2008 Head Hunting Guide - Game On!

If you collected a rookie this past year, chances are that they missed out on some cool firsts and old favorites when it comes to the best sets of the year. Granted, the rookie sets are usually much better anyways (as the focus of many products), but here are some cards that you may want to save your money for. I know I will.

In no particular order:

1. SPA By The Letter Autos (Possibly Numbers Too): This set was a welcome addition to a product that needed something else for the boxes that had no RC patch auto. I thought that the cards for the vets were amazing, especially Montana and Sanders. Hopefully they bring these back with a better checklist, minus Aaron Schoebel and Drew Pearson.



2. Absolute Tools of the Trade Auto Parallel: Once again, I hate when card companies parallel the shit out of something, but this time, Im cool. Each new parallel has a new piece of memorabilia, and the design has been great all the way back to 2004. I will maybe try to get my hands on more than just my favorite players for this set.



3. Leaf Limited Lettermen: These cards are pretty fucking spank, but will cost you an arm and a leg. They arent auto'ed which is cool with me, simply because you get the whole letter. I would hope they would expand this to the shoulder pad numbers, but that may be too big. There are a lot of collectors for these cards due to their nature, so expect competition.

4. Leaf Certified Materials Mirror Black Logo: These 1/1s again will cost you your first born, but they are worth every penny. Last year they were one of my favorite 1/1 parallel so I hope they look as good this year as they did last. These pop up pretty frequently at first, but very rarely after that, jump on them before you lose it to someone's PC forever.



5. Playoff National Treasures Base Jersey Autos (w/parallels): I just bought the Maroney from last year and I think it is one of the prettiest cards I have ever owned. These cards get better as they go down in numbering, and the 1/1s are amazing. They go for a ton, so you may want to save more than your usual 6 months for these. Trust me, once you have them, you wont be disappointed.



6. Topps Stadium Club Beam Team Autos: One of my favorite sets of the early 90s is back with autos and jerseys. I think its pretty cool, and I hope they dont fuck it up. The auto checklist is small, so you may be out of luck.

7. UD Premier Premiere Stitching Autos: Last year the RCs mostly had the NFL draft symbol or something different for their card, this year they will be more creative with the manufactured patches, so I would expect they should be as nice as the basketball ones. I like these cards, but some hate them - but I write this so they get in.



8. Non RC Year Exquisite Autos - Couldnt afford the hugemungous price tag on the RC patch auto of your favorite RC? Me either. Thankfully they drop dramatically in price, especially if your guy didnt do much last year. Now is your chance.

9. Non Event Used Jersey Autos: One can hope right?

10. Leaf Certfied NFL Fabric of the Game Autos w/out College Picture: Some of the most sought after cards of the year fall in this set. You may actually get lucky and your guy could have an auto here. Im crossing fingers, toes and legs for All Day.



After writing this post, all I can think about is how ridiculous huge my credit card bills are going to be. I make some money, but Im not Fort Knox. I may have to pick and choose what I think are necessities after I see the actual cards. Eesh, its going to be a long year...