You know, prior to 2014, I actually didnt mind the concept of Playbook, even with its absolutely stupid configuration. 2012 Playbook was good enough that I actually bought a few boxes chasing down the big hits, and the cards looked pretty good when you remove the typical Panini trash that wasnt the booklet cards. That's not saying there werent par for the course type of worthlessness, but it was offset by nice stuff other places in the set. In 2014, things went completely south, and only got worse in 2015. So bad that they started putting stickers on the main box hits instead of hard signed acetate scraps. If you think about it, they literally took a sticker replacement and added a sticker to it. Acetate scraps are signed prior to the card’s creation, which is why playbook can avoid sticker usage, and then to see them go that direction is fucking perfect. Just pure Panini.

Check out some of the nicer cards from this set over the years:

2011 Playbook AJ Green Booklet Auto Patch RC

2013 Playbook Down and Dirty Julio Jones Booklet Dual Patch

2012 Playbook Andrew Luck Booklet Auto Patch RC

Now look at what it has become as of a few years ago:

2015 Playbook Jarvis Landry Booklet Sticker Auto Patch

2015 Playbook Randall Cobb Relic Auto

This year’s playbook is right down the same path, with so many poorly designed and concieved cards, that it almost seems like a joke. Its like Panini is trolling us, just to see how low they can put the bar. At some point, even their most staunch supporters will nope the fuck out of every product they put out, and then all will be revealed. We should have already gotten to that point with Gala, Spectra and Unparalleled, but for whatever reason that didnt happen.

The worst part about 2016 Playbook is the terrible look to the main box hits, which are so fucking boring that even the players look bored in those horrendous head shots they are using on the left side. They literally arent even trying anymore.

Then, you see Slant Signatures. This is where things get downright comical. Panini decided it would dad joke the hell out of a set by putting the stickers on a slant and calling it “Slant Signatures” to refer to the way the card was designed. I cant make this up. I wish I was. At what point are you so strapped for ideas that you design a card like this, only hoping that people hear the implied “see what I did there?!?” type of garbage that makes this whole product as shitty as ever.

Right now, Im so busy that I havent had as much time to keep up with the site as I had wanted, but hot damn, I needed to roast this turd of a box before it ate me alive. This was the first time since eBay bucks started that I didnt accumulate any from buying physical football cards, and seeing set after set where Panini just squats and squeezes one out should be a clue as to why that is the case.

Only Panini folks, only Panini indeed. Check out the damage.

Ah yes, here we go again. For more than a decade, Topps has felt it necessary to release a Triple Threads set that basically looks the exact same as all of its previous brothers and sisters. That isnt a good thing either, as this is clearly the worst product Topps makes, and much like Spectra in football, has appeal for reasons I can only assume is the result of a deal with evil forces. Collectors have eaten this shit up, and for more than a decade, I am left dumbfounded as to why that is the case.

Im not going to say much more, because each year I say the same thing. Just feast your eyes on this garbage, and please tell me why anyone is going to be spending money on this junk.

2016 Triple Threads Ichiro Triple Relic – Ill start here as a control group, because this card is just dumb. 3G man is what it says, but it should be 3k man. Either way, this is just a reminder of how dumb it is to spell out goofy shit in die cut relic windows.

2016 Triple Threads Manny Machado Triple Relic Auto 1/1 – I see this card and just put my face straight into my palm. Good god.

2016 Triple Threads Garrett Richards Triple Relic Auto – Big Velo? Are they trying to say he throws fast? What the fuck?

2016 Triple Threads Buster Posey Triple Relic – Who gives a shit that he had the put out plus the assist? Is that really worth them commemorating it on a card? Thats worse than some of the Topps NOW commemorative junk.

2016 Triple Threads Madison Bumgarner Triple Relic – Remmeber when your grandma first called something the bomb? Same thing here with this stupid phrase.

2016 Triple Threads David Wright Triple Relic – Another worthless accomplishment to add to a card.

2016 Triple Threads Miguel Cabrera Triple Relic – Something my dad would say to use.

2016 Triple Threads David Wright Triple Relic #2 – Great way to basically say this guy is benched? I have no clue.

2016 Triple Threads Randy Johnson Triple Relic Auto 1/1 – I dont get it.

2016 Triple Threads Rollie Fingers Triple Relic Auto 1/1 – I feel like this is the last statement at the end of a CSI Miami Opening. You could say he had a “CY of Relief” WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Thank god I never have to experience Triple Threads in football ever again. I can only hope that Topps somehow just drops this product like the dud it is.

Each of the last two years, we have had horrible tragedies that have taken the life of a baseball player within the confines of the existing season. Not only are these tragedies national news, but they represent one of the worst situations that happens in sports. I would go so far as saying baseball has been impacted by these types of situations more times than any of the other sports that I can remember, going back to players like Roberto Clemente’s death in 1972.

Last year, Oscar Taveras, a widely collected prospect and major league star for the Cardinals was killed in an auto accident, and this year, Jose Fernandez lost his life in a boating accident earlier this week. For both players it has left collectors with very tough choices to make in how to proceed with personal collections, especially because both players were so early in their careers. When Clemente died, his legacy was already cemented as a HOFer with over 3000 hits to his name. These two were far from cementing their careers as stars, but were beloved for their potential as futures of their respective franchises.

The question is what do you do when the player you collect passes away suddenly, even if they are no longer playing? I remember Sean Taylor in the NFL was a huge story because like Hernandez, his future was incredibly bright. Same thing could be said about Steve McNair on the other end of things, as his career was already relatively over when he was murdered. Both times, collectors were left with a choice, and I still dont know the right answer to this question. Do you sell off and profit from a TERRIBLE situation, or wait as the demand for their cards drop?

For some, like Reggie White and Walter Payton, their lives ended prematurely too, but well after their playing days were over. Health issues for football players are common, and both White and Payton died early because of sad circumstances from diseases out of their control. Yet like Clemente, their cards have only increased in value because they are no longer around to participate in the collecting game. Im curious if players like Fernandez and Taveras, who had massive but short lived success will have a similar approach, especially because they are both players whose heritage is part of what made them fan favorites. Taveras I would guess will be a stretch to hold any type of long term value, but Fernandez could be different. He was such a huge part of the Marlins’ organization, and as a Cuban player, many collectors gravitated towards his accomplishments as a parallel to their own nationality.

Bottom line, no one wants to deal with a time after a player has died, especially if its not anything related to drugs, alcohol or other self inflicted means. It can be heartbreaking, and for many people who have poured money into stashes of cards, it can be debilitating to one’s confidence of ever really getting back into the hobby the same way. Im not sure I could sell off cards just to profit off a situation like this, and sometimes eBay prevents it from happening like we saw with Junior Seau. At some point, the collection question will come up, and I do not envy anyone that has to go through it.

Hopefully peace has come to Jose Fernandez, as its clear his death is one that many will have a hard time moving on from.

So far this year, we have seen Panini literally release product after product, week after week. It would be one thing if the products were actually reasonably okay, but we have seen products so bad, that it might contribute to their 2016 calendar being one of the worst ever. This includes their 2011 calendar, which still remains one of the worst in football history. With the release of Infinity today (yes, they actually named a product Infinity), I honestly believe there needs to be an award for releasing a slate of products THIS shitty.

When you click to see the cards, just be prepared to shield your eyes. The posed pictures, the giant boxes for signatures, the terrible names, its so bad there isnt a combination of adjectives available that can put true context around my feelings of discontent.

2016 Panini Infinity Paxton Lynch Auto RC

2016 Panini Infinity Roger Staubach Exalted Auto

2016 Panini Infinity Matt Ryan Myriad Marks Auto – They must not know what Myriad means.

2016 Panini Infinity Will Fuller Infinite Potential /8

Im literally losing my mind here. Panini’s constant failure to produce sets that deliver even a smidgen of creativity or attractive content is baffling to me. First, they released Unparalleled, which naturally had a ton of parallels. It also looked as bad as Infinity does. Big boxes for signatures, goofy posed photos, all the same mistakes. Its like its a formula.

Then they released Gala, whose theme and motif was so forced and off kilter that the whole set bombed just like it did in Basketball. Yes, they actually named a set "action autographs." Im not kidding.

Continue onto Spectra, which remains the worst product series of the last 10-15 years. Its cards also look like a 1990s trapper keeper got wasted and barfed on some card stock. It makes me nauseous to think about ripping boxes of Spectra at 300 fucking dollars a pop.

Now, with Infinity, I am questioning their ability to deliver good products at any rate, let alone at a sustained enough clip to keep collectors interested in football. If you thought a lack of competition would be a good thing for Panini, you would be as wrong as wearing socks with sandals.

The only product worth a damn from Panini this year is the one they literally lifted directly from Topps. No changes, no adjustments, just Inception with a new name. Outside of that, one set is worse than the next. And to think! We still have to survive Phoenix, which hasnt been released yet.

It hurts, because I love football and have nothing left. Its been burned to a crisp by Panini’s inability to design good looking trading cards.

After the lockout of 2011, a new rookie wage scale was implemented that prevented teams from having to drop 50 million plus guaranteed to the top picks in the draft. With football cards predicated on rookies, this had a more profound effect than ever before because it meant that teams were not anchored to their new players if they didnt pan out immediately.

Under the previous collective bargaining agreement, teams would give a much longer leash to top rookies that struggled, only because it was so detrimental to the team’s budget and ownership to give up on a guy that you gave so much money to. Now, that isnt so much of a problem. It also means that the fans are becoming more and more conditioned to seeing players cut or traded before their first few years are over, and collectors have also started adopting that mentality.

This boom or bust approach has major impact on value – especially for rookies. If a QB comes out and plays well for a few games at the beginning, it can sustain value for the entire year. If a rookie sits or plays poorly, sometimes that can hurt the value immensely, to the point where it wont spike as high if they eventually figure things out down the road. Right now, Carson Wentz is playing very well against some pretty bad teams. Regardless, his stat lines are pretty nice looking, and has gotten a lot of attention from collectors who feel he is the real deal.

His cards after a big Monday Night nationally televised game have been showing some nice prices:

2016 Origins Carson Wentz Jumbo Patch Auto RC

2016 Absolute Carson Wentz Quad Relic Auto RC

2016 Immaculate NCAA Carson Wentz Auto Patch RC

Similar things can be said about Dak Prescott, who has played WELL above his draft position, posting some similarly good numbers. Collectors put his value into the stratosphere thanks to a great preseason performance, and those values have stayed high as he has seemingly adjusted well to the real defenses of the regular season.

Here are his cards, which are still riding high:

2016 Origins Dak Prescott / Carson Wentz Dual Auto Booklet

2016 Certified Dak Prescott Freshman Fabrics Auto Patch

2016 Leaf Metal Draft Dak Prescott Auto RC

As for Jared Goff, who was inactive week one and on the bench week two, it hasnt been as easy going. Case Keenum has shown to be a lackluster option for the Rams, but Jeff Fisher is determined to let his top pick develop before throwing him to the wolves. Collectors see it as a huge detriment to potential, and even if his numbers end up being equal to Wentz in the long run, Goff may always be lower because he sat.

In terms of the discussion here, collectors (as much as the ownership/coaches) want to see results from rookies almost immediately. There are exceptions sure, and being a number one pick can be a factor, but nothing brings in the big bucks like a huge game or two. Personally, I dont think that this is a good thing for QBs, especially when its clear that it is literally one of the toughest positions to be successful in all of sports. Sometimes it takes forever.

Players like Brock Osweiler and Jimmy Garoppolo are interesting counterpoints here, as they both are in the bucket of players who didnt get to play right away. Both got their shot and both have performed pretty well. Collectors havent put enormous numbers on their cards, but the value has spiked in a pretty good way that shows people havent given up quite yet. Prospecting in football rarely works the same way it does in baseball, but these two players are great examples of when it does.

The message to talk about here is that looking at cards from an investment standpoint is probably a bad idea. At the same time, its fun to speculate and see your favorite cards be worth something to more than just you. Vanity and swinging a big collecting dick is a pretty huge part of the hobby and its clear that seeing your cards increase in value is something we all enjoy. I just wish it wasnt so dependent on the first few games of a player’s career.