Football Contest: Week 16

In Week 14, I promised I wouldn't use anymore 2012 Topps...I lied.

I had to find something to go with the crap that is Icons. $3 for a rackie is hard to pass up.

87 total cards this week.

1 point to each team because these still suck!

2 points to each team, woohoo!

3 points to each team, because these are still awesome!

Ok, game time.

ATLANTA FALCONS 3, DETROIT LIONS 2
>>> 3 base cards are better than 1 RC.

BALTIMORE RAVENS 6, NEW YORK GIANTS 4
>>> The Ravens score a big win over the Giants while crushing Eli and his puny reprint:

CAROLINA PANTHERS 3, OAKLAND RAIDERS 3
>>> Both teams had three base cards.  Both teams had one 2012 Topps card I needed for my set.  The Panthers had one Icons base.  The Raiders only had Topps base that I already have.  Tie goes to the Panthers as they win one of the most irrelevant matchups of the season.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 10, DALLAS COWBOYS 1
>>> This was just ugly.  The Saints had 6 base cards to the Cowboys' 1.  The Cowboys have now lost 4 straight. 

GREEN BAY PACKERS 5, TENNESSEE TITANS 2
>>> The Packers win their 4th straight game to clinch the division.

HOUSTON TEXANS 5, MINNESOTA VIKINGS 1
>>> The Texans have now won 3 straight to lock up the AFC North.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 4, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 2
>>> 2 RC vs. 2 base cards gives the Pats the AFC East Crown.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 5, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 1
>>> The Colts have now won 5 of their last 6 after a 2-7 start.

MIAMI DOLPHINS 3, BUFFALO BILLS 1
>>> The Dolphins keep their Wild Card hopes alive.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 7, WASHINGTON REDSKINS 1
>>> After beating the Giants and Eagles the first time around, the Skins lose 27-1 against those teams late in the season.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS 6, CINCINNATI BENGALS 2
>>> This big win by the Steelers ties them with Cincinnati at 7-8, second in the AFC North.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 1, ST. LOUIS RAMS 0
>>> After a 10-2 start, the Rams have managed only 1 point over their last three games, and look to be throwing away home field advantage.

DENVER BRONCOS 9, CLEVELAND BROWNS 1
>>> I give all credit to Eddie Royal:

CHICAGO BEARS 8, ARIZONA CARDINALS 2
>>> The Cards couldn't foil a foil Cutler card:

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 6, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 2
>>> The Seahawks win to make things interesting in the NFC Wild Card race for the Niners.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 6, NEW YORK JETS  1
>>> The Chargers have now won 4 straight with a only a game against the lowly Raiders left. Fouts strikes again!

Let's look at the updated standings:

Every division has been claimed except for the NFC South where the Buccaneers and Falcons are tied at 8-7.  They face each other in Week 17.  The Dolphins hold a tiebreaker over the Chargers, so they have clinched a playoff spot, meaning only one team among the 8-7 and 7-8 teams will make it through.  The Wild Card race in the NFC looks wide open.


Check the blog tomorrow at 5:01 PM ET for an in-depth look at playoff scenarios going into Week 17.  I've figured out all of the possible tiebreaks, so you'll want to tune in to see what your teams needs to do.

2012 SP Authentic Football

I picked up a handful of hobby packs from the LCS because I'm a sucker for licensed college cards.

 

 

Besides, who can resist taking a shot at the 2012 rookies? 

 

 

 

 

I usually like action shots with real backgrounds, but these are pretty interesting.  It's a simple design, but effective.  I would have like it more if they left the player's first name off.  The small print at the top is pointless.

 

I was really happy to see one base card in particular:

 

This is my first Jarrett Boykin card, and the Nike Pro Combat jerseys look good on this one.

Inserted in the packs are '94 SP retro cards, and I got one:

It's pretty nice looking in person.  The scan sucks.

UD also threw in Canvas Collection cards.  These cards are really thick and have a good handfeel (mouthfeel?).

Lasly, I have to show the surprise of the packs.  I bought enough to have a good chance at a hit, and I got a pretty good one, though it's a redemption:

The redemption sticker printer must have been having a bad day, because it's almost unreadable.  Since you probably can't see what it says:

"Product Name: 2012 SP AUTHENTIC FOOTBALL BASE AUTO GOLD // CD# 7 #'D TO 15"
"Player Name: DONT'A HIGHTOWER"

That's pretty awesome to get a Gold Auto #/15 of a former Alabama standout and current New England Patriot.  He had a pretty good season last year, and it sounds like he has loads of potential.  I've redeemed the card, and I've seen one on eBay, so that should mean I'll get it pretty quick. 

I love opening packs, so it's icing on the cake when you get a nice pull like this.  I believe this is my third lowest serial number behind a printing plate I pulled in my last group break and a Deron Williams auto #/10. 



Shoebox Card #47

 

 

When I saw this card in the box, I couldn't help but wonder who it belonged to.



Oh, well that's certainly helpful.

 

For the record, the guy that gave these boxes to me had a little brother named Adam. Apparently older brothers are indian givers.

2012 Bowman Draft

Who needs money, anyway?

 

And the only notable card from the packs:

 

 

The scan looks terrible.  This is a really nice shiny blue card in person.



2006 Topps Allen & Ginter #195

I remember seeing the Chinese Taipei LLWS team a few years ago and nearly every kid on the team named Wang as their favorite player.  I can't think of a single sport in the US where 80% of a team would have the same favorite player.

Football Contest: Playoff Predictions

Things are getting hot and heavy now.  With only 2 weeks left, there are only 4,294,967,296 possible outcomes for the 32 remaining games.

Here are the percentages for 10,000 random simulations:

 

In the AFC, the Bills, Titans, Raiders and Chiefs are eliminated from contention.  The Jets managed to grab a few percentage points.  The Dolphins are comfortable and the Jaguars are in a good position.  The Ravens are still a near-lock, just like the Texans.  The Chargers have won three straight, improving from 4% to 17% along the way. 

 

As for the NFC, The Rams and Giants have clinched while the Redskins and Panthers have been eliminated.  The Bears may have a shot left through a favorable tiebreak, but I'm not sure.  The Seahawks, Saints, and Vikings need a lot of help.  The Packers made the playoffs in all of these simulations, and I'm pretty sure they're locked in, but there are too many tiebreak scenarios to figure out right now.  The Falcons and Bucs are still deadlocked in the South. 

See you on Sunday!

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter #194

Can't stand this guy.  Good hitter, though.

Shoebox Card #46

Steroids, my ass.  Dude was on Pepsi.

Weird-Oh Wednesday #25a

He doesn't foul.  Every one else flops.

Fathead Tradeables

They've had these at the local Big Lots for $2.50 a pack for a while now, and that's a great price for catching my attention.

For those of you that don't know, Fathead Tradeables are 5"x7" vinyl sheets that have players or team logos that are cut out.  I have a full size fathead in my VT Room.  They stay up great, and are re-stickable, which is awesome. I picked up 3 packs, and only got one dupe. Examples:

Here are the rest:

 

 

 

 

 

I'm going to hang on to the Nats one since somebody is a fan, but the rest are for trade...you know, since they're tradeable.

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter #193

Loretta coached team Israel alongside the guy on card #163

Shoebox Cards #45

A lot of the cards on this list are oddball or goofball.  This one is neither.  This one is just a gorgeous card.

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter #192

In 2001, Mora's wife had quintuplets. They already had daughter at the time.  C'mon, you gotta go for one more just to field a rec softball team all on your own.

Football Contest: Week 15

Just three games left for each team and there are still 11 playoff slots left.  I'm sure a couple of spots will be locked up this week.

This week features a pretty random assortment of packs:

3 x 2010 Classics (5),
3 x 2011 Adrenalyn XL (6),
1 x 2010 R&S (10),
4 x 2012 Score (7),
1 x 2010 Topps Platinum (4)

In total, there are 75 cards in the pot this week.

As expected, each score pack produced a glossy parallel:

The Chargers, who are in need of continuing their win streak, picked up a Glossy Hokie.Also in the score packs were these sweet In The Zone cards:

Sorry Play at the Plate, that Cowboy is actually a Jaguar. 

The Adrenalyn packs produced two special cards.  Literally...they say "special" on them and are shiny-foily.

Already the Giants look to be in good shape this week.

Let's look at some games:

CINCINNATI BENGALS 4, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 3
>>> The Eagles had the McCoy Special above, but the Bengals had two base cards in addition to their insert:

NEW YORK GIANTS 6, ATLANTA FALCONS 3
>>> The story of this was told up top as the Giants had two inserts while the Falcons had the one glossy Score.

DENVER BRONCOS 4, BALTIMORE RAVENS 1
>>> The Broncos show the Ravens who's boss in the AFC with the help of this nice GoldZone card:

GREEN BAY PACKERS 1, CHICAGO BEARS 1
>>> This matchup saw one base card apiece.  I saw both Greg Jennings (Western Michigan) and Devin Hester (Miami) play at Virginia Tech.  Hester was ok, but not special.  Jennings put up 65 rec. yds. against us, which is impressive since WM is not exactly a powerhouse.  Tie goes to the Packers,
who, in consecutive weeks, have defeated all three of their division foes.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS 5, CLEVELAND BROWNS 3
>>> The Redskins finally get a solid win, but it's likely too little too late.  Credit to Hokie DeAngelo Hall for this one:

HOUSTON TEXANS 5, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 1
>>> This one wasn't close, with the Texans landing the best card this week.  This is an Arian Foster Extra Signature (printed):

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 7, MIAMI DOLPHINS 1
>>> This is just the kind of game the Jags wanted.  A win over a fellow Wild Card hopeful is always nice this late in the season. The Glossy Score RC and In The Zone up top were the big contributors here.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 3, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 2
>>> The Bucs didn't need a bad loss, but they certainly didn't bring their Sunday Best:

MINNESOTA VIKINGS 2, ST. LOUIS RAMS 1
>>> After a 10-2 start, the Rams have dropped two straight.  At least they scored a point this week.

ARIZONA CARDINALS 2, DETROIT LIONS 1
>>> This Cardinals win puts both of these teams at 8-6.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 5, BUFFALO BILLS 4
>>> The Bills have actually put up good numbers this year, but seem to hit teams at just the wrong time.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 4, CAROLINA PANTHERS 1
>>> The Chargers have now won 3 straight to get to 7-7.  Their remaining schedule: Jets and Raiders...

PITTSBURGH STEELERS 8, DALLAS COWBOYS 6
>>> The Steelers pulled a week high 7 total cards for this win.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 2, OAKLAND RAIDERS 2
>>> 2 base cards each, but the Chiefs get the win because Darrius Heyward-Bey was an awful draft pick.  There were 6 WR in the first round of the 2009 Draft.   Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, and Kenny Britt have all put up better numbers.  Other Notable 2009 Draft WR Mike Wallace and Johnny Knox have made the Pro Bowl.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS  2, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 1
>>> This is one of those matchups that should have been way better.

NEW YORK JETS 3, TENNESSEE TITANS 2
>>> This is one of those matchups that sucked like it should have.

Let's look at the standings:

The Giants and Rams both clinched their divisions, while the Patriots grabbed a playoff guarantee.  It's amazing how many teams are sitting in that 8-6, 7-7, 6-8 pocket. 

The playoff picture didn't change much this week.  The Jags swapped Wild Card spots with the Dolphins and the Giants and Rams swapped 1-2 seeds.

Look for the Playoff Predictions update later this week.