Yesterday I posted about the first images that we had gotten from 2010 Exquisite NCAA, and now we are getting images of the second Upper Deck product for 2011. For 2010 Sweet Spot, it was UD’s first stab at producing a football product without NFL licensing, and based on the response of the collectors, things didn’t live up to people’s expectations for the product. There were a lot of no-namer autos, and plenty of jersey cards that really didn’t seem necessary. Although the big hits sold extremely well, it was mostly because of how much product was opened rather than a representation of the actual value.

This year, Upper Deck is taking a different approach, and from the looks of things, Im not that impressed. Although I like the look of the base autographs, I really dislike much of the other cards from the previews. The helmet cards don’t have the look that the 2010 ones did, and that is a bad thing when you consider who will be on them. Also, with a weak offensive class, and the possibility of no on field action for 2011, these need to have PERFECT execution to be even remotely successful. Im not sure if these meet that standard.

I always have liked the signed helmet cards in the sweet spot products, and now that its auto per pack, there is a greater chance of pulling a bunch of them. However, I still think that money is the main issue driving the subpar results at UD lately, which is really too bad. I would take licensed UD at half strength over Panini at full strength any day of the week. With these, I can see, we may actually be falling below half strength, and without a license for the NFL, its that much worse.

Take a look: