For anyone that collects football cards, there is one
overriding reason to add 2012 Panini Gridiron Football to you collection, the
outstanding photography. Artistry
through action is the best way to describe the images captured by Panini’s
photographers. These cards should
be on display, it would be a shame to think of them being boxed and stored
away.
Gridiron Football falls under our trading cards
category. Each box contains 18 – 8
card packs. It says on the box you
get 4 Autograph or Memorabilia cards with at least 2 Autos per box.
Here are some of the cards we pulled.
Base Set
Drew Brees, front and back
Ben Watson, Dez Bryant
Larry Fitzgerald, Brian Orakpo
Santonio Holmes, Jamaal Charles
Beanie Wells, Julius Peppers
Jermaine Gresham, Von Miller
J.J. Watt, Aldon Smith
Rookies
Matt Kalil, front and back
Brandon Hardin, Sean Spence
Morris Claiborne, Devon Still, Nick Perry
Inserts
Monday Night Heroes
Santonio Holmes, Javid Best
Air Command
Mike Wallace, Greg Jennings
Crash Course
Mario Williams, Jerod Mayo
Arms Race
Joe Flacco, Blaine Gabbert
Numbered Parallels
Karlos Dansby Crash Course Silver #/250, Janoris Jenkins Rookie Silver X #/250
Wes Welker Base Silver X #/250, Anthony Fasano Base Silver X #/250
Ed Reed Base Silver X #/250, Greg Olsen Base Gold X #/1000
Mohamed Massaquoi Base Platinum X #/25
Code Cards
Panini Hall of Fame Holiday Sweepstakes
The Hits
Michael Floyd Rookie Gridiron Kings Memorabilia #/299
DeAngeleo Peterson Rookie Auto #/499, David DeCastro Rookie Gridiron Kings Auto #/99
Nick Toon Gridiron Gems Auto #/299, closed and pulled out
Overall Look
As you can see, the photograph is fantastic. The use of embossing for the X and O
cards is a great idea. This is one
great looking set of cards.
Quality and Variety of Players
There is a fine selection of 200 veteran players. At 100
total, the rookie cards checklist is deep. There are a wide variety of strong players in the hits
checklist too.
Do the hits hold up?
Gridiron Gems, the pull out autograph card returns, and with
a better design I might add, pulling from top inside of the side. We scored three autographs, which is
usually a good thing.
Unfortunately with Nick Toon and First Round Draft Pick David DeCastro on
Injured Reserve and DeAngeleo Peterson on the Redskins’ practice squad, the
values of these hits are a wait and see proposition. For the release as a whole, the distribution and quality of
quality hits is excellent. The Die
cut swatches for the Rookie Gridiron Kings looks great. There are plenty of great pulls
here. Gridiron is also the only
football release that includes code cards to enter the Panini Hall of Fame
Holiday Sweepstakes where you can win a trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in Canton, Ohio.
Will you want to collect them all?
Absolutely. As
a matter of fact, I wish I could blow up some of these cards, frame them and
display them on my wall.
Rating
4 1/2 out of 5
2012 Panini Gridiron Football is a dynamic release that should
be a part of any football set builders’ collection.
Back when Donruss first released Gridiron Gear it was one of my favorite releases. I just really liked the hits. But this year looking at a lot of the relics and autos it doesn't really do it for me. Is it bad that I find the base and inserts more interesting and appealing? It's nice to see Panini putting out a set with the player on the field and not just cropped onto the card.
ReplyDelete