Stopped 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).
Parallels: 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.
[phpbay]2008 topps progressions, 10[/phpbay]
Sorry about the tough break with this box. Ill tell you though, some of the cards look just okay. The majority are so bad that I have to avert my eyes.