A Dub Christmas

The great Dub over at Dub Mentality blog mailed me a Christmas gift that was supposed to arrive on time before Christmas, but Santa made me wait another day. Well, the USPS did. All of my packages around Christmas came much later than they usually do which is expected I suppose with so many packages going through.

Once again he hit my Giants PC with awesomeness.

Three Prizm cards and a Lorenzo Carter rookie.

OBJ!

More OBJ! The pink one is numbered.

And a big surprise in the final card of this sweet Kyle Lauletta patch autograph. It's a solid white patch too. I love the look and appeal of the card. The red background against the Giants blue blend beautifully! Now if only Kyle has a chance to take over for the Gmen. I don't believe he will now, but with next years draft class of QB's growing small, maybe his window is still there.

 

Thanks for another great mail day Dub! Much appreciated!

Big Blue Sunday's:Today's The Day!

Call you mother, call your father, call your grandparents!

Today is the official first 2018-2019 NFL Sunday kickoff! A day I have waited for since last season ended. Well, ended for my Giants. We all know how I felt about that Super Bowl

Today my NY Giants are at home vs the Jacksonville Jaguars who were a surprising team last year making it all the way to the AFC Championship game. A game that they should have taken down Tom Brady and the Patriots in but blew it. The question for them becomes do they strive off from that loss and the momentum they had in the playoffs or does it carry over as a hangover? Today will tell.

As for my Giants, last season can only be summed up in one word, EMBARRASSING. The coach was embarrassing. The upper managements decisions were embarrassing, The teams effort was embarrassing. The team was embarrassing all around. I watched some pretty bad seasons as a Giants fan, but nothing was ever as bad as that.

This year they cleaned house. New coach, new coaching staff, new GM, new roster. What was old is now new. They upgraded the oline, changed things up on the defense, made some bold cuts like letting Davis Webb go and trading away JPP. They also drafted well including what some considered the best player in the draft, and signed Odell Beckham Jr to a record deal keeping him in blue for some time. If this kind of shake up doesn't get fans excited about this season, I am not sure what will.

There are many sleeping on this team. I honestly don't have any clue how I feel about them yet. Obviously I feel like this offense can score points if they can stay healthy and that offensive line can hold up. They worry me still despite the revamp since it has been so long since they have had a solid line.

The defense concerns me as well. Not a lot of big names left on the team on that side of the ball besides Jenkins, Collins, Snacks, and Vernon (who is hurt). They also changed schemes up from a 4-3 to a 3-4. Just hoping the defense will be better than what I expect.

Overall in my early thoughts, this team is a 7-9 or 8-8 team with all of the new changes and tough schedule. But, I won't make a full prediction til I see them hit the field vs a very good Jaguars team. How that game goes will be a guide for the rest of the season.

No matter how the season goes, just hopefully better than last year, I will still be chasing down more Giants cards and especially Saquon Barkley that high draft pick I spoke about earlier. In a recent mail day trade with @DubMentality, I added a few more to my PC.

Odell Beckham Jr insert from Optic. I hope the contract thrives him today vs Jalen Ramsey and not does the opposite. Evan Engram could play a huge role in today's game but we will see.

Sterling Shepard could be a huge player today and going forward. Especially if defenses are all in on Odell.

And here comes Saquon! He is going to play a huge role in this offense I have a feeling. The offensive line plays a big role on how far Saquon can go. But, he showed in the preseason vs the Browns he has got moves and can do a lot on his own. That line let him down on his very first NFL rush and he still took it for 39 yards. You should go YouTube that run as it's amazing to watch. I hope to see more of that when the games start to count.

I really like this look of Elite Draft, but I wished Panini really wouldn't double up on so many college and NFL Products. Why not create a whole new line or bring back some classics? This is the base and variation of Saquon I should mention.

Luminance I reviewed on here and I was a big fan of. The inserts within the product look really cool as well and would be very familiar to something you may have seen in Black Gold because of their color scheme.

Whoa! I was surprised to see this one in there. Dub had teased me with it on Twitter so I wasn't sure it would be included or not in our trade and here it is even more impressive in front of me.

This Unparalleled card is /100. I am not sure if this is a base rookie or an insert as I didn't get a close look at the product this year. I assume it has to be a base rookie due to the card numbering on the back's number. It's nice to start having some cards of him in a Giants uniform.

The final card from this trade was this Kyle Lauletta autograph I forgot he pulled. Kyle is currently in line to take over for Eli when he retires with Davis Webb gone.I had a feeling after watching both of their preseason performances. Now I am out to chase down as many Laulettas as I can.

  

A big thanks goes out to Dub for another amazing mind blowing mail day. He completely set me up to have a great Sunday kickoff. I look forward to our next trade!

I also couldn't finish today's kickoff post without one more Saquon. This was my very first card of him in a Giants uniform thanks to @GundersonNathan who pulled it in a break and sent it my way. Very cool. I love the photography with Panini football this year. So crystal clear and no border or funky stuff going on. Plain and simple. Thanks Nathan again for the card!

By the time some of you read this, the game will be over and I will either be in a good or bad mood. There is no in-between for me during the football season.

I am just glad to finally watch this team hit the field after watching last years disaster. So on this first weekend of football, I wish the best of luck to your teams (unless you are a Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles, or Patriots fan) and let go Giants!

Dub Gave Me Some NY Mentality

It has been some time since I last made a trade with the great Dub over at Dub Mentality blog but it seems he had been saving stuff for me for awhile to make my move.

He broke a box of 2018 Classics football back in June and pulled an autograph in which he tagged me in knowing it would lure me to it. I had to have that card once I saw it and will show it off later on in this mail day recap.

What comes before it, well, that's just as impressive.

Two new Odell Beckham Jr's. I didn't try any of the 2018 Contenders Draft product. I really need to find a trading buddy who may have the Saquon inserts from it.

 

I spoke that he broke a box of Classics, well, here are the results. Like I said in my review, totally like the base.

 

Phoenix was a cool looking product that I broke some of, but not enough to land these Giants. Odell again!

 

Speaking of Odell again, here is another one. I thought the Contenders Optic looked awesome from a distance. Wished I could had afforded to bust a box but I am thankful I at least got to add these two to my PC from it. Marshall has since moved on to the Seahawks, but this refractor Odell is sure nice!

 

Wayne Gallman I felt didn't get the chance to snag the starting spot this year with the Giants "can't pass draft" of Barkley. He had a solid year last year especially towards the end. I expect him to be a great complimentary back to Saquon.

 

How can you not give High Praise to LT on the field? Guy was a beast!

 

Can't say the same for Dayne who was by far a better college runner than pro. I just remember being excited about the Giants taking him and then watching him run into the backs of lineman and losing yards. #Fail

 

Someone not a fail, Michael Strahan. Here is his 1993 Topps gold parallel rookie. There is just something really fun about this photo that showcases early his big personality.

 

Eli is Elite! The Classics white jersey and throwback helmet looks hot!

 

Rudolph is apart of a tight Giants WR depth chart. He has the skills, but can he survive the competition. I hope so. I really like the guy.

 

Saquon! I do have these two, but that doesn't matter. Bring em all my way!

 

And here are two I didn't have. The Score NFL Draft 2018 is a really sharp card. I don't know what it is about it that catches my eye.

 

Odell's theme for 2018, catching fire! I expect a huge year from this guy.

 

Wayne Gallman rookie auto. His autograph is a bit sloppy, but better than some rookies.

 

 

 Check out this sick patch from Select!! Looks like it was apart of his name. Nice looking relic card all around.

 

And finally, that autograph card that was pulled from Classics to end this mail day. Giants pick of Kyle Lauletta. My first autograph of him. He was great in college, but is it him or Davis Webb that is the future in NY. Only time can tell and to be honest I am not ready to think about that yet.

A big thanks goes out to Dub for this terrific trade. I am hoping we can do this again sooner rather than later. Let's not give such a long gap next time!

If you haven't yet, go check out his very popular blog over at Dub Mentality.

Action Packed With Gold!

Here it is, the final Hampton post in my drafts. I hope you guys have enjoyed the gallery over the last few months. There was a lot of fun stuff to show off and hopefully a lot of it brought you back or made you see something you hadn't before.

My pickup today came in a trade with Dub Mentality Blog a few months ago. It's a 1991 Action Packed 24K Gold parallel. The only difference between this and the regular base card is the small 24-Kt. Gold Stamp at the bottom you can barely see.

 

These were randomly found in packs with no given odds. I picked up the 1992 version about a year ago, so I am happy to finally have both of them. Some of those early 90's inserts aren't always easy to find.

Thanks again Dub for the trade and for the three new Hampton additions to my PC. Hope we can do it again soon.

Missing Press Pass

It's been a few years since we heard the sad news that Press Pass was closing it's doors forever. It was from a company that made many sport and non-sport cards since the late 90's.

When I got this awesome card I won from a contest with Dub Mentality blog,

 

it reminded me of how great Press Pass truly was. I know this card doesn't have logos but just look at it. It's one great looking card. Press Pass I thought always did their best with designs and unique products especially for NASCAR. I liked their earlier NCAA football ones before that license got taken away. 

A big thanks goes out to Dub Mentality for my first Landry auto. I have been wanting his for some time now. If you haven't checked out his blog yet, please do so!

Another Trade With Dub Mentality

In the last few weeks @DubMentality, who runs the Dub Mentality blog (please add it to your blogroll if you haven't yet or at least give it a read), worked out a trade to both help our PC's. I sent along some pretty cool items he knew about and in exchange, I took a blind trade knowing Dub wouldn't let me down.

And he didn't.

Before I kick off the gallery, I will say three cards are left off of it. They are Rodney Hampton's that will be done in separate segments like I do for all of my Hampton adds.

So let's kick off the gallery I am showing off!

Let's kick it off with a group of Giants. My first Score Giants of 2017 including my first Janoris Jenkins in a Gmen uni. I am always glad to pad a couple new Shepard and Perkins rookies too.

Some new Eli's for the PC including one from his rookie year.

I think it may be a TOOMAH. Now read that like Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is a new Toomer add, a card I haven't seen before and a nice 90's one. I also don't have a ton of Toomer in his #18 jersey.

Lee Rouson. If you read my article awhile back on how I met the guy at my church you would know the significance of this card. It's actually my first of him. Great guy, Super Bowl Champ and one to look up to.

Three new Prizm adds including a nice Shepard parallel.

9 Griffey's that I sadly have all of. It's really hard to trade Griffey's to me unless they are parallels because I can't get my lazy butt to do an online checklist. I have one all set up, just haven't taken the time to highlight the ones I have. But, The Kid is The Kid and I will keep em.

A few new Yanks here including Jeets.

I don't own a lot of older Yanks so this is a nice add.

And of course this is an epic add. Loving me some Judge for my PC. I didn't get this one from my box of Archives so Dub helped fill that void. Now need the Opening Day, Heritage, Gypsy Queen, and Bunt to help fill in the low end needs among all of the inserts (I have 0) and parallels. If you got em and don't need em, just let me know!

Dre! A new Andre Williams to the PC.

And another....(I have the parallel auto just not the base)

And another.

 

Nice pink Optic jersey card of Paul Perkins.

I think this only makes my third jersey card for Odell of his rookie year. Which is quite shocking knowing the amounts of them out there. Really solid add here.

And we finish it up with a really nice add, this guy is going to be a Pro Bowl Safety for many years to come. He is a ball-hawking play maker. This marks only my second rookie auto of his but this one is my favorite. Tek looks great.

A big thanks goes out to Dub for the mail day and for the trade. I have begun setting stuff aside for our next one which I am sure will be another great one.

I hope to make new updates to my Giants overall numbers tab in the next few days and will tweet it out when I do.

Some Twitter Friends Are National Treasures

I have met some incredible giving friends on Twitter, one of those great guys is @DubMentality
who runs the Dub Mentality blog. Give it a read or a blogroll add if you haven't yet. Lot's of interesting content on there.

Anyways, I was tagged in a post early last week that instructed for me to contact @NickLcitycards
with my address so I can get the card he had just picked up for me from Nick's sale. I was thrown back because of his generosity and also because of the pretty sweet card he had picked up for me.

A 2016 Panini National Treasures dual memorabilia card of future Pro Bowlers Sterling Shepard and Paul Perkins.

 

And as an added surprise, Nick had tossed in this pretty slick Donruss Optic Rated Rookie parallels.

 

 

A big thanks goes out to Dub for picking up the sweet dual memorabilia card for me and another thanks to Nick for tossing in the extras. You can check them both out on Twitter and give em a follow click!