To put this frankly, this isnt the best time of year. We are beyond the pre draft junk, which is really good, but we are not to the point where on card stuff is happening either. Without Topps in the mix this year to spark interest with their flagship products and perennial winners like Inception, im bored out of my mind. Unfortunately, Panini's best effort to cure that boredom is Certified Football, which for the last few years has been deader than ever as a viable product line.

Here are some of the cards up so far:

2016 Panini Certified Jared Goff Auto Patch /75

2016 Panini Certifie Carson Wentz Auto Patch /149

2016 Panini Certified Ezekiel Elliott Auto Patch

2016 Panini Certified Tim Brown Auto /25

The problem, as we will see with most Panini products this year, is that this is just one of many releases that really offers nothing in terms of compelling content. In previous years, this set had been on card, but even then it wasnt anything special. Not only is the look of the set riddled with foil and stickers, but nothing really wows me enough to actually go out and buy some. What seems to be more frustrating is that Clear Vision is still fresh off release, and here we go with another set that brings nothing to the table.

To be fair, this is SIGNIFICANTLY better than Clear Vision, but that’s like saying this 1987 Ford Fiesta is better than that burning wreck on the side of the highway. Neither are really that attractive as a viable option for transportation.

I have said time and time again, if every set is just going to be sticker after sticker, blah design after blah design, what is the point of even continuing to collect new products as 2016 moves on. Each week there is going to be another entry in the calendar, and each week there will be something else that will fall drastically in price as the season progresses. No one really cares about products like this long term, and I would even go as far as saying that this stuff isnt on people’s list in the short term either.

The base card autographs really dont look bad, but as mentioned before, I am just getting to the point where stuff like this doesnt do it for me. Ive seen it 30 times a year for the last few years, and its getting boring. Seeing that the designs havent improved to be more compelling, or even offered some sort of on card autographs is a huge detriment. People wonder why the hobby buying public of new products is shrinking so much? This is a big reason.

Funny to mention that we arent even a handful of products past the end of the premiere, but we are already seeing redemptions in play. Considering that the players spent so much time taking goofy photos with instagram cutouts, and drawing sketch cards that arent good looking in any sense of the word, you have to wonder what Panini was thinking.

Overall, things HAVE to change. Panini overpaid way too much for this exclusive deal to waste it churning out cookie cutter bullshit that didnt sell last year, the year before that, or the year before that. I dont really have a solution, but holy fuck this is bad news.