Sports Card Geek Heaven
Archive for September, 2011
Week 2 NFL Studs and Duds: RB’s, Buy or Sell?
Sep 20th
Fred Jackson- Denying CJ Spiller his chance to shine Freddy is once again carrying the load in Buffalo. So far so good at 2-0 and leading the NFL in rushing with 229 yards. He doesn’t have the most exciting run style and his rookie cards are much the same. 2008 Rookie Cards in Score, Absolute and Score Select are all there is of Mr. Jackson. Absolute is the highest end and probably the most sought after but even that one will only cost you $5-10. There are retail versions of the absolute to look out for as well. Sadly neither version is numbered. They are definitely cheap for the league’s leading rusher but it is only week 2 and you would be crazy to think he will keep it up. HOLD or SELL
Darren McFadden- A stellar week 2 on the back of his great week 1 McFadden is second behind Jackson with 222 yards. McFadden does have eight receptions for another 78 yards to go with his rushing output. He has fumbled once unlike Jackson so right now Jackson has the edge but in the hobby McFadden is a much better option. Raiders fan’s love their players and as long as Darren can stay healthy you can expect his values to climb. His 2008 Topps and Bowman Chrome’s continue to be a great option in bulk at usually $1 per for the base and $2-3 for refractors. BUY
Grab a lot of 10 or 20 for as close to $1 each as you can.
Ben Tate- We’re not sure what to do about this guy. He’s off to a great start despite being banged up but the true holder of the Texan’s #1 spot is Arian Foster and that will probably keep his values from shooting too high. There are a few ways to take the Tate analysis. Maybe the Texans are a running back machine of late. Slaton looked good at the end of 2008, Foster was fantastic in 2010, 2009 was a throwaway but 2011 may be Tate’s year. How high can his cards climb? That all depends on how much Texans fans love him because if he does too well there is a chance the Texans RB’s could go the way of early 2000′s Bronco’s tailbacks who all had their moment in the sun but their cards crashed hard and fast. Olandis Gary anyone? If you do decide to go deep with Tate be sure to sell FAST. With 2010 Contenders RC Autos still under $20 and Topps Chrome Autos under $15 it may be worth a shot to grab a few. BUY or HOLD
Beanie Wells- Off to a good start if you’re Beanie Wells. He is top 10 in rushing but let’s face it the rushing attacks are pretty weak thus far in 2011. He did average over 6.5 per carry this past weekend which is good no matter who you are. He is still a high upside investment as the Cardinals could easily be in the playoffs in a weak NFC West. If Wells can stay healthy, no easy task for him, and continue to perform the sky is the limit for the 23 year old. You read that right…23 years old. It seems like we have waited for him to perform long enough that he is 30 but he still has a lot of years in him if he can get established as a feature back in Arizona. The typical autographed RC’s you want (SPX, Topps Chrome, Contenders) are all easily findable under $15 at this point. Nab a couple for your stash. BUY
SP Authentic is always a good option if you want to spend a bit more cash, which also means you have to like him more. As always, do your own research.
Daniel Thomas- Looked good. Real good. We recommend his Finest Patch Autos /310 for under $15 even though that set is an absolute disaster about figuring out which one collector’s will consider the actual RC. It’s still the best option though as Inception is almost as messy and more costly. BUY or HOLD
There is also this version /589
Week 2 NFL Studs and Duds: QB’s, Buy or Sell?
Sep 19th
Tony Romo- Just when it was seeming like it was time to ditch your Romo’s after a horrific choke job only he seems capable of in Week 1 versus the Jets he does something special. Hindered by injuries and bad performance the last few years Romo had his rib broken in the first half of Sunday’s game at San Francisco. Jon Kitna came in and things didn’t look good for Romo as it appeared 2011 was already headed for another disappointment being down to San Fran and on their way to an 0-2 start with an injured star QB. Kitna tossed a pick to make matters worse. Then he bounced back with a nice TD drive. The next posession was another Kitna pick though and Romo came running out of the locker room demanding a helmet just in time for the subsequent Dallas possession. The Cowboys are quickly pushed to a 3rd and long after a holding penalty and a busted run. Third down brings a bad snap that Romo wrangles inside his own five yard line and dumps off for a small gain ending the drive in a punt. Romo’s next series began with a big sack. From that point on Romo and the Cowboys were solid gold. Three long drives and about 200 passing yards later (this was the 4th quarter and OT alone) the Cowboys had a comeback overtime win led by their hardworking midwestern boy who gritted out a broken rib to lead his team. I’m going to vomit if I keep writing about this. I hate the cowboys. The fact still remains though that this is the stuff legends are made of. The prices of his cards may seem silly to most like $200 for his 2003 Contenders RC Auto and $20 for a Bowman Chrome RC but you have to remember that those same cards have been at $350 and $40. Room for growth. Pick your poison. BUY-HOLD
Tom Brady-If you have the money to invest in his RC’s you should do so. You would probably be best served to wait a couple more weeks to see if they settle down a bit and never under any circumstance pay over $100 for a raw Bowman Chrome RC. You could get them for under $70 in the offseason and come Summer 2012 it will be about the same no matter what he does this season. BUY-HOLD
Cam Newton- If he keeps up his torrid pace and cuts the picks down his cards may actually grow in value. I wouldn’t dare invest in him at current prices but if you are the high risk low reward type then jump right in, the water is very warm. Everyone else… SELL
Ryan Fitzpatrick- This is an intriguing guy to pick up. His team is off to a hot start and it’s almost entirely because of his arm. He plays in a town that has been a hobby wasteland for quite some time and that probably won’t change any time soon. Their two best players in franchise history have autographs and memorabilia cards routinely priced under $20. This would have to be a SELL recommendation. Check out this stash being sold off.
Philip Rivers- The Chargers are always high on everyone’s list to make a deep playoff run. Will it happen this year? If you think it will then you should also buy Philip Rivers RC’s. Particularly the ones that will have good value moving forward even if they pull their annual choke job. 2004 Topps Chrome for the low end and SPA for high end as usual. In the offseason you could get Chrome base for $5 and refractors for $15-20 so keep that in mind when making your purchases. HOLD
Matt Stafford- KC made him look good. We hoped that would help keep his values in check to give you one more week to buy his cardboard before it really took off. We bought countless Topps Chrome Refractors for $5-7 this offseason. They are selling for $15-20 now so it may be late on them. For those interested in ponying up a bit more cash…well you’re out of luck too. You can’t safely invest $200+ in an SPA. More times than not you will lose. HOLD-SELL
Matt Cassel- If you hadn’t already done it last season like you should have. Sell while you still can. These could easily be dollar bin buys soon. He’s never been very good and he won’t be in the future. SELL
Josh Freeman- It says something about the faith of most collector’s in Freeman that there are a ton of his SPA Patches listed with high starting prices after his slow start. Pessimism is abound. He will right the ship. HOLD
Donovan McNabb- Wow. You are owed an apology. We gave him an A investment rating and had high hopes for him in Minnesota. Thus far it doesn’t look good. Don’t give up yet though. His prices are low and were low for someone with his accomplishments even before the trade. Stay strong or if you aren’t optimistic go ahead and sell but right now you might as well hold. HOLD
