When Panini announced Momentum would be back for a second year, I was EXTREMELY surprised. Not only was it extremely ugly and poorly themed last year, it was RIDICULOUSLY expensive to break. I thought the box hits in the product were some of the worst cards of the year, and to hear that it was coming around again at the same price didnt seem like a good idea.

Now that its live, I still believe this product should be stripped down and rebuilt, but the design has improved significantly:

2013 Momentum Tavon Austin Quad Patch Auto /10 – Nice looking card

2013 Momentum Montee Ball Dual Jersey Auto /49

2013 Momentum Tyler Wilson Triple Patch Auto Rainbow /25

2013 Momentum Le'Veon Bell Triple Patch Auto Rainbow /49

Basically, you get 10 hits per box, which include 5 autos and 5 jersey cards. You might get 2 autos per box that are actually worth talking about, and from what I saw, one patch out of the five jersey cards. The other 7 hits in the box are relatively worthless, and it continues to baffle me why Panini takes this type of approach – ESPECIALLY with a shitty class behind it.

I really do like the design this year, as I feel the white background with foil embellishments serves to be a huge upgrade over last year's train wreck. Its not perfect, but this part of the calendar is a relative black hole when it comes to on card autos. Its too soon after the premiere to do on card with relics, and maybe even too early to do on card in general. That is a scheduling issue, and for a product that costs as much as this does per box, it should have been considered.

Additionally, I really like the inclusion of signed versions of the rookie and veteran base cards, as I think the concept is sharp. There is no ugly white box to speak of (a miracle!), and as a result the cards do look very high end. The issue is that they are still very high numbered, which will do nothing but hurt the value of them even further. Its unfortunate, because I really like the way they look.

If I am Panini, I make this a one pack product, and remove 6 of the hits. At least that way, the cost can stay low and you dont lose anything out of the product itself. Lets face it, rookie jersey cards mean little when the players themselves arent superstars like we have had over the last few years.

Because I liked the design of a few of the cards, I opened a few packs at Sports Cards Plus here in San Antonio. Although I pulled a player I collect (rare for me), I proceeded to get absolutely destroyed on the box. At 185 per, this type of configuration is as hard to swallow as Bowman Sterling, and that is saying a lot.

As bigger hits are posted, im sure we will start to see some of the reason why there is such a big tag on this box, but for now, I dont see how anyone could do well unless they pull a low numbered logo patch auto. That’s really not a good thing, especially when the boxes are already selling just 10 bucks over dealer cost with the online retailers.