Football Rip for the Masses: 2012(?) Topps Archives

I saved this one for last in the rip because out of all four, this one was the one that I was most excited to open. Screw high-end blunders, screw already-seen flagship, screw a Panini set I didn't know was awesome. I wanted to save Archives for last. Why, exactly?

Well, it has a cooler base set, it has more variety in terms of a checklist, it has great inserts, and it's fun to collect. Besides, Topps put more effort into this set than the baseball version. And also, there are two guaranteed autographs per box, which is nowhere near the first two boxes, but still pretty nice.

And another reason I saved this one for last?

Back Panel Cards! As you can see, there's a Manning, Brady, Luck and Tannehill. I'm not cutting those out,but those are pretty damn cool.

Alright, alright, you guys wanna see the packs. 24 packs per box. Here we go...

Pack 1-
Notable Base Cards-Tom Brady, Robert Griffin III, Jamaal Charles, Ahmad Bradshaw
Insert- A stand up insert of Jimmy Graham.

Pack 2-
Notable Base Cards- Tony Gonzalez, Percy Harvin, Matt Ryan, Doug Martin
Insert- Well, we got our first hit, and sadly, it's a redemption...

As much as I loathe redemptions, I have to say that Mercury Morris is not the worst auto to pull. Any former player is cool, because it's neat to pull someone that isn't overhyped nowadays.

Pack 3-
Notable Base Cards- Dan Fouts, Patrick Willis, Brian Urlacher, Carson Palmer
Short Print- A Willie Anderson 1989. I have this one, which is why I kept it in the photo with the rest, but if anyone needs it, go ahead.

Pack 4-
Notable Base Cards- Rob Gronkowski, Clay Mathews, Kurt Warner, Brian Orakpo, Roddy White, CJ Spiller, Pierre Garcon, Justin Blackmon. Cause there are no inserts, I might as well list all the base cards.

Pack 5-
Notable Base Cards- Roger Staubach, Dan Marino, Adrian Peterson, Darren McFadden
Short Print- Well...

I got a Cornelius Bennett 1993 Topps, which is a nice one. Also, it's one I didn't have.

Pack 6-
Notable Base Cards- Michael Vick, Reggie Wayne, Bart Starr, Jim Plunkett, Vincent Jackson, D'Angelo Williams, JJ Watt
No inserts. Boo.

Pack 7-
Notable Base Cards- DeSean Jackson, Ben Roethlisberger, Julio Jones, A Noted Felon.
Insert- Doug Martin round insert (I forget what they call these).

Pack 8-
Notable Base Cards- Two very odd uniform choices in Joe Montana on the Chiefs and Brett Favre on the Vikings. Very, very odd. Also, Willis McGahee, Greg Jennings and Darius Heyward-Bey

Pack 9-
Notable Base Cards- Sam Bradford, Alshon Jeffrey, Hakeem Nicks, Jordy Nelson
Insert- Well, there was this...

A very shiny Jamaal Charles. Which is always nice.

Pack 10-
Notable Base Cards- Andy Dalton, Victor Cruz, Jimmy Graham, Donald Brown
Insert- A Darren McFadden round.

Pack 11-
Notable Base Cards- Joe Flacco, Calvin Johnson, Jerry Rice, Darrelle Revis, and the man Jerry Jones just wasted millions of dollars on.
Short Print- 1985 Louis Lipps, which I had. Up for grabs, though

Pack 12-
Notable Base Cards- LeSean McCoy, Wes Welker, Matt Forte, Jay Cutler
Insert- Well, there was this...

A 1,000 Yard Club insert of Ryan Mathews.

Pack 13-
Notable Base Cards- Mike Wallace, Aaron Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch, Bernard Pierce
Short Print- Stump Mitchell, which I needed.

Pack 14-
Notable Base Cards- Jim Kelly, Len Dawson, Tim Tebow, Dwayne Bowe.

Pack 15-
Notable Base Cards- Jared Allen, Steven Jackson, Phil Simms, DeMarcus Ware
Insert- Shown below

That would be a shiny Alex Smith, which would have been nicer had he stuck it out for the rest of the season. Hell, I'd appreciate this more if it was a Colin Kaepernick shiny. But, I digress.

Pack 16-
Notable Base Cards- Ray Lewis, Matthew Stafford, Julius Peppers and Mr. Mint Condition: David Wilson. Nice of you to join us again, David!

Pack 17-
Notable Base Cards- Troy Polamalu, Terry Bradshaw, Matt Schaub, Fred Jackson
Insert- seen below

A Frank Gore 1,000 yard club insert, which is nice to have.

Pack 18-
Notable Base Cards- John Elway, Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Steve Smith
Also, we landed our second autograph, and it's a nice one-

That would be an on-card auto graph of Bills star Don Beebe, which is pretty nice. Sadly, I know of no Bills fans out there who would actually like this, you know, unless a well known Dodger blogger would actually be interested in this, seeing as he's a Bills fan and all. Just saying.

Pack 19-
Notable Base Cards- Steve Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Ray Rice, Ryan Mathews, Nick 'Should be starting this year' Foles.
Short Print- Ernest Givins of the Oilers, 1992 Topps. Didn't have it.

Pack 20-
Notable Base Cards- Joe Namath, Jeremy Maclin, TY Hilton
Short Print- Curt Warner of the 1986 Seahawks, another short print I needed.

Pack 21-
Notable Base Cards- Steve Young, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Santonio Holmes
Insert- A Drew Brees Stand Up insert. Man, I'm getting all the Saints

Pack 22-
Notable Base Cards- Emmitt Smith, AJ Green, Peyton Manning, Arian Foster
Insert- Ahmad Bradshaw 1,000 Yard Club

Pack 23-
Notable Base Cards- Troy Aikman, Randy Moss, Phillip Rivers, Josh Freeman
Insert- An RG3 Round

Pack 24-
Notable Base Cards- Eli Manning, YA Tittle, Larry Fitzgerald, Mike Williams
Insert- Matt Forte Round

Well, that was a fun box to open. Quality base cards, great inserts, a few nice hits, and a good experience.

If I were to have ended this two weeks ago like I was supposed to, this would have been the end of the rip. I would have sent out the cards I needed to send out, and moved on. But no, however. My contact thought that would be too easy for me.

So, my contact, being the nice person he/she is, decided to give me two more boxes. However, they're newer, and being that this contact her me rave about Panini, they are both boxes of Panini products.

What products, you might ask? Well, one is a box of 2013 Panini/Donruss Elite, while the other is a box of 2013 Panini Momentum. Both have a high hit expectancy, both have nice base sets, and both are sadly more rookie-oriented in terms of hits, which is the exact opposite outcome my first Panini box had.

Still, they're good boxes, and I'll present them both over the coming days.