Product Review: 2009 Upper Deck Football

In the battle for set collectors, Upper Deck is pretty late with their flagship product this year. The thought is maybe to go up against chrome, which could be possible with the type of product that this set is shaping up to be. For many, Chrome is king, including football, so UD has added a few elements to add some strength to their competition.

Design/Creativity

As with previous years, Upper Deck's base design features full fledged game photos, something that makes this set pop. Instead of looking like fatheads pasted on a background, these players almost jump off the cards, which puts them miles ahead of sets like classics and prestige. Topps has also opted to use photos like this for their chrome and flagship sets, but the photography UD chooses for their cards tends to out do many of the best cards from their competition.

The base design is great regardless of the photography, and lends itself well to both horizontal and vertical orientations. It gives more opportunity for "HD picture box" like cards, and still focuses on simplicity rather than weirdly placed shapes and lines. I think if I was a set collector, I would love putting together this set just for the opportunity to flip through these cards.

They also included some throwback 3D cards like back in the day with Score and stuff, which as Kris described was "cool but cheesy." I think its an interesting addition to the set, but not something I would go chase. Well, at least its not more of the same. Ill admit, I did have some fun taping about 8 of them to a piece of paper at the shop and tilting them back and forth to see the different pictures.

As for adding Premier into this set at one per case, it could not have been a better idea. The premier cards look great and should really be a chase for people like me who buy this product. I loved Premier as its own set, and now that it is being used to bolster the prowess of this low end set, I am pretty happy. Having them look like they are printed on footballs is a cool idea, and using gradients and foil in just the right way make these cards look ridiculously cool. I had some money set aside for a Harvin Chrome auto, but I may just go after a Premier instead.

When you think about the content of this product, its actually pretty nuts. Cuts, Premier cards, Rookies, Autos, and amazing looking base cards round this out pretty nicely.

Rating =

Autograph Cards

The autos in this product have major ups and major downs. First, the Premier cards, as I have said, are beyond cool. They feature rookies and vets, which bring everything together nicely, but they are only 1 per case which makes me kind of feel left without a line. The iconic cuts havent changed since last year, but do feature some pretty cool subjects. Again, 1 per case.

The cards that are 1 per box, usually, are pretty awful looking, thus bringing this awesome train to a screetching halt. The signature shots this year look like they are produced with the wrong orientation, and the wrong way facing autos add an awkward twist to some awesome cards from last year. I think that if these cards had a better checklist and a better design, like the Premier ones, this set would attract that many more collectors. Instead we are left with a lazily designed card that will most likely grace the box you buy.

I know that every box cannot be a winner, but at least give me a card that features some of the fantasitc designs and photography from the base set.

Rating =

Relic Cards

I really am not feeling the relic cards in this product, as the design looks very weird and forced. The rookies are in their NFL jerseys and we have swatches matching that, but the whole thing looks bad when put together. I would have liked a better attempt at these cards, but at least it isnt floating swatch city.

On the other hand, the UD Game jersey cards look pretty good, but again, just another plain swatch card in a sea of plain swatch cards. The design isnt bad, but its forgettable. At least with some of the other ones, there is a design you could pick out from miles away. If anything needs reinvention in this hobby, its swatch cards, and this is a perfect example.

Rating =

Value To The Collector

If you are a set collector, this set definitely provides you with a great task to complete. It will continue to have value to those people regardless of the value of the autographs or relics. For everyone else, there really isnt much value here, other than the SP rookies and the extremely rare case hits. I would say that it would be much, much better to just go buy the singles of your favorite players, but really, it may be worth your time to wait for products like black and ultimate, which will give you more of what you want.

As a low end product, there is a specific audience that will love this set, though I give UD credit for at least throwing more shit in there for the people who fall outside that audience. However, the one good thing is that much like Chrome, the base RCs will definitely hold their value if you do end up with a good one, so a box wont be a total waste.

I think if you appreciate good, cheap, well designed fun, go buy a few boxes. Otherwise, just wait for a product that caters more to your type of audience. This isnt for hit collectors, and you will find that out when you pull a junk auto and two junk jerseys out of your box.

Rating =

Overall Impressions

When you take in the product as a whole, its very well done with all its aspects. However, there are some glaring holes in my opinion, some holes that maybe a low end cannot fill. We will see with Chrome next week, but so far, it’s a pretty good showing.

If we take away nothing else from this set, its that a good design goes a long, long way. Pull up the checklist with pictures on the site and really see what I mean. It’s a very good education for companies that refuse to spend the time on putting a good offereing out there, and rather just stuff their cards full of needless relics.

Average Rating =

2009 Product Leaderboard (SO FAR)

1(t). Upper Deck Football (3/5 GELLMANS)
1(t). UD Philadelphia (3/5 GELLMANS)
1(t). Topps Football (3/5 GELLMANS)
1(t). UD Icons (3/5 GELLMANS)
1(t). UD Heroes (3/5 GELLMANS)
1(t). UD Draft Edition (3/5 GELLMANS)
7(t). Donruss Threads (2/5 GELLMANS)
7(t). Donruss Classics (2/5 GELLMANS)
7(t). Donruss Elite (2/5 GELLMANS)
7(t). Playoff Prestige (2/5 GELLMANS)
7(t). Bowman Draft Picks (2/5 GELLMANS)
12. Score Inscriptions (1/5 GELLMANS)
13. Leaf Rookies and Stars (0/5 GELLMANS - NR)

Dead Never Means Dead - UD Premier Reinvents Itself

Last year, of all the sticker auto sets produced, two stuck out as being better than their counterparts. One was National Treasures, and the other was 2008 Upper Deck Premier. Although Premier was quite a bit cheaper, it still had some pretty ridiculous cards with great designs. I went out and bought more than my fair share of singles, and the Peterson Auto I have is still one of my favorites.

The problem with Premier was that it didnt sell as well for the shop owners, so many of them avoided purchasing the product. Upon its release, I spoke with two local shop owners here in Chatsworth, about their thoughts on the set. They both said that it was a great product with way too high a price point, and could have been much better with a packed out feel to it. After all was said and done, like many of the other shop owners, they ended up taking a bath in their case they bought to sell at the store.

Upper Deck definitely felt that type of sentiment quite early in the product's shelf life, and Gregg told me late last year that the product would probably not be making a return for year number three. He was partially correct, as 2009 Premier cards are being found in 2009 Flagship UD at around 1 per case. The cards look very cool, almost like they are made from the skins of footballs, and I am very excited that they have made a (partial) comeback.

I think business wise, this is a great decision. Add a chase element to the low end set, use a concept that is known to be widely liked by collectors, and continue building on a base product that has a lot of potential to live up to Chrome. Premier cards will sell cases all by themselves, which has been noted by a few collectors over on blowout who bought cases just for these cards.

I would have really liked to have seen the full effect of this set, as the cards do look as good as they did last year. I can imagine that my scans pulled from eBay do not do the cards the justice they deserve, but you can pretty much feel the vibe of them regardless. We will see how much Premier has permeated the base set, though right now, we can see its at least two different subsets.

EDIT: There are now confirmed non-rookies in the premier part of the flagship UD product. Pic is below.

Here is what we have so far:

SCU Breaks: 2005 DLP Signature Baseball and 2008 Premier Football

PREMIER - 6 SPOTS LEFT

SIG SERIES - 7 SPOTS LEFT

SCU Breaks is back with two different boxes I would like to bust. For the baseball fans who love the old non-grilled sandwich version of DLP, I have decided that 2005 Donruss signature series is going to be the first baseball break I have done in long time here. The second product is an old favorite of mine, 2008 Premier Football, so no introduction needed there.

Signature series may be one that people havent seen before, so ill explain what you get. Four packs with eight hits, 5 cards per pack. Almost like a pricier version of Absolute, as you will get two auto cards per pack, with at least one dual, triple or quad per box. There are also jersey autos and cuts among other things, so this product should be a pretty good box to break for a group. It will be $16.50 for 2 random teams, standard group break stuff will apply. I will random the teams and break on Youtube, you will get to keep all the cards from the teams you get. Duals will be randomed for the teams involved.

From Donruss:

Configuration: 4 packs per box. 5 cards per pack.

BOX BREAK:
PACK A): TWO AUTOGRAPH CARDS
PACK B): ONE AUTOGRAPH CARD & AUTOGRAPH MATERIAL CARD
PACK C): ONE AUTOGRAPH CARD & ONE COMBO, TRIPLE, QUAD OR SIX AUTOGRAPH CARD
PACK D): ONE AUTOGRAPH CARD & EITHER A MATERIAL OR AN AUTOGRAPH CARD FROM A, B, OR C ABOVE

As for the Premier, it isnt as pricey so we will break 2 boxes, $22 bucks a spot for the hits we get out of the boxes. Same rules as above, should be a good break now that it has dropped in price a little. In this product, there was one A list auto per case, so we pretty much have a 1 in 5 chance that we will pull something good. Last time I busted this, I pulled a Matt Ryan rookie jersey auto and a 1/1 Early Doucet auto out of 1 box.

Payments through paypal must be sent to gellmana@gmail.com to secure your spot, buy as many as you like. I will be sending your cards to the account listed on the transaction, so make sure its correct before you submit payment. We have had that problem before with disasterous results.

Team random will be done before the break, I will order the boxes as soon as I get all the spots paid and filled.

Slots are as follows:

2005 Donruss Signatures (2 teams per slot):

1. babootsna (PAID)
2. Andrew (PAID)
3. Psad (PAID)
4. Brian (PAID)
5. arfmax (PAID)
6. Motherscratcher (PAID)
7. Darkship (PAID)
8. Sewingmachineguy (PAID)
9. Sewingmachineguy(PAID)
10. Jared (PAID)
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

2008 Premier Football 2 Boxes (2 teams per slot):

1. Gellman (HOST)
2. Andrew (PAID)
3. Psad (PAID)
4. JB201 (PAID)
5. Brian (PAID)
6. Arfmax (PAID)
7. Erik (PAID)
8. Erik (PAID)
9. Darkship (PAID)
10. Jason (PAID)
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Thanks!

First Look: 2009 SP Signature Edition Football

This set was definitely a surprise edition to the calendar, and I think that I am going to like this product based on the few previews that UD posted on facebook. However, after considering things, I cant help but draw parallels to the awful 2007 Chirography attempt at a product like this. Chirography was such a bomb that any correllation makes me very, VERY weary.

These cards do look very good however, and SP Signature has been a success in the past, but I get a strange tingle up the back of my neck that tells me to be very cautious about latching on to a product like this. First, I know the MSRP wont be ridiculous like it was for Chirography, Im guessing around 80 bucks, and the cards wont be completely cookie cutter either. Factor in that the autos look on card, and I could be pleasantly surprised.

I will say this, to see a great product like Premier get the axe instead of a price and content cut, only to be replaced by another SP set, makes me angry. Maybe things will work out though.

SCU Breaks: Housekeeping

To those of you who participated in the Premier and Absolute break, I have sent out all the hits. For Premier, that means all of the cards have gone out (I checked, it is all this time - I didnt forget anyone), for absolute, it means that there are still some numbered inserts and base to go out.

If you dont get your cards in the next week, please let me know.

Also, since I am short on cash, I have to sell off the packs to the Absolute Football Box I ordered from Blowout. It will be here tomorrow. I have two left at 32 each or the entire box at 120 shipped. I can either send you the pack or break it on youtube with the rest, and then send you what you get. It will be posted here and you can be remotely famous. I will also send my love for helping me out - that is worth more than any card.

Email me before you pay.

SCU Breaks: 2008 Premier Football

Wow, this was a break and a half. Im sure you guys will see what I mean from the video.



Here are scans of the highlights:



Matt Ryan Quad Jersey Auto /199 - See! I told you we had a 50/50 shot at pulling a good card. Luckily we pulled a goodie, and it doesnt stop there.



Early Doucet III Signature Premier 1/1 - Wow, a 1/1 as well as the Ryan? That is too cool. Congrats to the buzzsaw and the Falcons.

David Garrard /25 - I am posting this card because I think the design is cool. Too bad its not a better player.

SCU Breaks: Premier Randomizer Video

Sorry for the delay. Anyways, I decided to try something new with this randomizer video per a suggestion from someone involved in the last break. Instead of randomizing all 32 teams at one time, I split them into two different divisions - High and Low. The high are teams like the Raiders, Cowboys and Vikings, where the low are teams like the Rams and Buccaneers. That way you get at least one good team for your spot. I think it worked out pretty well, as most of the people should be pretty happy with who they get.



Here are the results:

1. Darkship (PAID) - Cowboys and Jets
2. Ethan (PAID) - Eagles and Broncos
3. Voluntarheel (PAID) - Dolphins and Raiders
4. Holy Hitter (PAID) - Falcons and 49ers
5. PSAD (PAID) - Patriots and Ravens
6. Holy Hitter (PAID) - Panthers and Jaguars
7. Voluntarheel (PAID) - Packers and Texans
8. Speedlegg (PAID) - Colts and Seahawks
9. Alan (PAID) - Vikings and Buccaneers
10. Ethan (PAID) - Bears and Bills
11. Enrique (PAID) - Giants and Redskins
12. Gellman (HOST) - Chargers and Bengals
13. SpeedLegg (PAID) - Lions and Rams
14. Cheese Eating Bird (PAID) - Steelers and Chiefs
15. Darkship (PAID) - Titans and Browns
16. Matt L (PAID) - Saints and Cardinals (Congrats)

If you have a problem, please contact me, I think this was VERY fair. Matt, you are a lucky son of a bitch to get your hometown team (and yes I know you are not FROM New Orleans, but you get the point).

Alan, if you want my two teams for the Vikings, let me know.

SCU Breaks: 2005 Absolute Filled, Box Ordered

Hey guys, one way or another, this break is good to go. Box has been ordered, it will be here on Wednesday with the Premier FB, so we will do a double shot of awesomeness.

UPDATE: WE WILL BREAK ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOR PREMIER AND ABSOLUTE.

Either way the post is majorly fucked right now, so if you got left out, let me know and I will add you in place of my other spot. I think I have everyone though.

So, randomizer vid for both breaks will be up this weekend.

Wow, this is going to be so fucking awesome.

Absolute Spots:

1. Gellman (HOST)
2. The nennth inning (PAID)
3. The nennth inning (PAID)
4. Dave (PAID)
5. Dave (PAID)
6. Motherscratcher (PAID)
7. chrome 1_1 (PAID)
8. chrome 1_1 (PAID)
9. CheeseEatingBird (PAID)
10. Dan K (PAID)
11. Dan K (PAID)
12. Gcrl (PAID)
13. Gcrl (PAID)
14. houstoncollector (PAID)
15. Casey (PAID)

Product Review: 2008 UD Premier Football

Premier is a second year set that has taken over Ultimate's spot as the set with all the goodies. SPA and Exquisite are on a level all their own, but this set is becoming more of a front runner as the years progress. The problem is that the boxes don’t hold their price due to the sheer numbers of crap levels mixed in with the awesomeness, so people end up buying singles instead. I have seen a lot of recent 2007 breaks at the lower price, and a lot of people were very happy with that. Anyways, off we go.

The Good

There is A LOT of good stuff about this product, and I am VERY happy we are doing a break of it. After seeing the prelim breaks, there are some amazing designs that UD has done with the cards to seemingly reinvent it. The subset autos take center stage again this year, and I love the designs compared to last years snore fest. The new direction with the patch and jersey cards makes me want to go out and buy some, and the autos make me wish I had the money to drop on all the ones I want.

Secondly, as mentioned before UD has guaranteed 1 A List auto per case, with the likes of Manning, Peterson, Tomlinson, etc, and I love that new practice. They are also including 4 autos of the top RCs like McFadden and Jones and company, and that is GREAT with a huge RC premiere class. So, if only one comes per box, we can expect that 50% of the boxes have something good. I cant tell you how good those odds are. GOOD JOB UD.

Lastly, the auto RC jersey cards are a huge improvement from last year. Every thing looks better, but the pictures are still goofy and tiny. Still an upgrade, regardless, so its not that big of a deal. I think the jersey windows are also an upgrade, especially when the patches factor in, although its all event used, so who cares. Also a big plus: multiple configurations of diecut windows for parallels. The 2007 ones were a maze of parallels, but this may help to rise above that.

The Bad

Stickers on everything? Cmon UD, I know you can do it better a la SPA. Granted, many are unnoticable thanks to the clear stickers (TAKE NOTICE TOPPS), but that doesn’t mean they should be excused for a high end product. I think it should be commonplace for the on card autos to be directly proportional to the price of the box.

The content is getting closer to the price of the box, but its still not there. In a product this expensive, everything needs to be autoed or have a nice patch. Its inexcusable to throw out 2 autos per box, with only one shot at getting a vet auto.

The Ugly

As far as I know this product will come in one big pack. That is beyond ridiculous to expect us to live with no exquisite style box or something like that. Get the wax pack idea out of your fucking head and start putting better protection in for every product - especially the high end ones. I want to scream every time I have to open a pack for a product over a hundred dollars. I need more base cards like I need a hole in the fucking head. Get rid of the packs and start tinning this shit up with a nice box.

Can someone explain to me why some of the Premier Stitching cards have no player picture on them? They look fucking ridiculous. I cant believe someone didnt catch this and say, "Hey! Put some god damned pictures on these cards. We arent Topps Paradigm!"

Overall, this is only one of a few products, that I can actually think about recommending for people to buy. That is fucking sad. The fact that the market is continually flooded with absolute fucking shit is really disproportionate to the amount of awesome technology available. Hopefully people get back on the fucking horse. Now, I would wait 3 weeks until the prices come down a little before you buy, but it could be worth a shot at that time. Also, watch for our upcoming break for an up close and personal look at the set. Hopefully we pull something huge.

SCU Breaks: Premier Box Ordered

Thank you to everyone who participated in this break. According to the release calendar, this will be out tomorrow, and we will break hopefully on Wednesday. The randomizer team video will be up friday or over the weekend, hopefully I dont forget.

Also, Holy Hitter will be continuing this tradition in a month or two with his first group break on the site. He is a veteran here, and does this all the time. I trust him completely. Im guessing the first break will be Absolute Football - a schmear from all the years. It should be awesome. Keep your eyes here.

Funny thing: My UD replacement package for the All-day auto should be here by friday, I am praying for good luck. I wont have it, so come to check on my ass-reeming over the next day or two. Who knows, I might end up with a 20 dollar card!

Lastly, if you have yet to receive your cards from the previous breaks by monday of next week, please contact me. The tracking for all the packages are finally registering and coming back, so I will keep an eye to see if one says it wasnt delivered. Im guessing the weather problems have had something to do with things.

SCU Breaks: Premier Pushed Back?

Box for Premier break has been ordered. It should be in on friday, meaning we will break about a week from now. Random video should be up later.

SCU Breaks: Still Waiting On Premier

I have a feeling that people dont want to get in on this break because they havent seen the product. I understand that. I feelz ya.

So, at least let me know if you are considering it. That way I can at least get an idea if we are going to fill this break.

Lastly, im not sure if people realize that for every 10 box case of premier, UD is putting an A list auto in each case (maybe even more, like Black Basketball), and also 4 autos from the top valued RCs. Now, if all those boxes only have one of those, 50% of the boxes should have a good hit in each case. That is pretty good odds.

Anyone who wants in should post and then send your $19 paypal to gellmana@gmail.com.

There are only a few spots left and we can get this ordered.

SCU Breaks: Need To Fill This Break Before Wednesday

There are still five spots left for next week's Premier break. Its our last before Holy Hitter takes over next month, so get in if you want to. There wont be any for a while after this so dont worry.

Send payment to gellmana@gmail.com through paypal and I will add you to the list. Product should be out on wednesday.

2008 Premier Football Spots:

1. Gellman (HOST)
2. Enrique (PAID)
3. SpeedLegg (PAID)
4. Ethan (PAID)
5. Ethan (PAID)
6. Alan (PAID)
7. Darkship (PAID)
8. Darkship (PAID)
9. Cheese Eating Bird (PAID)
10. Voluntarheel (PAID)
11. Voluntarheel (PAID)
12. PSAD (PAID)
13. Speedlegg (PAID)
14. Matt L (PAID)
15. Holy Hitter (PAID)
16. Holy Hitter (PAID)

Premier Football Stats

Configuration: 1 pack per box. 7 cards per pack.

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:
- Get 7 Low-Numbered Hits in EVERY Box!
- Pull a Premier Rookie Signature Quad Memorabilia Card numbered to 275 or less in every pack, on average!
- One Premier Stitchings card per pack, on average, featuring unique player-specific woven patches numbered to 30 or less!
- Two Autograph cards numbered to 65 or less per pack, on average!
- One Dual or Triple Patch card numbered to 75 or less per pack, on average!
- Look for unique cut signatures featuring an industry first combination of signatures from top Musical Stars who have performed the Super Bowl Half Time Show with a woven patch!

SCU Breaks: 5 Spots Left For Premier

First off, all the cards from all the breaks have gone out as of this morning. If you dont receive them, please let me know. I have tracking on all of them.

Secondly, be sure to check out GroupBreakers.com for more group breaks. Its run by speedlegg, and I know he is really good at stuff like this. I will for sure be participating in the future when my funds are replentished.

Lastly, there are three spots left for next week's Premier break. Its our last before Holy Hitter takes over next month, so get in if you want to. There wont be any for a while after this so dont worry.

2008 Premier Football Spots:

1. Gellman (HOST)
2. Enrique (PAID)
3. SpeedLegg (PAID)
4. Ethan (PAID)
5. Ethan (PAID)
6. Alan (PAID)
7. Darkship (PAID)
8. Darkship (PAID)
9. Cheese Eating Bird (PAID)
10. Voluntarheel (PAID)
11. Voluntarheel (PAID)
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Premier Football Stats

Configuration: 1 pack per box. 7 cards per pack.

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:
- Get 7 Low-Numbered Hits in EVERY Box!
- Pull a Premier Rookie Signature Quad Memorabilia Card numbered to 275 or less in every pack, on average!
- One Premier Stitchings card per pack, on average, featuring unique player-specific woven patches numbered to 30 or less!
- Two Autograph cards numbered to 65 or less per pack, on average!
- One Dual or Triple Patch card numbered to 75 or less per pack, on average!
- Look for unique cut signatures featuring an industry first combination of signatures from top Musical Stars who have performed the Super Bowl Half Time Show with a woven patch!

SCU Breaks: Exquisite FB Tonight

Break should be posted around 5:30 PST. Scans will be posted with the video now that my scanner was brought back to life. Sorry to those involved in the baseball break, I wanted to get the pics but my scanner wanted to crawl in a hole and die. My apologies.

Lastly, there are 10 spots left in the Premier break. I will be posting on YouTube tonight to fill it, so if you want in, this is your chance. Send payment to gellmana@gmail.com to join.

2008 Premier Football Spots:

1. Gellman (HOST)
2. Enrique (PAID)
3. SpeedLegg (PAID)
4. Ethan (PAID)
5. Ethan (PAID)
6. Alan (PAID)
7. Todd S
8. Todd S
9. Cheese Eating Bird (PAID)
10. Darkship (PAID)
11. Darkship (PAID)
12. Voluntarheel (PAID)
13. Voluntarheel (PAID)
14.
15.
16.

Premier Football Stats

Configuration: 1 pack per box. 7 cards per pack.

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:
- Get 7 Low-Numbered Hits in EVERY Box!
- Pull a Premier Rookie Signature Quad Memorabilia Card numbered to 275 or less in every pack, on average!
- One Premier Stitchings card per pack, on average, featuring unique player-specific woven patches numbered to 30 or less!
- Two Autograph cards numbered to 65 or less per pack, on average!
- One Dual or Triple Patch card numbered to 75 or less per pack, on average!
- Look for unique cut signatures featuring an industry first combination of signatures from top Musical Stars who have performed the Super Bowl Half Time Show with a woven patch!

Two Announcements - New Staff and High End Break 4

First off, I want to welcome Mr. Holy Hitter to our staff to take over doing these box breaks for me while I focus on the actual blog part of this site. If you have been reading this site for awhile, he is a frequent commenter, and a really nice guy. I wont divulge who he really is without his permission, but im sure he will post and say his piece. He will probably be doing one to two box breaks a month, and he will be the host instead of me. I trust him to do a good job, and he may even do a few posts here and there.

Secondly, before he starts his thing, Premier Football is being released this wednesday, which means the first high end product for 2008 is about to hit the market. I want to do a box of it, for fun, and I hope its cool. So for my last box break before Mr Hitter takes over, I will be doing Premier.

It will be 19 dollars a spot for two random teams, and will have the same rules as before. Please send paypal to gellmana@gmail.com and I will add you to the list.

2008 Premier Football Spots:

1. Gellman (HOST)
2. Enrique (PAID)
3. SpeedLegg (PAID)
4. Ethan (PAID)
5. Ethan (PAID)
6. Alan (PAID)
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Premier Football Stats

Configuration: 1 pack per box. 7 cards per pack.

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:
- Get 7 Low-Numbered Hits in EVERY Box!
- Pull a Premier Rookie Signature Quad Memorabilia Card numbered to 275 or less in every pack, on average!
- One Premier Stitchings card per pack, on average, featuring unique player-specific woven patches numbered to 30 or less!
- Two Autograph cards numbered to 65 or less per pack, on average!
- One Dual or Triple Patch card numbered to 75 or less per pack, on average!
- Look for unique cut signatures featuring an industry first combination of signatures from top Musical Stars who have performed the Super Bowl Half Time Show with a woven patch!

Quick Review: 2008 Football Heroes

I dont really know much about this product, and really its not that interesting to me, but it is live, so Ill give you some quick impressions of it.

First off, the RCs are all in their college jerseys, AGAIN, but honestly, that is offset by the on card sigs. The only problem I have here is that this SHOULD be a veteran based set. There should not be RCs in this. Too bad they couldnt have replaced the RC sigs with a set based on the Montana auto from 1991 football.

If you remember, these were insert cards over the years from different UD products, and some of them were really cool. Does that mean they should get a whole set? No. I like the style of these for an insert auto set in a bigger product, but not as a stand alone, especially when all the RC products post Classics should have RCs in NFL jerseys.

Lastly, they have these painting cards as a subset that look pretty cool and they probably have some cuts too. Overall, ill wait for Premier because that is the first big set of the year, as it seems.

There is one thing I do want to say, and maybe Gregg can touch on this when I talk to him later, but it seems like UD products are really getting stale outside of Premier, SPA and Exquisite. Granted, you dont need much more than that, as those are your bread and butter, but UD could really use some cool stuff. Icons, Rookie Threads, and even Premier are not enough for us to make it through the drab beginnings of the football card year until SPA and Exquisite hit shelves. At least we have LCM, Grid Gear, and Limited to pass the time.

UD Makes Premier a Premiere Set

Per case, you will get at least 1 auto of one of these guys:

Adrian Peterson
Barry Sanders
Ben Roethlisberger
Brett Favre
Dan Marino
Jerry Rice
Eli Manning
Jim Brown
Joe Montana
Joe Namath
John Elway
Ladainian Tomlinson
Peyton Manning
Terry Bradshaw
Tom Brady
Tony Romo

Well, thats pretty good, not great, but good. Some of the guys on the list shouldnt be there, but its a good list like the Basketball one.

The good thing is that they are also including 4 autos of this list of guys per case:

Matt Ryan
Darren McFadden
Chad Henne
Rashard Mendenhall
Brian Brohm
Felix Jones
Joe Flacco
Jonathan Stewart

That is huge. HUGE. For a premium product and a long list of guys at the RC premiere, this is a great way to fix it. This means that for 5/10 boxes for a case, you will pull a pretty good auto. But, that still leaves 5 boxes that are going to probably be total crap. Who knows though, we could have another product like UD Black Basketball where the cases are fucking loaded.

Either way, its a good start to a premium product season.

My only religious holiday: OPENING DAY!

Its here! Its here! Thank the lord! Too bad this opening day has become a slosh of opening delays. Either way, I am f*ing pumped to see the new Twins in action (during the only period of the year I am happy we have a dome). This almighty pump-ed-ness will, with out a doubt, wear off within a half an inning as Livan Hernandez gives up a five spot to the wicked Angels lineup. (UPDATE: TWINS WIN?!?)



Joe and Justin celebrate making it through spring training with no injuries - SCORE!

ON TO SPORTS CARD GOINGS ON

Last friday, amongst the pickle that UD football had gotten themselves into, UD baseball debuted their version of Premier for 2008.

This year we get the normal patch and jersey subsets with some new autos and fake patches. The designs for the relic cards are a step up from last year, but when you add the auto to the already busy patch and jersey card, it looks like the player has it tatooed on his face most of the time. See below (Lets play "Where's Waldo - Autograph Version") :



The MLB logos are new, and I like the cards - a lot. Buuuuuutttttt, there are no autos, something Ive yearned for on an MLB logo card ever since the logo cards of all logo cards in Ultimate 2006. CMON UPPER DECK - PULL YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR ASSES!!

Lastly, we have the omnious "PREMIER CARD", where there is an auto side and a memorabilia side. Each features three players, but honestly, I couldnt care less unless those players are Pujols, Ripkien, and Jeter. The card looks okay, but it is just overkill in my opinion. I guess they havent learned their lessons with the duals out of exquisite being worth nothing, and the duals out of premier last year being worth nothing..... you get my point.

As with most UD overpriced crap, I will only be buying singles to avoid giving UD my money, and to avoid the $270+ price tag. Yeesh, and I thought Black was overpriced!

My grade: B-