruss-playoff-national-treasures/feed/ 0 Topps Releasing Final(?) Set of 2007 http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/01/15/topps-releasing-final-set-of-2007/ http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/01/15/topps-releasing-final-set-of-2007/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:14:03 +0000 Tony http://www.thefootballcardblog.com/2008/01/15/topps-releasing-final-set-of-2007/ Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

Topps Releasing Final(?) Set of 2007

]]> Topps will be releasing what will apparently be the final set for the 2007 season in the second week of February, after the Super Bowl and even Pro Bowl have taken place.

The new high end set, dubbed "Topps Performance Football," will feature 1 pack per box, and the set will include 100 base cards with gold, silver and bronze parallels.  Each pack will contain two autographs and one autographed relic card, and 1 in 2 boxes will include an additional relic card serial numbered to 60 or less. A full breakdown of the set is posted on the Topps Web site.

Each case will also feature an Autographed Adrian Peterson card, numbered to 249 or less.

As for pricing, we've heard that the SRP will be $150 per box, but an early check on eBay shows some boxes selling for as little as $100+ shipping.

Our take: Not sure I'm willing to spend $100 for a single pack of 16 cards--but maybe our minds will change when the release date actually comes closer.

Check out my other football related blog, atZoneBlitz.com

Topps Releasing Final(?) Set of 2007

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