Category Archives: NFL

Rookie Battle Royale: Week 5 Receiver Bonanza

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Week five was the week of the rookie wide receivers, as there were more than one that had a coming out party as the expense of their opponent. There were also some wild finishes as well as some hardcore beat downs, and I had a pretty good time watching it all go down.

Austin Collie

Most of you are probably wondering who the fuck Austin Collie is. He is a rookie out of BYU who managed not one, but two TDs against an ailing Titans’ secondary. He had a myriad of good plays, and according to Reggie Wayne, is a guy who spends a ton of time studying the game. Now, knowledge does not a good receiver make, but in this case, it sure helped. Lets see what happens next week, as with Wayne and Garcon tearing it up, he probably wont be much of a factor in the long run, especially with Gonzo also in the mix.

Jeremy Maclin

Holy fuck, welcome to the NFL Jeremy Maclin. He had an epic day with close to 150 yards receiving and 2 TDs, and finally looked like he knew what the crap was going on. We were flipping between the Vikings blowout and this game, and were continually shocked how he gained as much as he did. Good thing too, because Maclin had done little to nothing up to that point.

Percy Harvin

Percy led the Vikings with 4 catches for 66 yards, including one that was that close to being a TD. Favre really spread it around, but Harvin’s ability to stay on his feet at all costs is ridiculous. The guy is going to be as good as anyone in this draft, believe me, and I hope that he continues to play well next week when we will really need it.

Mike Wallace

If you asked me who would be the top receivers of the draft this year, I would not have put Mike Wallace anywhere on that list. He has been great as a number 3 or 4 for Pittsburgh, and has put himself ahead of many of the WRs who were drafted ahead of him. He caught his first TD of the year on Sunday and is close to leading the rookie WRs in yardage. His cards are already high because of the team he plays for, but he is quickly living up to those values with each passing week.

Mohammed Massaquoi

Where the fuck did he go? Oh, right, Cleveland. He still led the Browns in receiving, but with 1 catch for 16, you know what I am talking about. He is going to be the Browns number one for the rest of the year, seemingly, but I wouldn’t go buying your PC of him quite yet.

Knowshon Moreno

Knowshon had a good day with 88 yards on the ground, but against a Pats run D, that is much better than it looks. The problem is that he cant hold onto the ball, a problem that could haunt him a la Adrian Peterson, which means that he has a lot of growth still required to be remotely successful.

Glen Coffee

When you are out rushed by Shaun Hill, white guy of the year, there are problems. He did get a TD, but the Falcons pretty much crushed the niners in every aspect of the game. Gore is the guy, and as soon as he comes back, Coffee will be relegated to backup again. Hold off on him.

Matthew Stafford

He spent his first week on the bench due to the injury, even though he was in uniform and looked ready to play in the event of a catastrophe. Of course, the Lions are always in a state of catastrophe, but looked good against the Steelers up until the last drive. It should slow down Stafford’s return table, so be aware.

The Rookie Graveyard

Darrius Heyward-bey – Shut out last week, but again, may be on the worst team in the league.
Beanie Wells – Cardinals are a passing team, and he has done little to nothing.
Brandon Pettigrew – He was supposed to be a new breed of TE, he has done little.

Michael Crabtree – He is on here until he does something. He deserves it.

NFL Rookie Battle Royale: Week 3

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All of you know how awesome of a week this has been, especially with the Bungals beating the Steelers, Manning destroying the Cardinals on Sunday night, and the crazy ending to the Vikings game. The rookies decided to show up too, with a few of them having some great games.

Matt Stafford

How could I not lead with the Lions winning? Im still in shock that they were able to put it together for a full 60 minutes. Stafford played pretty well too, as he showed he is starting to gain that confidence he needs to grow in such a horrible offense. Stafford threw a TD that started everything off for the Lions, thus bringing his total to two in three games, but he didn’t throw an interception, so that is like icing on the cake for a rookie QB. I still say its not a good idea to hold his cards, but at least it’s a LITTLE more promising now that the streak is over.

Mark Sanchez

Sanchez played another great game and came away with another win. It was another great defense, the best arguably, but he was calm and collected even during a bad second half. He had a great TD pass to Cotchery in double coverage and ran one in from 14 out. He ended with with 3 total TDs and is making a few people wonder why they may have passed on him at picks 2-4 in the draft. Sanchez cards are at the peak of their value right now, so if you have them, it may be good to sell and rebuy later, if there is a later. Looks like he will be the Matt Ryan value of his class this year.

Percy Harvin

Harvin was great in the Vikings win, scoring his third TD in as many games. He played great during the second half especially, running back a kick 101 yards and catching some key passed on the final drive that led to the score. He ended up with his best game in terms of yardage, but the return was the spike the Vikings needed to stay in the game after being shut down time after time by the Niners’ Defense. Like Sanchez, Harvin’s cards are at the peak of their value, so it’s a great time to sell if you arent a fan.

LeSean McCoy

Im thinking that Brian Westbrook doesn’t feel so bad he missed that game anymore as McCoy sure picked up the slack with ease. The Eagles routed the Chiefs and McCoy got his first TD of the year. He also racked up 80+ yards and a YPC avg over four yards in the effort. McCoy should be pretty good in the long run, though he will always be overshadowed by Westbrook. Keep his cards for right now, as his value has a lot of potential to go up from here.

Knowshon Moreno

Welcome to the NFL Mr. Moreno. Nice to see you. Glad you put up 90 yards and a TD, bout time a running back in Denver does well, right? Knowshon looked pretty good in his first game with a focus over Buckhalter, and I would expect by week 8 he will have 70-80% of the carries. He is a great back, and should continue to put up numbers week after week. As with all the first round running backs, his value is high due to the Peterson effect, but as it starts to come down, it should be a good idea to pick some of his stuff up.

Donald Brown

That 72 yard scamper was pretty impressive wasn’t it? Well, it helped him put up the first 100 total yard game for a non-QB rookie this year, and jumped his value pretty high as a result. Brown doesn’t have the luxury of a huge college following like Wells, but he showed why he needs a pro following. Wells managed -2 yards on 2 carries, while Brown did great. This guy is a keeper.

Johnny Knox

Another game, another TD for Knox, despite the fact that it was his only catch of the game. He sure has been a pleasant surprise for the Bears, as the rest of their receiving corps is almost as inexperienced as he is. Because of the fact that he has done as well as he has, sell as fast as you can. Its not going to go much higher than it is unless he goes for 150 and three TDs somewhere later in the season. That’s a risk I would be willing to take.
The Rookie Graveyard


Here is where I want to talk about some rookies that Im sure are making a few of you guys pretty angry with their lack of contributions to their teams.

Jeremy Maclin – Where the hell have you been? Having 6 receptions for 46 yards on the season is a crap start for a guy I thought would be the star receiver of his class. Wow.

Darrius Heyward-Bey – Im sure having a QB like Jamarcus Russell is a contributing factor, but 1 reception for 18 yards on the whole year is poop. We all know he shouldn’t have been drafted so high, but hot damn, get moving!

Beanie Wells – I think a lot of people are pretty happy that Beanie isnt doing great so far. They say he was a beneficiary of playing at OSU, and it may be starting to show.

Hakeem Nicks – 2 receptions for 19? Doing worse than Hey Bey, but his team doesn’t need him as much. EDIT: Looks like he was injured week 1, my page on NFL.com didnt show that, my fault on this one…

Next week is looking pretty good, especially with Harvin going up against the Packers on Monday night. Now that the rookies are pretty secure in their roles, it could be interesting to see how values respond. Glen Coffee will have his first game against a defense that he can take advantage of, and may have a great game in Gore’s absence, Sanchez looks like he may be in for his first test as he faces the Saints, and with the Bears going up against Detroit, who knows.

Also, be sure to check out my rookie of the week write up on the Upper Deck Blog as soon as the player is announced. You can also enter your cards to track the performances of a few of the guys I talk about here and possibly win some prizes if you have the ROW in your portfolio. Pretty cool.

Even if the rookies didn’t come to play, this season has still been a great ride so far. I hope it will continue to be as exciting as it has been, as there have already been some great stories. Next week is when things start to get interesting, so don’t miss it under any circumstances. Trust me, it only gets better from here.

What Is Going On With NFL Rookie Contracts?

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So far, only 2 of the first 32 picks in the draft this year have been signed. That is a ridiculous number, to say the least, eventhough only a few are considered to be possible hold outs. Oddly enough, one of them is Andre “Sta-Puft” Smith, the guy who left the combine because he wasnt prepared for the biggest day of his professional life. Regardless of who actually signs eventually, its beyond crazy to think we are close to a month away from the beginning of the pre-season, and less than a few weeks from camp with less than 1/16th of the big rookies under contract.

Right now, the Eagles and Jeremy Maclin are pretty much the only non-negotiators in the field of players. Philly has already signed their entire draft class leaving only a portion of the 25% maximum left for Maclin’s contract. Other than that, players are sitting around waiting for teams to get things going with negotiations or holding off until more first rounders are signed.

When it comes down to contract negotiations and people like Drew Rosenhaus, I hate this part of the year. It shouldnt be this hard to get rookies to sign on the dotted line. There should be set rookie contracts, because there is not a reason in fucking hell that Matt Stafford should be making more money than over 75% of the league’s QBs.

With the season so close, I am hoping that things get done, and quick. Holdouts only mean disaster for everyone’s team, everyone’s cards, and everyone’s investments when they hold out or dont sign. The rookies also are very aware of the fact that missing that first camp can be career crippling as well, so I dont think its them that have as many problems as their greedy agents and stingy team owners.

Can we get this done so I dont have to worry anymore?

This Is Awesome – Thank You Harry Douglas

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Just read this at NFL.com re the Rookie Symposium:

“The 250-plus players at the symposium are getting a non-stop dose of information from league and union officials, psychologists, NFL security as well as current and former players. The one piece of advice that seems to have really resonated was offered by Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas as part of a wide-ranging panel discussion Sunday night.

Douglas told a packed ballroom audience that some of the biggest transitions from college to the pros is keeping hangers-on at a distance and being mindful of money. As an example, he tugged at the gaudy earrings in each lobe and told players that even though it looked like he was sporting major blingage he actually bought the faux jewelry at “Claire’s in the mall.”

He later confirmed that the earrings are fake diamonds, but because he plays in the NFL people think they’re authentic.”

Some players just have their head on straight. Obviously, Chad Ochostinko needs to take heed and stop being such a jackass.

Although this quote could be taken out of context, it says a lot. There are a lot of players in the NFL who come from very underprivileged backgrounds, and they are very succeptable to “the life.” However, some people realize that success in the NFL is fleeting, and they are the ones that dont have problems keeping money in perspective. Harry Douglas may or may not be one of those people, but the idea stands.

SCU Reports: The 2009 NFL Rookie Premiere With Gregg Kohn Of Upper Deck

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Over the last few days, I have spent a lot of time covering the politics of the Rookie Premiere access, but now I have some info on the goings on of the event itself. Gregg Kohn, product manager of UD Football, graciously spent some time informing me of what happened, and based on our conversation, my respect for the 2009 class has gone through the roof.

First some background. Since the early part of the decade, the top NFL rookies have gathered each year in Los Angeles to run through the routes for the first time in their full gear. Also since the early part of the decade, there have been swatches from jerseys obtained at the event put into the cards we buy throughout the card season. Most people automatically assume that the jerseys they get are one of two things: game used (they are not) or the jersey in the picture (they are not). In reality, the jerseys are worn for a matter of seconds, and the jerseys in the picture are kept by people at the event. Really, as long as you know this, there wont be any surprises, so I wont talk about it much more. What you may not know, is that the event is the sole reason we have cards for the year at all, so its a big give and take with the collectors. Again, I am not going to focus on this, the NFL had their chance for that and epically failed.

Instead, I am going to focus on a few other things, mainly the players, and some great stuff that is coming down the pipeline for UD. Before I move on, I want to thank Gregg again for the wonderful help he has given to this blog. He is one of the only people I have met that appreciates the role blogs play in the hobby media.

Moving on to the event, Gregg said he had a great time with a great class. He said that it was one of the best classes they had invited to event, and there was not a primadonna in the group. He mentioned that EVERYONE was happy to be there, and more than willing to overparticipate on what was asked. He also mentioned that a lot of the players were very happy to sign their stuff, and most wanted some of the cards to take home with them. They brought quite a bit of product with them to get hard signed for the sets, and that will include 10 of 12 sets with elements of hard signed cards, and more than half at ALL on card.

Mainly, they were trying to focus on getting more for you, the collector, which includes things like player inscriptions, as well as other newer ideas that really havent had a place in the past days of the hobby. He also commented that the many of the guys, including Darrius Heyward-Bey in particular, were determined to sign their full name regardless of how they felt about signing cards. As a kid, Heyward-Bey hated give up autos and told Gregg he would be signing everything the same.

Many of you also wanted to know about throwbacks and other jerseys that players may have worn, and there were players that needed to wear them due to depleated inventory at the jersey manufacturers, or for a nice touch in general. So, for instance, Crabtree wore some Jerry Rice stuff, Tyson Jackson wore some Derrick Thomas stuff, and a few of the Giants even got to wear some Mark Bavaro stuff. Gregg said that they players actually like this a lot, and Josh Freeman even wanted to keep the awesome Warren Sapp throwback they used. Of course, that means if you see a weird letter in your card, don’t worry.

Gregg specifically remembered Jason Smith and his wonderful and addictive personality, saying that he was one of the best players to be around at the event, cracking jokes and talking shit. He also mentioned that Brandon Pettigrew of the Lions was great, and that he may have been the biggest tight end ever. People like Aaron Curry were also gigantic, but somewhat reserved as well, which was funny to hear. Gregg even agreed that Beanie Wells was surprisingly big for his stature, and would not like to take a hit from that tank at full speed.

Gregg explained that the event was done in shifts, where four or five rookies came to the station at a time, and went through the requests of the company. For Upper Deck, they tried to keep them in teams or at least with their buddies, at least to keep things easy. They wore around the expected amount of jerseys, enough to fill the 2009 products, but it was definitely not as many as you would expect.

So, all politics with the NFL aside, I am thouroughly impressed with Gregg’s report. I will put that much more of a stake into this year knowing that the players have fun doing the events of the weekend, even the Touchdown Dance competition and the trampoline jumps for pictures. After we finished talking about the event, Gregg and I were in agreement that it was tough to think ahead a few years and know that a few of these guys wont be playing anymore. He said they were a great group of guys to spend a weekend with, and wished them the best in 2009.

As for UD products, it looks like it is going to be another banner year. SPA will be back and better than ever with an unprecedented 10 auto rookie patches per case. For the other boxes, you will either get a jumbo signed patch of a rookie or possibly veteran, or one of the new authentic dynasties cards that focus on the teams of each decade. Gregg didnt mention the letters, but they could still be included.

Philadelphia looks like it is going to be a huge success, as we have seen in the galleries from the weekend, and you can imagine that the cards are going to be beautiful. He specifically mentioned jumbo inserts that were hard signed, as well as the mini signatures we would come to expect as a staple of many retro products. There will also be a National Chicle insert set with autographed parallels, many of which were signed during the weekend.

When it comes to 2009 Ultimate Collection Football, Gregg said that they were going to go back to the non-relic versions of the RC Autos. He also said they are tossing around an idea similar to USA baseball where the players will be asked a question to answer along with their sig. That should be interesting, as the USA cards were immensely popular.

These products will accompany Heroes and Draft which should be on shelves very shortly, both of which look great. Heroes will have all hard signed cards, and you can thank the weekend for those.

With that I want to give ANOTHER special thanks to Gregg and to Brandon Miller for their work on this blog and the rookie premiere, their participation is always a treat for me. Both have a standing invitation to come back whenever he wants. Also, sorry to Lindsey who is the brains behind UD design work. I referred to her in a previous as a guy, she is actually quite the contrary. Thanks!