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.

Custom Card of the Day: Bruce Edition

This year has been a nice one for the NL Central, as the Pirates have finally had a great year, while the Cardinals have unfortunately had a great year. Still, with those two teams surging, and the Cubs and Brewers practically dead, that kinda leaves the Reds in the middle.

I'll say this is odd, because last year the Reds made it to the playoffs, and they're still a great team, with a nice infield, and raw talent. They're just outmatched by the other two. Put them in any other division, and they have a shot at the wild card. They've just struggled with being in a division with two great teams, and the fact that they're not as great as last year.

Still, at least you can count on Jay Bruce to be consistently good. Like usual, Bruce has been hitting well, and he's somewhere on the homers list. What's weird is that five years ago, Bruce and Votto hit the scene, and in the years since, they're slowly developed a nice little status in Cincinnati. Like, they were huge in 2008, and somehow they're still both great players, which is nice. I mean, a lot of people that were huge in 2008 (Kosuke Fukudome, Delmon Young, Luke Hochevar) have gone down aways.

Still, I'm happy Bruce is performing, and I hope the Reds don't sink any further.

Coming Tomorrow- The Marlins suck this season. Here's the only reason people go to games there.

Football Rip for the Masses: 2012 Topps Football

Old News.

That's what 2012 Topps Football is in August of 2013. Way, way, way WAY old news. Like, there are rookies in this set that are already working at Burger King by now. Also, the crappy giveaway site already expired.

So we're going through some pretty old stuff, but still, there's a chance to get a nice hit, plus some cool inserts. Since I'm guessing you all have seen the base cards, I won't go into too much detail, though I will highlight the inserts and nice pulls.

Pack One-

Notable Base Cards- Cam Newton, LeSean McCoy

Insert- Andrew Luck/Jim Plunkett Paramount Pairs.



Pack Two-
Notable Base Cards- Michael Vick, Toby Gerhardt
Inserts- Crummy Giveaway Card, Jared Allen Tallboy

Pack Three-

Notable Base Cards- Ryan Fitzpatrick

Insert- Sonny Jurgenson QB Immortals. Also, we landed our big hit. And it's a good one...



Yep, that is indeed a Matt Ryan Game Used Jersey card. And yes, I pulled this out of a hobby box of Topps. No gimmicked rookie, no player I've never heard of, no bullcrap redemption. Just a nice swatch of a really, really good player. And I'm content with that.

Pack 4-
Notable Base Cards- Bryan Orakpo.
Inserts- Mario Manningham Tallboy, Marques Colston/Pierre Thomas Paramount Pairs

Pack 5-
Notable Base Cards- Ray Rice,
Insert- Len Dawson QB Immortals

Pack 6-
Notable Base Cards- Maurice Jones Drew, Terrell Suggs, Luke Keuchly Rookie
Inserts- Terrell Suggs Tallboy, Luck/RG3 Paramount Pairs.

Pack 7-
Notable Base Cards- Mario Manningham
Insert- Sonny Jurgenson Reprint

Pack 8-
Notable Base Cards- Curtis Lofton, Peyton Hillis, John Skelton, a few more shown below
Insert- Peyton Hillis Unnamed Insert

This pack also contained the two hottest non-Luck rookies of the year, Doug Martin and Robert Griffin III.

Pack 9-
Notable Base Cards- Ryan Tannehill rookie
Inserts- AJ Green Unnamed Insert, Michael Vick Tallboy

Pack 10-
Notable Base Cards- TJ Yates, Steve Johnson
Insert- Aaron Rodgers reprint

Pack 11-
Notable Base Cards- Randy Moss
Insert- Joe Montana QB Immortals

Pack 12-
Notable Base Cards- Tim Tebow, Mike Williams
Insert- RG3 Unnamed Insert

Pack 13-
Notable Base Cards- Matthew Stafford
Inserts- BS Giveaway, Hakeem Nicks Tallboy

Pack 14-
Notable Base Cards- Drew Brees
Inserts- Stevan Ridley Tallboy, Brandon Lloyd/Wes Welker Paramount Pairs

Pack 15-
Notable Base Cards- Andy Dalton, Sidney Rice
Insert- Steve Young reprint

Pack 16-
Notable Base Cards- Jermichael Finley, Alex Smith
Inserts- Luck/Elway Paramount Pairs. Oh, and also...

Giants Champs card #'d to 2012. Which is nice.

Pack 17-
Notable Base Cards- Desean Jackson, Matt Ryan
Insert- Mike Williams/Vincent Jackson Paramount Pairs

Pack 18-
Notable Base Cards- Trent Richardson rookie
Insert- Jimmy Graham unnamed insert

Pack 19-
Notable Base Cards- Matt Forte, Matt Schaub
Insert- Eli Manning rookie reprint, and keeping in the Eli spirit...

His Ring of Honor card, which is pretty cool.

Pack 20-
Notable Base Cards- Adrian Peterson, Jabal Sheard, Reggie Bush
Insert- Paramount Pairs of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Steve Johnson

Pack 21-
Notable Base Cards- Brandon Weeden rookie, Miles Austin
Insert- Jim Kelly rookie reprint

Pack 22-
Notable Base Cards- Ryan Matthews
Insert- Kurt Warner QB Immortals

Pack 23-
Notable Base Cards- Jason Babin
Insert- Shonn Greene Unnamed Insert. Also,

An Andre Carter Black Border, #'d to 57. Always a Patriot.

Pack 24-
Notable Base Cards- Jason Witten
Insert- Terry Bradshaw Reprint

Pack 25-
Notable Base Cards- Cedric Benson
Inserts- Rice/Flacco Paramount Pairs, Falcons TC #'d to 2012.

Pack 26-
Notable Base Cards- Osi Umenoria
Insert- Terry Bradshaw QB Immortals

Pack 27-
Notable Base Cards- Andrew Luck rookie
Insert- Dalton/Green Paramount Pairs, and also...

An Eric LeGrand, #'d to 2012, which is a great story for a card.

Pack 28-
Notable Base Cards- Percy Harvin, Andy Lee
Inserts- Michael Turner tallboy, Jabar Gaffney Unnamed

Pack 29-
Notable Base Cards- Victor Cruz, Matt Hasselbeck
Inserts- AJ Green Tallboy, giveaway

Pack 30-
Notable Base Cards- Mark Sanchez, Eli Manning
Inserts- Cedric Benson Tallboy, giveaway

Pack 31-
Notable Base Cards- Carson Palmer
Insert- Ronnie Hillman Unnamed

Pack 32-
Notable Base Cards- Drew Brees
Insert- Troy Aikman QB immortals

Pack 33-
Notable Base Cards- Owen Daniels
Inserts- Giveaway, Calvin Johnson tallboy

Pack 34-
Notable Base Cards- Nick Mangold, below
Inserts- Giveaway, John Kuhn Tallboy

And also, I pulled one of the better rookies of the set, a Russell Wilson rookie

Pack 35-
Notable Base Cards- Kenny Britt
Insert- Frank Gore unnamed

Last Pack-
Notable Base Cards- Hakeem Nicks
Inserts- Percy Harvin Unnamed, Ryan Matthews Tallboy

So, there was a Matt Ryan jersey card, and a bunch of inserts, but that was about it. Tomorrow, we break Archives.

Custom Card of the Day: Sale Edition

Oh, hey, a new custom. Haven't seen one of those in a while, eh? Craaazyy...

The White Sox have been awful this season. It's funny, a few months before the season started I predicted that they would be in the World Series. Huh. And now they're one of the worst teams in baseball. Man, I'm good.

(I'm not even mentioning the other team I predicted, because they're actually doing pretty well right now, and I don't wanna jinx it.)

Still, Chris Sale has been the one person on the White Sox that hasn't been terrible, which is nice. I mean, he gets hit a little bit, but he's had a pretty alright season, and he's becoming a consistent pitcher for a team in desperate need of one.

Coming Tomorrow- An outfielder for a great team that has sunk to third in the NL Central.

Post-Crisis Blog Assessment

Being that I haven't had too many posts lately, aside from the usual customs, I should probably explain myself.

School starts in a few weeks for me. I will be going into my senior year of high school, and this week and next week is all prep for the upcoming marching band season. Because of this, my posting hours are near-scarce, and I haven't found any new players/photos to customize. I've been in a rut for the past week in terms of that.

Also, I should address Football Rip for the Masses, which I unceremoniously abandoned when I was on vacation a few weeks ago. I should have told you guys in advance before I did that, and I apologize. But I can tell you that I'll definitely post the other two boxes tomorrow and Saturday. However, there is a severe possibility that one or two more boxes might be thrown in there, from the same source. So holding it off might have benefitted me.

But rest assured, anyone who was following the Rip: it ain't dead, it just had to rest for awhile. Tomorrow we go back at full speed. I promise.

But for the most part, this should be the end of my non-posting crisis, and I should be back to consistent posting soon, just as soon as I get off my lazy ass and start making customs.

4,000

I'd say that's a Hall-worthy achievement. I know it's a combined number, split between here and Japan, but still, that's a hell of a statistic.

I'm glad he was on the Yankees when he hit it.

Custom Card of the Day: Mujica Edition

Edward Mujica is the closer for the Cardinals. Thanks to frigging Sabathia, that's all I can say tonight without involving expletives.

I mean REALLY, CC?

Coming Tomorrow- The ace for the South side of Chicago, who, surprisingly, are doing as bad as the North Side. For once.