We will start with the Ravens/Patriots game.  I expect New England to have a much tougher game this week.  The Broncos gave them no challenge at all.  Baltimore is so much better defensively, plus they actually have a real offense.  New England will really be tested this week.  

First let’s look at the Pats offense vs. the Ravens D.  The Ravens gave up about 35 less passing yards and 8 less points than the Broncos did this year.  The Ravens won’t stop the Patriots, but they will slow them down for sure.  I fully expect the Ravens to really limit Welker and Branch.  This will put even more pressure on Hernandez and Gronkowski.  In addition to this, the Patriots won’t have much luck running the ball.  They didn’t need to run the ball against the Broncos, but I think they’ll want to try and mix it up a little bit more this week.  I look for the Patriots to really try the short and quick throws.  This will help to keep Ed Reed from disrupting things.  The Ravens can put pressure on Brady and he needs to be able to get rid of the ball.  The Ravens are also solid at forcing turnovers.  This is what doomed the Texans and it can do the same to the Pats if they aren’t careful.  

The Ravens offense vs. the Pats D is a more intriguing match-up.  While the Pats offense and the Ravens D are both elite, the other side of the ball certainly posses some question marks for both teams.  The Ravens offense has some playmakers in Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith.  Their TEs have been solid this year too.  New England’s defense has really struggled all year.  They are, however, very good at forcing turnovers.  They forced the most in the AFC all year.  I think turnovers will be the deciding factor in this game.  If Flacco can protect the ball, I give the Ravens a great shot to win.  They should be able to run the ball with Rice.  New England is better against the run than they are against the pass.  But, they are still only middle of the road.  Flacco should have plenty of success, but the Ravens will want to play ball control with Rice and Ricky Williams.

I think this is a great match-up for Baltimore.  Baltimore will be able to slow down the Patriots with both their defense and offense.  I look for this game to be close and lower scoring than some might think.  As long as Baltimore doesn’t turn the ball over, I really think they have a good shot to win the game. I keep going back to the fact that New England hasn’t beaten a single team with a winning record all year.  I know that is a little misleading, but I can’t ignore that fact.  In total contrast, Baltimore has beaten Pittsburgh twice, Houston twice (once with Schaub at QB), Cincinnati twice and San Francisco.  In fact, Baltimore is 7-0 against playoff teams if you count their playoff win last week.  The only playoff team that New England has beaten is Denver.  Lastly, the game being in New England isn’t necessarily a huge help for the Patriots.  I’m sure the Ravens would love nothing more than a foot of snow and a 30 mph breeze.  The worse the conditions, the better off Baltimore will be.

Prediction: Baltimore 23, New England 20.

I expect the Giants/49ers game to be a little higher scoring.  I know that San Francisco had a solid defense all year, but they struggle against the pass.  Look what New Orleans did to them last week.  I figure the Giants will have similar success with Eli, Nicks, Cruz and more.  The 49ers really impressed me with their offensive output against New Orleans.  If they can give Alex Smith time to throw, he should have some similar success.

When the Giants have the ball, I figure the game will be very exciting.  Eli had a ton of success in November when these two teams played.  He threw for 311 yards and 2 TDs.  He did have 2 interceptions, but he’s been great in that area lately.  After watching Brees pick apart the 49ers’ D, I assume that the Giants will be able to move the ball.  The 49ers will need to get pressure on Eli and force him to throw early.  That’s something that the Packers were not able to do.  If Eli has time to sit back and find an open receiver, he will pick you apart.  I assume that the Giants won’t find a lot of running room for Bradshaw or Jacobs.  While that could create some issues, they weren’t able to do much on the ground against the Packers and it didn’t slow them down.  I look for the 49ers to try and create pressure by bringing blitzes.  This could give the Giants some opportunities for big plays, but it could also create pressure and turnovers.

The Giants have been amazing on defense over their last 4 games.  Their defensive line is absolutely wrecking havoc right now.  They sacked Rodgers 4 times this past week and pressured him the whole game.  If Alex Smith faces that kind of pressure, it could be a long day for the 49ers.  The Giants are playing much better defensively than the Saints were.  I look for them to be able to slow down the 49ers much more.  I don’t see the 49ers having over 400 yards of offense again.  I also don’t see Gore having much luck either.  The 49ers offense really hasn’t been explosive this year.  It wasn’t until they faced a poor Saints’ defense, that they had a big time breakout game.  

There is no one playing better than the Giants right now.  They have outscored their opponents 121-50 over their last 4 games.  And that’s against the Jets, Cowboys, Falcons and Packers.  So it’s not like they’ve been playing bad teams.  If the Giants continue on their hot streak, they are going to win the Super Bowl.  Maybe the 49ers can slow them down, but I just don’t see it.

Prediction: New York 30, San Francisco 20.

Yes, I am picking both away teams to win this weekend.  I am more worried about the Ravens pick than I am the Giants pick.  I really feel like the Giants will win.  Enjoy the games this weekend.  I hope your team wins for you.

Josh 

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Today, the much-anticipated Topps Supreme Football releases and it features autographed cards from one of the hottest players in the game…Tim Tebow.

As “Tebow Time” takes the nation by storm, collectors can find these autographed cards in Topps Supreme: 

Base Autograph #’d to 27

Base Autograph Red Parallel #’d to 20

Base Autograph Green Parallel #’d to 10

Base Autograph Platinum Parallel #’d to 1

Base Autograph Printing Plates (4 versions) #’d to 1

Triple Autograph w/ Newton, Bradford #’d to 10

Quad Autograph w/ Newton, Sanchez, Ryan #’d to 5

In addition, Topps announces it is including 50 more Tebow Autographs (via redemption) in its Precision Football Release.  These cards, which are appropriately named “Tim Tebow Precision Comeback Autographs” will capture all of Tebow’s late game heroics including the overtime playoff win versus the Steelers last week.  Each limited edition card will be numbered to 9 or less and include Tebow’s autograph.

Here are the rookies who made an impact in the first week of the playoffs.

1. T.J. Yates QB Houston Texans

Yates had a solid game this week.  He wasn’t asked to do a whole lot, but he did a decent amount with what he was given.  He completed 55% of his passes for 159 yards and 1 TD.  His QB Rating was 97.7.  Not bad at all for a rookie making his first playoff start.  It was nice to see him have Andre Johnson back.  The best news is that his team won the game.  They face a much tougher test this weekend.  The Ravens are a top 2 defense and Yates will be forced to try and throw the ball a little more.  The Ravens aren’t going to let the Texans run for 188 yards like the Bengals did.  We should get a very good idea of just how good (or bad) Yates is this week.

2. Julio Jones WR Atlanta Falcons

Jones had a solid playoff game.  He finished with 64 receiving yards on 7 receptions.  He also ran the ball once for 13 yards.  Jones probably should have been used more on a few of the 4th down plays.  The Falcons lost their offensive coordinator yesterday, so it will be interesting to see who they bring in.  Julio has shown immense talent this year and could be even better in the right system.  Sadly, we now have to wait several months to watch him play again.  

3. A.J. Green WR Cincinnati Bengals

Green had a decent game against the Texans with 47 yards on 5 receptions.  The Texans did a great job defensively, so it was tough for Green to really break out.  It wasn’t a bad showing for his first playoff game.  Here’s hoping the Bengals have many more to come in the future.

4. Andy Dalton QB Cincinnati Bengals

Dalton really struggled against the Texans.  He did throw for 257 yards and completed 64.3% of his passes.  However, his yards per attempt was only 6.1 and he threw 3 interceptions.  You just can’t turn the ball over like that in a playoff game.  It was still a great rookie year for Dalton and he should be able to learn a whole lot from his experiences this year.  Unlike most rookie QBs, Dalton had the chance to play in several high pressure games.  This should give him a great chance to succeed in these situations in the future.

5. Titus Young WR Detroit Lions

Young was overshadowed by his teammate Calvin Johnson.  Young caught 4 balls for 33 yards.  Not a bad showing for the #3 or #4 option.  The Lions should continue to have an explosive offense next year.  I could see Titus taking over the #2 receiver spot from Nate Burleson.  If he’s able to do that, he could easily top 1,000 yards next year.  Either way, his future doesn’t look too bad.

Not a ton of activity from rookies in the first week of the playoffs.  We should have a few more playing this week though.  T.J. Yates is still alive plus we get to see Torrey Smith, Stevan Ridley, Randall Cobb, Kendall Hunter and maybe Mark Ingram.  Here’s hoping a few of them have solid games. 

Josh

Looking back at last week’s picks, I was 3-1 in terms of picking the winner.  I was not too far off in the Saints/Lions game.  The Texans beat the Bengals by much more than I expected.  And the Giants made the Falcons look terrible.  The one I missed was the Broncos win.  I certainly didn’t see that coming.  I’m not sure many people really saw that coming.  Quite a performance by Mr. Tebow.  We’ll see if he can repeat it this weekend.

First up is the Saints/49ers game.  This one is definitely the most up in the air to me.  It’s such a contrast in style.  The 49ers are a great defensive team that has a little bit of offense.  The Saints are the complete opposite.  The big problem I see for the 49ers is that their defense is better suited at stopping the run.  The 49ers have given up some big passing games this year.  Tony Romo threw for 345 yards and 2 TDs.  Michael Vick threw for 416 yards and 2 TDs.  Matthew Stafford threw for 293 yards and 2 TDs.  Eli Manning threw for 311 and 2 TDs.  John Skelton threw for 282 yards and 3 TDs.  Ben Roethlisberger threw for 330 yards.  Even John Beck threw for 254 yards and a TD.  My point is that the 49ers have really struggled against good passing teams.  Last time I checked the Saints were a very good passing team.  This could spell trouble for the 49ers.

The good news is that the game is in San Francisco.  It could be windy and/or rainy and that could help to slow down the Saints.  The other good news is that the 49ers should be able to have some success running the ball.  The Saints gave up 5 yards per cary during the regular season.  With Frank Gore healthy, the 49ers should be able to exploit that weakness.  If they can play ball control, that will be their best option at slowing down the Saints offense.  

In the end I think the 49ers are going to struggle.  I think they’ll have some success slowing down the Saints, but not enough.  I look for a little bit lower scoring game for the Saints, but just not enough offense from San Francisco to keep up.

Prediction: Saints 27, 49ers 19.

Next up is the Patriots/Broncos game. I must say that this was an easy game for me to pick this week.  I know that Tebow had a phenomenal game against the Steelers.  I know that the Patriots defense has really struggled this year.  I don’t care.  Some people are claiming that God is on the Broncos’ side.  I’m sorry but I’m just not buying that.  Look, I think Tebow is a great guy.  I think he’s a great role model for kids.  I think it’s fantastic that he’s playing well and so many people are rooting for him.  I just don’t believe that God is making him win.  

The Broncos don’t play great defense.  I know they slowed Pittsburgh down, but that was without Mendenhall and with a banged up Big Ben.  The Patriots are as healthy as any team offensively.  Tom Brady was able to pick the Broncos apart less than a month ago.  He threw for 320 yards and 2 TDs.  I don’t see why this weekend will be any different.  The Patriots haven’t beat a team with a winning record all year.  Some of that is because they lost to the Giants and the Steelers (the only 2 teams on their schedule that finished with a winning record).  However, a big part of that is that their schedule didn’t have them playing many good teams.  Also, they beat San Diego, Oakland, NY Jets (twice), Dallas, Philadelphia and Denver who all finished 8-8.  Obviously had any of those teams beat New England then they would have had winning records.  There were only 12 teams with a winning record this year.  To put that in perspective 14 teams had a winning record last year.   

The Broncos should have the ability to move the ball and put up some points.  Unfortunately, I think they’ll have to settle for a few too many field goals.  Unless Brady turns the ball over several times, I just don’t see the Broncos as having much of a chance.  Even if Tebow plays like he did last week, that probably won’t be enough.

Prediction: Patriots 37, Broncos 24.

The Texans/Ravens game is the early game on Sunday.  This game intrigues me because of the way the Texans played against Cincinnati.  They looked very impressive last week against the Bengals.  I was really surprised at how easily they were able to run the ball.  Cincinnati was very solid against the run pretty much all year.  They ranked 8th in yards per carry and 10th in total yardage against the run.  The Ravens are much better defensively though.  They ranked 2nd in both rushing categories on the season.  Yates will be forced to pass the ball more than he did against Cincinnati.  Fortunately for the Texans, Andre Johnson looked pretty darn good.  That’s great news for the Texans’ chances of upsetting the Ravens.  

The Ravens are pretty average on offense.  Ray Rice is awesome and a weapon in both the running and passing games.  Anquan Boldin claims he’s feeling better than he has all year after late season knee surgery.  And Torrey Smith is coming along.  However, Joe Flacco had some pretty terrible games this year.  He had 4 games with a completion percentage below 50%.  He had 7 games where he threw for less than 200 yards.  He finished the year with the lowest completion percentage of his career.  And his QB Rating was barely above his rating as a rookie.  It was also the first time in his career that he accounted for more than 20 turnovers.  The good news for the Ravens is that he threw for over 300 yards against Houston in week 5.  

Because the game is in Baltimore, I’m giving a slight edge to the Ravens.  I do think the game will be closer than some are guessing.  I see it as being a relatively low scoring game with a turnover or two making the difference.

Prediction: Ravens 17, Texans 14.

Last up is the Packers/Giants game.  Let me start by saying that I’ve gone back and forth on this game for the last few days.  The Giants have played amazingly well over the last few weeks.  They’ve rolled the Jets, Cowboys and Falcons by a combined score of 84-30.  The key for them is that they are finally able to run the ball.  Their season average in rushing was 89.2 yards per game which ranked dead last in the league.  In their last three games, they’ve bumped that average to 131 yards.  Everyone knows that the Giants can pass the ball, but if they continue to be able to run, look out.  They are also a lot healthier now than they were for a good part of the season.

With all that said, I think people are sleeping on the Packers right now.  Everyone is talking about the Broncos, Saints, Giants and even Patriots.  Let’s not forget that the Packers went 15-1 and were absolutely rolling up until the last few weeks.  They are nearly unstoppable on offense.  Sure they’ve struggled on defense.  However, they have some play makers with Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson and B.J. Raji.  Green Bay’s defense played so much better last year that I feel like they still have it in them.  They lost Nick Collins, but that’s really about it.  I will say that if their defense doesn’t play a little better, I think they will struggle to repeat.  Their offense is better than it was last year, but they need a little more out of their defense.  

The bottom line is that the Packers were the best team all year.  And the game is in Green Bay.  I know the Giants are hot right now, but they lost to Washington twice and Seattle this year plus 4 in a row at one point.  The Giants’ defense hasn’t exactly been stellar either.  I expect a high scoring game that is decided in the 4th quarter.

Prediction: Packers 41, Giants 35.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week.  Enjoy the games this weekend and let’s all hope for a little more excitement.  

Josh

Alabama is a great running team with Trent Richardson.  However, after losing Julio Jones to the NFL, I feel like their passing game is not very explosive.  AJ McCarron has not made many mistakes this year.  He also hasn’t made a lot of big plays. He’s only thrown for 2,400 yards.  That’s only 200 yards per game.  And he’s had 4 games this year with no passing TDs and another 4 with only 1.  So in 8 of the 12 games he played in, he only had a total of 4 passing TDs.  He’s also failed to throw for 300 yards this year.  Now, I know some of this is because Bama has been killing their opponents as that means less passing.  But, his numbers are all that impressive.

As bad as Alabama has looked in the passing game, LSU has been even worse.    Alabama ranks 77th in passing yards, while LSU is all the way down at 108th.  They don’t even average 170 passing yards per game.  That’s just plain bad.  Their QB carrousel hasn’t been overly effective this year.  And they’ve failed to build any consistency in the passing game.  The worst part is that if you stop Randle, you pretty much neutralize LSU’s passing attack.  At least Bama spreads it around much better.  

In truth, both teams are average (at best) on offense in terms of yards per game.  Alabama is a top 15 rushing team, but ranks 30th overall.  LSU is much worse.  They sit at 17th in rushing, but are only 73rd overall.  As I said before, some of this is misleading. When you have the kind of defenses they have, you’re not going to take a lot of chances on offense.  Points wise, they are not bad at all.  LSU is 12th at 38.5 points per game and Alabama is 17th at 36 points per game.  Part of this is because they create a lot of turnovers and both score a decent amount of defensive TDs.

One other thing that hurts LSU’s offensive stats is the fact that they are fantastic in the return game.  LSU led the nation in punt return yardage with 523 yards.  Alabama wasn’t far behind at 440 yards.  However, Bama only had 498 kickoff return yards.  That ranked 120th (or dead last).  LSU was 117th, but had over 200 more yards.  That means LSU had 1,226 total return yards and Alabama had 938.  

Alright, enough of the statistics.  Here are some feelings I have towards the game.  First thing is I think that there will be more big plays in this game.  I really feel like both of the teams will take more risks.  Look for a few early shots down field to see how the defenses react.  I’m guessing both teams will be fighting to get that first TD on the board.  I could see a few gadget type of plays to try and “trick” the defenses.  The second thing is that  playing against these defenses is so tough because they’re good at everything.  Whether it is creating pressure or dropping back into coverage, they are both capable of just about anything.  This makes it tough to draw up an offensive game plan.  I think the key is finding a few plays that can be successful.

LSU has had a few slow starts to games this year.  Personally I think most of these were because they were looking ahead to the next game.  That (obviously) won’t be the case this week.  Both teams should come out amped up for this one for sure.

This game is really hard for me to predict.  I feel like it will be very close just like the first game.  I think the difference will be special teams.  LSU has a slight advantage in that area to me.  I see that as being the difference in this one.

LSU- 20, Alabama- 16

Through the terms of the agreement, Topps will release its first Team USA offering in the spring of 2012 in preparation for the upcoming London Games. The collection will feature the country’s top Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls, including Allyson Felix (track & field), Missy Franklin (swimming), Lolo Jones (track & field), Tatyana McFadden (Para track & field), Michael Phelps (swimming), Jerome Singleton (Para track & field), Hope Solo (soccer) and Jordyn Wieber (gymnastics).

“It is an honor for the company to commemorate the pinnacle of sports and this country’s best athletes,” said Doug Kruep, Topps GM of sports & entertainment. “We look forward to offering supporters of Team USA athletes a truly unique keepsake and collectible.” 

The Team USA collection is highlighted by the inclusion of 100 gold-medal hopeful cards – 40 of which feature authentic athlete-autographed special versions. The release will also celebrate past Team USA medalists, the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and their diverse sports and venues, and will include randomly inserted cards embedded with Olympic pins, patches and replica medals.

A portion of each purchase will go directly to supporting the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams.

“We are excited to partner with Topps’ to highlight Team USA athletes ahead of the London Games,” said Peter Zeytoonjian, USOC managing director of consumer products. “Trading cards are a great way to support and learn more about the amazing athletes who will represent Team USA in London next summer and, when the Games end, a great way to remember the athletes and moments that defined the competition.”

I’m going to extend the list beyond 17 this week.  I’m not sure how many I’m going to do, but I want to make sure to include just about any rookie who made an impact on offense.  If you think I missed anyone, please don’t hesitate to comment.

1. Cam Newton QB Carolina Panthers (Last week #1)

Final Stats: 60.0% completion percentage, 4,051 passing yards, 21 passing TDs, 17 interceptions, 84.5 QB Rating.  706 rushing yards, 5.6 yards per carry, 14 rushing TDs, 2 lost fumbles.

It was quite a season for Newton.  He set the all time record for passing yards by a rookie.  I’ve gone on and on about Newton all year.  And yet, I still feel like I’m not saying enough.  No one outside of Cam himself (and I wonder if he even doubted himself just a bit) could have predicted this kind of season.  Not even the Panthers who made him the first pick would have guessed that he would be this good.  The one and only complaint I can make is that he did turn the ball over 19 times.  The Panthers went 6-10 and lost every game when he turned it over.  With that said, the Panthers had no defense all year.  If they can build up their defense in the offseason, look out for them next year.  Even if they don’t get much better, they are one of the most fun teams to watch now.  And it’s all thanks to Cam.

2. DeMarco Murray RB Dallas Cowboys (Last week #2)

Final Stats: 897 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per carry, 2 rushing TDs.  26 receptions, 183 receiving yards, 7.0 yards per reception.

Murray had an amazing season considering how little he really played.  He was only the feature back for about 8 total games.  He had 824 yards in those games.  That’s absolutely insane.  Murray has a legit shot at leading the league in rushing in the future.  He showed a great burst and tremendous speed.  With Felix Jones always getting banged up, Murray will have plenty of chances to be the one and only back for the Cowboys.  I expect big things from Murray in the future.

3. A. J. Green WR Cincinnati Bengals (Last weke #3)

Final Stats: 65 receptions, 1,057 receiving yards, 16.3 yard per reception, 7 receiving TDs.  53 rushing yards, 10.6 yards per carry.

Green was a true #1 receiver this year.  He had a bit of a down game this week, but he is still a bit banged up.  Plus he was facing the tough Ravens’ D.  He showed up every single week and was the best offensive threat that Cincinnati had all year.  He’ll be a top 5 receiver within a year or two.  Green meshed very well with Andy Dalton and should be able to continue to build on that for many years to come.  I’m excited to see Green’s future.  He’s a rare breed of receiver who can be a deep threat and a possession receiver.  He has true game-breaking speed.  Here’s hoping he has a monster game this weekend against Houston.  

4. Andy Dalton QB Cincinnati Bengals (Last week #4)

Final Stats: 58.1% completion percentage, 3,398 passing yards, 20 passing TDs, 13 interceptions, 80.4 QB Rating.  152 rushing yards, 4.1 yards per carry, 1 rushing TD, 2 lost fumbles.

Dalton had a so-so last game of the year.  He didn’t turn the ball over which was great.  Unfortunately, he didn’t produce any TDs and only completed 50% of his passes.  Dalton still had a tremendous year.  As I’ve been saying all year, he was overshadowed by Newton for sure.  Normally when a rookie QB throws for over 3,000 yards and 20 TDs it is big news, but not with what Newton did.  Dalton was a little less productive than Newton this year, but a lot of that was due to the fact that his team actually has a defense.  Newton picked up a lot of extra stats late in the games or during a shootout.  Dalton’s Bengals were much more conservative.  I don’t think Dalton is ever going to be a Brady/Brees/Rodgers type of QB.  However, I think he has a great shot at being a solid starter for many years.  

5. Julio Jones WR Atlanta Falcons (Last week #5)

Final Stats: 54 receptions, 959 receiving yards, 17.8 yards per reception, 8 receiving TDs.  56 rushing yards, 9.3 yards per rush.

Jones went out with a bang.  He really only played the first half against Tampa, but still managed 76 yards and 2 TDs.  Julio absolutely dominated down the stretch.  In his last 5 games, his stats were insane.  24 receptions, 461 yards and 6 TDs.  Those are mind-blowing stats that would put him in the top 2 or 3 receivers in the league if he could replicate them for 16 games.  Jones is an absolute monster and should only get better over the next few years.  I think A.J. is just a tad better, but they should both be perennial pro-bowlers when it’s all said and done.

6. Torrey Smith WR Baltimore Ravens (Last week #6)

Final Stats: 50 receptions, 841 receiving yards, 16.8 yards per reception, 7 receiving TDs.  39 rushing yards, 9.8 yards per rush.

Smith didn’t do a whole lot this week.  It really didn’t take away from his phenomenal rookie campaign.  He was clearly the 3rd best rookie receiver this year, but that says more about the two guys ahead of him than it does about his performance.  Smith was very inconsistent, but his overall numbers were great for a rookie.  He’s given the Ravens an explosive option at receiver this year.  Smith has a bright future and should continue to develop as his career goes on.  If he can establish more consistency than he could become a top receiver in the NFL.  

7. Roy Helu RB Washington Redskins (Last week #9)

Final Stats: 640 rushing yards, 4.2 yards per rush, 2 rushing TDs.  49 receptions, 379 receiving yards, 7.7 yards per reception, 1 receiving TD.

Helu didn’t play much this week, only registering 6 total touches.  However, his rookie season can’t be ignored.  He was, without question, the second best rookie running back.  His receiving skills were remarkable.  He had the 6th most receptions for a rookie.  That’s really incredible when you consider he is a running back and that he was only the feature back for a handful of games.  I never expected such production from Helu.  He needs to make sure he stays healthy, but that seems to be the only thing holding him back right now.

8. Titus Young WR Detroit Lions (Last week #13)

Final Stats: 48 receptions, 607 receiving yards, 12.6 yards per reception, 6 receiving TDs.

TItus had 2 TDs this week and should have had 3.  He had a TD stolen from him by terrible officiating.  The officials were awful in this game.  Young has become quite a red zone threat with 4 TDs in his last 4 games.  Titus has benefited from teams focusing their attention on Calvin Johnson.  The Lions are a terrific passing game and Titus has become quite a solid #3 option.  

9. Greg Little WR Cleveland Browns (Last week #7)

Final Stats: 61 receptions, 709 receiving yards, 11.6 yards per reception, 2 receiving TDs.  

Little didn’t even register a catch this week against Pittsburgh.  Not a good way to end the season.  Little’s numbers for the year weren’t bad at all.  However, he has a long way to go in my opinion.  Little lacked explosiveness and dealt with drops all year long.  As I’ve said all year, I think Little has a future in the NFL.  I just think it’s going to end up being as a possession receiver and not a #1.  I’m certainly not giving up on him yet, but I think a solid offseason would do him a lot of good.

10. Evan Royster RB Washington Redskins (Last week #11) 

Final Stats: 328 rushing yards, 5.9 yards per rush.  10 receptions, 76 receiving yards.

Roster had another great game to finish the season.  His season stats are lower than some, but boy did he show promise the last few weeks.  The Redskins definitely have some young talent at the running back position with Helu and Royster.  They are both very capable backs who should give the Redskins some stability at the position for many years to come.  Royster seems a bit more explosive, but didn’t show quite the same receiving skills as Helu.  Either way, they both look pretty solid.

11. Stevan Ridley RB New England Patriots (Last week #12)

Final Stats: 441 rushing yards, 5.1 yards per rush, 1 rushing TD.  3 receptions, 13 receiving yards.

Ridley had another fine outing this week.  He’s been very solid in the last 3 weeks.  I like his chances going into the playoffs.  Ridley seems to be the feature running back in running situations for the Patriots.  They’re still going to use Green-Ellis and Woodhead a lot, but Ridley should continue to be fairly productive.  With Brady around and passing like crazy, Ridley should find plenty of running room.  

12. Doug Baldwin WR Seattle Seahawks (Last week #16)

Final Stats: 51 receptions, 788 receiving yards, 15.5 yards per reception, 4 receiving TDs. 

Baldwin finished at 12th more because of what he did on the year than what he did this past week.  Baldwin’s numbers were amazing.  He might be the biggest surprise of all the rookies this year.  He was an un-drafted receiver from Stanford when the season started.  To think a player who no one even took a chance on finished 4th in receiving yards for rookies is truly something rare.  I can’t imagine many people expected this.  Baldwin has an absolute future in this league as a very solid #2 or #3 receiver.  

13 Jake Locker QB Tennessee Titans (Last week #8)

Final Stats: 51.5% completion percentage, 542 passing yards, 4 passing TDs, 0 interceptions, 99.4 QB Rating. 56 rushing yards, 7.0 yards per rush, 1 rushing TD.

Sadly, Locker didn’t play this week.  It’s not that Hasselbeck played poorly this year.  But the Titans would have been better off had they played Locker more.  I know they finished 9-7, but I really believe they would have made the playoffs with Locker.  Locker was awesome when he had a chance to play.  I can’t see any way he’s not the full time starter next year.  If he’s not, there is something seriously wrong in Tennessee.  And I for one, can’t wait.

14. Christian Ponder QB Minnesota Vikings (Last week #10)

Final Stats: 54.3% completion percentage, 1,853 passing yards, 13 passing TDs, 13 interceptions, 70.1 QB Rating.  219 rushing yards, 7.8 yards per rush, 2 fumbles lost.

Ponder didn’t play much this week.  He was far from healthy and probably shouldn’t have played at all.  His season stats still weren’t bad.  He certainly made his fair share of mistakes, but what rookie QB doesn’t?  If the Vikings can get him some more weapons for 2012, I like his chances next season.  He certainly showed enough to warrant a full time chance next year.  I’m guessing Peterson will not be ready at the start of the year, so he’ll have his hands full at the beginning of the season.  Ponder is mobile enough and good enough to overcome this.  He needs to learn the offense better and learn to read defenses better.  Once this happens, I truly believe he’ll be a legit NFL starting QB.

15. T.J. Yates QB Houston Texans (Last week #15)

Final Stats: 61.2% completion percentage, 949 passing yards, 3 passing TDs, 3 interceptions, 80.7 QB Rating.  57 rushing yards, 4.1 yards per rush.

Yates started the game 4-4, but then left with an injury.  His stats all year weren’t remarkable, but they certainly weren’t terrible.  Yates has a solid arm and is fairly mobile.  It’s tough for me to evaluate him for a few reasons.  First off, he didn’t have a healthy Andre Johnson in any of his starts.  Without Johnson the Texans don’t have a lot of weapons in the passing game.  Secondly, the Texans have a tremendous running game that should allow the offense more openings in the passing game.  However, the Texans were pretty much in the playoffs by the time Yates took over and were extremely conservative.  I’m excited to see how he performs in the playoffs.  I think the offense will still be somewhat conservative, but they’ll have to open it up some if they want to make a deep run into the playoffs.  The main problem with Yates future is that it is blocked by Schaub.  Unless Yates leads the Texans to the Super Bowl, there is no QB controversy in Houston.  Yates may have to wait or go to a new team if he wants to be a starter right now.

16. Randall Cobb WR Green Bay Packers (Last week #14)

Final Stats: 25 receptions, 375 receiving yards, 15.0 yards per reception, 1 receiving TD.  941 kickoff return yards, 27.7 yards per kickoff return, 1 kickoff return TD.  295 punt return yards, 11.3 yards per punt return, 1 punt return TD.

Cobb didn’t play this week.  I’m guessing had the game mattered, he probably would have.  Cobb didn’t have a great year if you look at just his receiving stats.  However, he was a huge part of the Packers’ special teams.  He was one of the better return men in the league this year.  That’s quite an accomplishment for a rookie.  I think his role as a receiver will continue to expand over the years.  He may never be a top receiver, but he has a bright future with his abilities on special teams.

17. Blaine Gabbert QB Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week #17)

Final Stats: 50.8% completion percentage, 2,214 passing yards, 12 passing TDs, 11 interceptions, 65.4 QB Rating.  98 rushing yards, 2.0 yards per rush, 5 fumbles lost.  

Gabbert had another so-so game this week.  He basically played ball control this week with the way Jones-Drew was running.  Gabbert didn’t have a very good year.  However, let’s consider his receivers and his offensive line for a moment.  His best receiver was Marcedes Lewis? Mike Thomas? Jason Hill? Jarrett Dillard?  Get the idea?  He was sacked 40 times.  That’s tied for the 3rd most sacks in the league.  Some of the poor statistics are, without a doubt, because of his poor play.  However, would Andy Dalton have done much better on this team?  I’m not sure he would have.  Gabbert did have a great running game behind Jones-Drew.  But, that was about the only positive thing he had going for him.  I’m not calling Gabbert a QB of the future, but I’m not writing him off yet either.

So, that rounds out the top 17.  Because it’s the final Rookie Standings, I’m going to dig a little further.  The remaining rankings have nothing to do with what the player did this week.  They are simply a reflection of their season statistics.

18. Denarius Moore WR Oakland Raiders

Final Stats: 33 receptions, 618 receiving yards, 18.7 yards per reception, 5 receiving TDs.  61 rushing yards, 12.2 yards per rush, 1 rushing TD.

Moore was hold and cold all year.  His final numbers really don’t look too bad when you consider he missed 3 games due to injury.  Moore certainly showed his explosive ability by averaging 18.7 yards per reception.  He may never develop into a #1 receiver, but I think he certainly has a career as a deep threat and big play maker.  

19. Mark Ingram RB New Orleans Saints

Final Stats: 474 rushing yards, 3.9 yards per rush, 5 rushing TDs.  11 receptions, 46 receiving yards, 4.2 yards per reception.

Ingram missed 6 games due to injury.  That really hurt his season stats.  There were good and bad things about Ingram’s rookie year.  The good is that he was a very good short-yardage back.  He consistently was able to pick up 1 or 2 yards when the Saints needed it.  He also has a nose for the end zone as shown by his 5 rushing TDs.  The bad news is that he was injury prone throughout the year.  He also didn’t show a lot of big play ability.  His longest run on the year was 35 yards.  And his 3.9 yard average is pretty poor as well.  Ingram will probably have to continue to compete for touches going forward.  However, he could become a solid back if he can stay healthy.

20. Daniel Thomas RB Miami Dolphins 

Final Stats: 581 rushing yards, 3.5 yards per rush, 0 rushing TDs.  12 receptions, 72 receiving yards, 6.0 yards per reception, 1 receiving TD.

This was a very disappointing year for Thomas.  I really thought he was going to have a big year.  That wasn’t the case.  He struggled with injuries all year.  However, that doesn’t tell the whole story.  He was far less effective than Reggie Bush this year.  In fact, Reggie was so productive that Thomas could have lost an opportunity to start next year.  Thomas really didn’t show much at all this year.  His 581 rushing yards weren’t bad, but he averaged more than a yard and a half less than Bush per rush.  He also didn’t show much ability as a receiver either.  Coming into the season I thought Thomas would be the best rookie running back.  He was far from that.

21. Kendall Hunter RB San Francisco 49ers

Final Stats: 473 rushing yards, 4.2 yards per rush, 2 rushing TDs.  16 receptions, 195 receiving yards, 12.2 yards per reception.

Hunter showed some burst for sure this year.  His numbers weren’t fantastic when you just look at them, but when you consider he was behind Frank Gore all year, they aren’t bad at all.  He may not be ready to be a feature back just yet, but he certainly has a future in the league.  The 49ers will be wise to keep him around.  Gore is an injury waiting to happen and it would be nice to have a player like Hunter to plug in when Gore goes down.

22. Patrick Peterson CB Arizona Cardinals

Final Stats: 699 punt return yards, 15.9 yards per punt return, 4 punt return TDs.

Peterson is the only defensive player to make this list.  He was the best punt returner in the league this year.  His 4 punt return TDs tied the record for most in one season.  Peterson was an absolute weapon as a punt returner.  In addition to his special teams, he had a solid year on defense.  He finished with 64 tackles, 2 interceptions and 1 sack.  Peterson is an absolute star in the making.

23. Kyle Rudolph TE Minnesota Vikings

Final Stats: 26 receptions, 249 receiving yards, 9.6 yards per reception, 3 receiving TDs.

I think Rudolph was the best rookie TE this season.  Lance Kendricks had more yards, but Rudolph was much better in the red zone.  Rudolph was also playing as a back-up most of the year.  I think he can become a top 10 TE in the coming years.  He showed great hands throughout the year and should only improve with each year.

24. Vincent Brown WR San Diego Chargers

Final Stats: 19 receptions, 329 yards, 17.3 yards per reception, 2 receiving TD.

Brown came on towards the end of the year.  His 17.3 yards per reception was very impressive.  Brown gives the Chargers the flexibility to not have to keep both Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson going forward.  I look for Brown to really improve next year.

25. Jeremy Kerley WR New York Jets

Final Stats: 29 receptions, 314 receiving yards, 10.8 yards per reception, 1 receiving TD.  317 punt return yards, 10.9 yards per punt return.

Kerley slowly got better as the year progressed.  He didn’t show a ton of explosion, but was a decent possession receiver.  The Jets need serious playmakers on offense.  Kerley could be someone that really helps them in the future.  

26. Lance Kendricks TE St. Louis Rams

Final Stats: 28 receptions, 352 receiving yards, 12.6 yards per reception, 0 receiving TDs.  

Kendricks wasn’t bad for a rookie TE.  He wasn’t great either.  The Rams were pretty bad on offense throughout the whole year, so I can’t totally blame it all on Kendricks.  If Bradford can get healthy and they can get him some protection, Kendricks could have a nice career.  He certainly has some talent.  

27. Jacquizz Rodgers RB Atlanta Falcons

Finals Stats: 205 rushing yards, 3.6 yards per rush, 1 rushing TD.  21 receptions, 188 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD.

“Quizz” as people seem to be calling him, had an okay year as a back-up.  I really liked what I saw of him in the passing game.  He’s already a better receiver than Michael Turner.  His rushing was a tad disappointing.  The Falcons drafted Rodgers to be a change-of-pace, explosive running back.  That he was not.  His longest run on the year was a whopping 13 yards.  You certainly can’t write him off as a runner just yet.  But, he certainly needs to be more explosive.

28. Dane Sanzenbacher WR Chicago Bears

Final Stats: 27 receptions, 276 receiving yards, 10.2 yards per reception, 2 receiving TDs.

Dane showed some promise here or there.  He wasn’t productive from start to finish, but I think he showed enough to be given more of an opportunity next year.  He’s not an explosive player, but he could be a solid #3 or #4 receiver.

29. Delone Carter RB Indianapolis Colts

Final Stats: 377 rushing yards, 3.7 yards per rush, 2 rushing TDs.  5 receptions, 18 receiving yards.

Carter was less than stellar in his rookie year.  He had a few nice moments, but was pretty unproductive overall.  He didn’t show a lot of burst in the running game and was completely missing from the passing game.  The Colts are a mess and who knows what will happen next year.  But, I don’t see Carter as anything more than a back-up running back right now.

30. Charles Clay FB Miami Dolphins

Final Stats: 16 receptions, 233 receiving yards, 14.6 yards per rush, 3 receiving TDs.

Clay absolutely came out of nowhere.  He didn’t dominate, but he was a quality receiver out of the backfield.  He also was the lead blocker for Reggie Bush who had a great year.  With Clay’s receiving abilities, he should hold down a job for some time.

Thanks for joining me all year for the weekly rookie rankings.  Sorry about the delay for this installment.  

It truly was an amazing year for rookies.  The big thing to remember is that these rookies didn’t really have a training camp like most rookies do.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we say a big jump next year for some of these guys.  

Look for the NFL Playoff Rookie Rankings starting next Tuesday.

Josh

The AFC is littered with strong defense teams.  Every AFC playoff team except New England has a better team ranking in yards allowed and points against than they do in yards gained and points scored.  Here are the rankings:

Baltimore: 3rd in yards allowed.  3rd in points against.  15th in yards gained.  12th in points scored.

Pittsburgh: 1st in yards allowed.  1st in points against.  12th in yards gained.  21st in points scored.

Houston: 2nd in yards allowed.  4th in points against.  13th in yards gained.  10th in points scored.

Cincinnati: 7th in yards allowed.  9th in points against.  20th in yards gained. 18th in points scored.

Denver: 20th in yards allowed.  24th in points against.  23rd in yards gained.  25th in points scored. 

New England: 31st in yards allowed.  15th in points against.  2nd in yards gained.  3rd in points scored.

As you can see, only New England is better offensively than defensively.  And really, other than Denver, the AFC teams are all very good on defense and near average on offense.  Denver is really pretty bad at both and lucked out that their division was terrible.  

The NFC is almost exactly opposite.  Every team except San Francisco is better on offense.  Here are there rankings:

Green Bay: 32nd in yards allowed.  19th in points against.  3rd in yards gained.  1st in points scored.

New Orleans: 24th in yards allowed.  13th in points against.  1st in yards gained.  2nd in points scored.

New York Giants: 27th in yards allowed.  25th in points against.  8th in yards gained.  9th in points scored.  

Detroit: 23rd in yards allowed.  23rd in points against.  5th in yards gained.  4th in points scored.

Atlanta: 12th in yards allowed.  18th in points against.  10th in yards gained.  7th in points scored.

San Francisco: 4th in yards allowed.  2nd in points allowed.  26th in yards gained.  11th in points scored.

And here you can see that all the NFC teams are considerably better on offense.  I bring all of this up because I’m really curious to see how it all plays out.  I don’t think it will be as big of a deal for New England as I do San Francisco.  I believe this because I think New England will be able to score on just about any defense.  Maybe Pittsburgh or Baltimore can slow them down, but I think they’ll still get their points.  And New England has enough potential on defense to at least slow down their opponents.  

However, San Francisco will have more problems.  They are only average against the pass.  They are 16th in the league against the pass.  Clearly they are the best team in the league against the run.  The problem in the playoffs is that none of the NFC teams are run-first.  They are all ranked better in passing yards than rushing yards.  I think that will spell trouble for the 49ers.  In addition to that, the 49ers are not very good on offense.  They end up settling for field goals way too often.  This will kill you against the high scoring teams in the NFC.  All of the NFC playoff teams, other than San Francisco, rank in the top 10 in yards and points on offense.  

To make a long story a little shorter, I think San Francisco will really struggle in the playoffs.  I do think the NFC is more open than the AFC.  I can really see anyone but San Francisco making a run in the NFC.  And even though I don’t think it will happen, San Francisco is obviously good enough to win a few games.  I see the AFC as a three team race.  I don’t see how the AFC doesn’t come down to New England, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.  Denver, Houston and Cincinnati all kind of backed into the playoffs.  None of them are riding high right now.  If Houston had Schaub (or maybe even Leinart), I’d give them a shot.  But, with T.J. Yates I just don’t like their chances.  

So, let’s get to this weeks’ match-ups specifically.  There are four games this weekend.  The match-ups are Cincinnati @ Houston, Detroit @ New Orleans, Atlanta @ NY Giants and Pittsburgh @ Denver.  I’ll go through each one individually.  

Let’s start with Cincinnati at Houston.  This is the most wide open game to me.  I could absolutely see either team winning.  Houston has played tremendously well on defense this year.  That’s pretty remarkable considering they lost Mario Williams for the year.  Houston has struggled on offense, but they do have a great running game.  It’s hard to fault their struggles too much.  They have not had a healthy Andre Johnson for much of the season.  They’ve also been without Matt Schaub since week 11.  They are 3-3 since Schaub went out.  And they’ve lost three in a row.  The good news for Houston is that Cincinnati hasn’t been much better recently.  Since week 9 the Bengals have three wins.  Those three teams are the Browns, the Rams and the Cardinals.  In fact, none of their nine wins this year came against a playoff team.  While all seven of their losses came against teams that are in the playoffs.  

This really is a tough game for me to pick.  Really neither team has been very good lately.  Both teams are starting rookie QBs.  Both teams rely heavily on their defense.  If Andre Johnson is healthy, I think Houston has the advantage.  Yates has shown enough for me to believe he can get the ball to Johnson.  Houston has a tremendous rushing attack with Arian Foster and Ben Tate.  The Bengals have some weapons as well.  A.J. Green has been awesome this year.  There’s no denying that.  And Cedric Benson has been solid, but not spectacular.  

The game will be close and relatively low scoring.  I give the slight edge to Houston because it is in Houston.  I also question whether Cincinnati can beat a solid team after skating through an easy schedule.  The Bengals haven’t lost to teams that they definitely should have beat.  But, they haven’t won any games where they were really the underdog either.  

Prediction: Texans 20, Bengals 16.

Next up is Detroit at New Orleans.  This is the easiest game for me to call this week.  Detroit has shown a lot of ability on offense, but New Orleans is too talented on offense.  Detroit looked like swiss cheese against Green Bay last week with Matt Flynn playing QB and no Greg Jennings.  New Orleans is hotter than just about any team right now.  Sure they struggle on defense, but it won’t matter in this game.  

The Saints will put up at least 30-35 points against Detroit.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they surpassed 40.  I think Detroit will do enough with Stafford and Calvin Johnson to make it interesting.  But, I think it will get out of hand by the third quarter.  The only way I see Detroit having a shot is if New Orleans commits three or four turnovers.  Brees has been much better this year at protecting the ball.  In addition to all of this, the Saints are a great running team.  No one thinks of them as a running team, but they are 6th in the league in rushing.  With Chris Ivory, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and maybe Mark Ingram, they have a stable of quality RBs.  So, if they get a lead they won’t have to keep dropping back to pass.

Prediction: Saints: 37, Lions 20.

Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants is a very intriguing matchup.  I don’t see either team as a heavy favorite.  Both teams have explosive players on both sides of the ball.  The Falcons have two amazing receivers in Roddy White and Julio Jones.  They also have a fantastic TE in Tony Gonzalez.  Michael Turner has been solid at RB, but he doesn’t have the explosion he once did.  The Giants are just as loaded on offense with Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs.  

The key for the Falcons is getting pass protection.  The Giants have a great pass rush and the Falcons have really struggled to pass protect at times.  If Matt Ryan doesn’t have time to make his reads, this could be a long game for the Falcons.  The Falcons have to make sure they run some draws and some screens to try and slow down the pass rush.  It will also be very important for the running backs to chip the defensive ends to slow them down.  If Ryan has the time to pass, he’ll be successful.  The Giants have struggled in coverage all year.  

The Giants should be able to have some success on offense.  Eli has had a great year so far, but he has made some mistakes.  He does have 16 interceptions on the year.  If Eli plays mistake free, I like their chances.  The Falcons are not a shut down defense, so the Giants should have some success moving the ball.  The Falcons need to play good coverage on Cruz and not let him break a big play.  Cruz has 5 TDs of over 68 yards on the year.  The Falcons have to limit his big play ability.  

As I said before, I really think this game comes down to the Falcons’ ability to pass protect.  In the end, I think the Giants are going to be able to get pressure on Ryan.  I like there chances if they do.  

Prediction: Giants 24, Falcons 17.

Lastly, we have the Steelers @ the Broncos.  This is just about as easy for me as the Saints/Lions game.  Without Mendenhall, Pittsburgh could struggle on offense, but it won’t matter.  Denver won’t be able to do much of anything on offense.  Tebow has had his moments, but this won’t be one of them.

The Broncos just don’t have enough of a passing attack to move the ball against Pittsburgh.  Tebow and McGahee might be able to run the ball with some success.  However, it won’t be enough because Pittsburgh is going to stack the box and force Tebow to throw the ball.  He won’t be able to.  

Denver has been okay on defense.  The perception is that they have been really good.  The numbers don’t support that as they are in the bottom third in terms of yards against and points against.  Like Cincinnati, the Broncos have won a lot of easy games.  The only playoff team they beat was the Bengals.  The three other playoff teams they played were Green Bay, New England and Detroit.  They lost 49-23, 45-10 and 41-23 in those three games.  Honestly, I’m not sure what else to say.  Even with Mendenhall out and Big Ben not at 100%, I just don’t see how the Broncos can win.  Maybe they can make it a close game, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Prediction: Steelers 31- Broncos- 10.

I hope everyone had a great New Years.  Enjoy the games this weekend.  Check back tomorrow for the final Rookie Rankings.

Josh

I had seen a little bit of the Metal Ali opened and liked what I saw.  Now, I’m not normally a big buster of product.  In fact, I tend to stay away from everything.  It’s easier for me to sell boxes and cases than it is for me to open stuff.  However, the Ali stuff never sold all that great to the end consumer.  Essentially I was “forced” to open the original Ali product because it just wasn’t selling.  Well, I ended up making more selling the singles than I did selling the boxes.  This led me to inquire about the Metal product.  The biggest problem I have with breaking cases is all the work that goes into it.  It’s so much sorting, scanning, listing and shipping.  That’s why it’s never really worth it for me to bust more mainstream products.  If I can sell them as boxes and cases, it saves me a tremendous amount of time.  Honestly, I can’t remember the last product I opened (outside of a box or two) other than these two Ali products.  For whatever reason, I have a tough time talking people into buying these types of products even though they provide great value.

Okay, enough of my rambling, let’s get to the break.  I’m not going to post every single card and I’m not going to list them all at once either.  What I’m going to do is spread the 100 cases out over several blogs.  I’ll start here by listing some of the bigger hits and autographs.  

Please note that if there is anything you’re looking for out of this product, let me know.  I probably have it and everything is for sale.  You’re also welcome to make offers on any of these cards.  You can do it through eBay or you can simply e-mail me.  I’ll do my best to work with you, but keep in mind that I’m not looking to dumb any of this stuff.  I have no problem being patient and waiting for the right offers to come around.  

The main cards I was looking for are, obviously, the Ali Autographs.  All-in-all, I hit 106 Ali Autographs.  Not bad at all since only 1 is guaranteed per case.  Of the 106, 35 were on-card and the rest were cut autographs.  I got 4 Super Prismatic Cut Autographs that are 1/1s.  Here are pictures of two of my favorite.  Please note that any photos I show are linked directly to the eBay listing.  

The other main thing that I was looking for were Super Prismatic Autographs.  These are the 1/1 Autographs of all the other people in the set.  I hit a total of 6 of these.  Here they are:

Not a bad haul at all.  I was very happy with the Hogan, Flair, Trump, Montana and Magic.  The Imperioli wasn’t great, but I did avoid most of the cheaper ones like Rubin Carter, Laila Ali, Angelo Dundee, Dennis Rodman, Carmen Electra, Micky Ward, Roy Jones Jr. and Larry Holmes. 

The other nice things about this product are all the cool patches.  I got some very cool patches on a few of the Super Prismatic Event Worn and Fight Worn.  Here are a few:

The last thing I’ll show you for today are just the base autographs.  You definitely learn who are more short printed when you open this much of a product.  I opened about 40% of the product, so I have a pretty good idea of who is hard to get.  Magic Johnson, Hulk Hogan, Joe Montana, Dennis Rodman, Donald Trump and Carmen Electra are all considerably harder to get.  I listed 10 of each on eBay so far.  You can check them out by clicking the links below.

Angelo Dundee

Roy Jones Jr.

Larry Holmes

Jake LaMotta

Mike Tyson

Nolan Ryan

Micky Ward

Magic Johnson

Hulk Hogan

Joe Montana

Joe Frazier

Ric Flair

Rubin Carter

Dennis Rodman

Laila Ali

Michael Imperioli

Donald Trump

Carmen Electra

Lastly, don’t forget about the 70th Birthday Redemption Packs.  These packs contain 5 special Ali Metal card with the 70th Birthday Stamp on them.  There are also four randomly inserted Muhammad Ali On Card Autographs #ed 1/1.  Here is a picture of the pack and of what the cards look like.

Well, that’s all for today.  As I said before, please let me know if you have anything you’re looking for or if you like anything you see.  I’ll work with you as best I can.

Josh