Yesterday I went over my release calendar for Panini, today Ill do my calendar for Topps. Topps has taken steps to incorporate a huge number of new products this year, and for the most part we are unfamiliar with how they will turn out. From the looks of things, they will be business as usual, save for Five Star, and that is where we need to improve things for Topps. Unlike Panini, Topps has some absolute winners on their calendar, and we need to build off of the success of those products to make their year everything it can be.

Topps Flagship

With Topps flagship, they have a complete winner. There is little about this set that needs to change. I would even go so far as saying nothing needs to change, but the normal autos you pull in any box need a better name and a better concept. I would switch the cards away from being peak performance highlights and just let them stand alone with no subset name. There is absolutely no reason they need to be called anything. At the very most, just slap stickers on the rookies’ Topps base cards. Boom, winner.

Topps Platinum

Platinum was pretty good this year, especially over the design from the previous year. My issue is this. Platinum could be Topps’ SP Authentic patch autos, but it needs to be later in the year and on card. I would switch this set with Finest and call it a day. Secondly, the elements of the patch autos should not have borders around them. That is a no-brainer, and I cannot stand it when Topps puts a border around their stickers on any given card. Its like they WANT you to look directly at the sticker when you pick up the card. If Platinum’s patch autos were on card and released in november or december, they would be winners.

Topps Finest

Finest turned out pretty awesome this year with one exception. The vertically oriented patch auto cards were horrible looking and desperately need to be horizontal. Not even a question. It gives more opportunity for the player to NOT be covered up by the patch window and presents much more opportunity for cool design elements. If we are getting nitpicky, I wouldn’t have done a dual jersey auto, but instead just do one jumbo window like with the patches. The jumbo swatch cards actually looked much better and would carry more value.

Topps Chrome

Loved it this year, design was great, content was great. All around win. Nothing needs to change, best set of the year. I would even pay an extra 20 bucks a box for another auto and a few more refractors.

Topps Unrivaled

This product is one of the new ones this year, and the name has grown on me since release. The design, on the other hand, is typical Topps high end and needs to be scrapped. This product is also one of five sets to be highly focused on booklet cards, and I would say those cards should be limited to one or two sets at the most. Secondly, the stickers need to go, but if they are absolutely necessary, they SHOULD NOT be built into the design the way they are with just about every one of the new sets. It looks like Topps hired a guy from Upper Deck to do Five Star football, lets hope whoever designed that product takes Unrivaled under their wing and revamps it for next year.

Topps Prime

Again, this is a set we really know very little about, but looks to be a mid end set. I like the design of the base cards, and I hope the autos don’t look hideous. More booklets that need to be scrapped, and maybe some content problems if the set fills out like Panini fills out their sets. I have to see more, but this product is one that maybe needs to hit the trash heap because it doesn’t really seem to fit in the overall scheme of things.

Bowman Chrome Football

Bring it back, ditch one of the new products. I need more Topps low end football in my life, and I don’t think I am the only one that feels that way. Having this product folded into Chrome this year was nice for Topps Chrome, but I will be very disappointed when I am stuck with Panini’s junk and Topps Unrivaled later in the year. I will be waiting for this stuff, and sadly it will never come. I doubt the sales of Topps Chrome reflected an increase due to this being axed. Bad form, Topps. Bad form.

Topps Supreme

These titles are getting tedious and this one has a good idea in format, but the content is ALL WRONG. More stickers built into the design, more bordered elements, more terrible concept and theme work for the set. Its like Triple Threads and 2009 Exquisite went slumming together and this is the result. I say push this back to get on card signatures, and then use it to fill the void left behind by Ultimate. Although the break value of 2009 Ultimate was hindered by the over abundance of jersey cards, the big hits were some of the best looking cards of the year. If Topps could figure out a way to limit the dud boxes, this could be a big product for them. Change the name, change the design, on card signatures, done.

Bowman Sterling

Disgusting set, ditch it completely. The product’s price tag is horrendous for what you get and it needs to go as soon as it possibly can. I really don’t think there is any worse line in the history of cards than anything with the name “Sterling” attached to it.

Topps Triple Threads

If there is one product on the calendar that needs to be completely revamped, its Triple Threads. This crap has been exactly the same set for the last 4 years and we desperately need a change. First off, they need to ditch the stickers at 170 bucks a box. They also need to change the format because one auto at 170 is a complete fucking shame fest, especially when the other hit is a jersey card. So, they need to add at least another auto or drop the price, change the ridiculous stock this abomination is printed on, come up with a new design, ditch all the stupid parallels, get on card signatures and even change the name. I would say axe this piece of shit, but there are so many Joe Collectors out there that would riot in the streets.

Topps Five Star Football

From what I have seen, this is the first high end Topps football product that has it right. On card signatures, great checklist, great design. Ill be waiting on this one for sure, though it wont be without skepticism. Topps Paradigm was probably the worst failure in the history of high end, and that is saying a lot considering that it is in the same category as 2008 Sticker Lettermen. Hopefully it is as awesome as it looks, because it doesn’t look like Panini is going to have anything to counter it.

I sincerely hope that both Topps and Panini take heed and actually look over their calendars with fine tooth combs. Especially with Panini, there are so many products that need to be revamped, and I think the hobby is worse off because of it. Just like Panini uses 4/1/$90 like it is a screen pass, Topps uses the Booklet card, and both of them need to give up their crutch. We need innovation and variety, and that possiblilty may be gone now that Upper Deck is without a license. We definitely have an inferior product this year in general for football, and 2011 may be the most important year of the industry ever. With a lock out looming, we don’t even know if there will be cards of the players, and that may damage things completely. If there is no football, cards will be very tough to market, and that is why I don’t get how a company like Panini can churn out their poop like they have. Its like they are buying 10 bentleys on their game checks and not saving anything in case they don’t get paid next year. Topps is trying, no doubt, but we need them at a top performing level and they are still struggling to reach the middle of the pack. I blame sets like Triple Threads and Bowman Sterling for watering things down, and as long as those products exist in their current form, there will be very little that Topps can do to establish themselves where Upper Deck used to be in terms of content and design.