I am someone that loves products like Allen and Ginter and Topps Football because of the amount of cool cards that are included in the product without adding a ton of cost to the box. I posted yesterday and last week about surprises that have become a focus of these products, and now that Topps football has been live for almost a day, we are starting to see just how deep the product really goes.

Earlier last night, a card was posted that caught me completely off guard, if not only because many similar types of cards are only included in higher end products that cost in upwards of 150 dollars per box. This Mark Ingram Autographed Jumbo Patch card is a very, VERY tough pull, but as you can see, the results speak for themselves. Not only is the design amazingly awesome, but the autograph on patch is something I have always liked. For a product that is usually aimed at collectors that build the master sets, cards like this add a ton of value to the chase card buyers like myself. Yes, the jersey is event used, which is a drawback for some people, I value the autograph over anything.

Similarly, the signed “In the Name” Letterman cards like this Cam Newton “W” signed letter or this this Colin Kaepernick “I” signed letter are also an interesting subset for Topps, especially when they are only limited to the number of letters in the player’s last name. There was much doom and gloom (rightfully so) about the way Topps produced these cards last year, cutting off any excess fabric from the letter itself, but these look to be a million times better. Love it.

Lastly, we are seeing that for the Super Bowl Legends giveaway, there will be diecut cards that are comparable to the die cuts in the Baseball sister program, something that may make these code cards worth trying. The giveaway site has yet to launch, which is unfortunate, but I have a feeling that it will be comparably popular to what went down in the series of 2011 Topps Baseball.

Overall, when you see the absolute junk that Panini has tried to call “Rookies and Stars”, it has become that much more evident just how much more thought went into the flagship product for their main competitor. In fact, im actually shocked that Panini decided that yesterday was the best day to run it up the flagpole considering the loyal Topps collectors and the mindset usually reserved for the release of the base set each year. Its like Panini knew how dead of a brand R&S is and always has been, and thought that they might just chalk this one up in the loss column even before the packs had been opened.

As we start to see more products with hard signed rookie content released from both Topps and Panini, we are going to really see the reaction people will have to the design elements that one company has put a lot of stock in. Although Certified and Crown Royale look to be improving, they have a LOOOOOOOONG way to go to catch up to what Upper Deck did prior to 2010 and what Topps is doing now. Personally, nothing would make me happier than for Panini to start putting in the effort on football the way they do with PARTS of their basketball calendar, but if Elite, Prestige and R&S are any indication, that isnt happening any time soon.