This was a strong year for NFL collectors, a VERY strong year. A rookie class with 4 QBs in the top fifteen picks, in addition to two wildly talented receivers, had potential from the beginning to be legendary, but I don’t think many thought there was a way they could do what they did all year. In the same vein, records were broken, arms were stomped on, and players were immortalized on SNL, all with positive and negative results in the hobby, and therefore I think it bears mention of who should win the end of year Hobby Awards for the NFL.

HOBBY MVP – AARON RODGERS

I would actually say this year was actually more detrimental than successful to the value of Aaron Rodgers cards, mainly because the rarity of his signature is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Although his cards were crazy ridiculous expensive from week four onwards, his MVP season will prompt a non-stop onslaught of his signature being included in products. Topps just did a signing with him, so he will have a ton of stickers for them to use, but it doesn’t negate the fact he is the most expensive signature of any active player.

HOBBY ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – CAM NEWTON

Although Andy Dalton arguably had more success, bringing his team to the playoffs for the first time in years, Newton is by far the most valuable of any rookie. Not only did he set records in terms of passing yards, TDs, and the like, but he also led most players in rushing TDs too. The value of his signature climbed steadily throughout the season, and even eclipsed the success of previous big gainers like Bradford, Tebow, and other QBs. His epic year was capped by the eye popping sale of his Superfractor auto, one that should have made a lot of Panther fans jealous.

HOBBY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – CHARLES WOODSON

Although Jared Allen came within half a sack of the record set by Michael Strahan, Charles Woodson was an unstoppable juggernaut of huge value highlighted in products from Panini this year. Woodson did not have any signatures since his rookie year, despite being a popular player on a popular team. This meant that supply was greatly exacerbated by demand, and huge prices resulted. The cards may have been horribly designed, but beggars cant be choosers at all.

HOBBY COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD – MARSHAWN LYNCH

Mr. Taste the Rainbow is a pretty unique individual, and has always had issues with his performance matching his personality. After a DYNAMIC performance against the Saints last year in the playoffs, Lynch seems to have put the past in the past. Collectors love unique personalities, and its obvious that after a complete loss of value in Buffalo, he has regained a sizeable fan base to match his sizeable contributions to Seattle’s offense. His value has almost tripled, and once you actually see what he accomplished, its not surprising.

HOBBY SOPHOMORE SLUMP AWARD – SAM BRADFORD

As good as Bradford played last year was equal to how bad he played this year. He was a superstar with huge prices last year during the Rams’ improbable run at a playoff shot, but didn’t come anywhere close in 2011. Not only did his team take a year off, but Bradford was often injured and played poorly when he was in the games. Granted he had NOBODY to throw to, but that hasn’t stopped him before. His value tanked about midway through the year, but many will speculate a turnaround if they can get Jeff Fisher or someone similar as a coach. They could easily draft Justin Blackmon, which means his value should immediately increase. Otherwise, he will be the latest incarnation of a draft bust.

HOBBY SOPHOMORE SUPERSTAR AWARD – TIM TEBOW

Tebow exploded in the second half of the year due to flukey win after flukey win. Even though he absolutely mailed it in the last three weeks of the season, his value EXPLODED with all the people who wanted to jump on his bandwagon. I think Tebow will end up flaming out sooner rather than later, but it was obvious that many people disagree with me. He has a lot of collectors that stand to gain a ton from a playoff win or two, but when you go up against the Steelers, good luck.

BIGGEST HOBBY SURPRISE AWARD – VICTOR CRUZ

When it comes to people who justify all those scrub autos that collectors HATE, Cruz is that guy. He had an absolutely dynamite year this year, and could actually be a top value gainer in the playoffs if things continue as they are. He led the league in a lot of important categories, and as a result his autographs almost quintupled in value, if not more. WRs are very undervalued in the hobby, mainly due to the replacement factor that keeps them out of the HOF, but playing in New York could do him a TON of favors.

BIGGEST WASTE OF 100 BUCKS AWARD – TYRELLE PRYOR

Before the Raiders traded the rest of their 2012 and 2013 draft for Carson Palmer, Tyrelle Pryor was going for astronomical prices, despite not having much of a resume. He was a supplemental draft pick who came on very late, and college team did have a lot to do with it. However, he will continue to be buried on the roster until they figure out what is going to do at Quarterback. Im not saying he isn’t worth spending a few dollars on if you are an OSU or Raiders collector, but 100 bucks? Cmon.

HOBBY GHOST AWARD – MARK SANCHEZ

The Jets and Eagles both had disastrous seasons this year, and its easy to see that the value of their players took a hit as a result. For a guy who will forever be measured against Matt Stafford, Sanchez had an awful year in the hobby. Not only did he play like poop down the stretch, but he basically took out whatever legs his coach had to stand on. Sanchez’s value long term may now be up in the air more than ever, which is concerning considering how much his cards were worth coming out of the two AFC championship games.

With Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III already making headlines before the draft, its obvious that next year has some pretty incredible potential for NFL collectors. Lets hope it can live up to this year, and that is even without Jake Locker starting a game.

As recent as last week, I spoke about how companies have been fighting each other and themselves for the creation of the next big thing in card collecting. Of course, the assumption is that the next big thing will focus on a deeper connection to the players, but after seeing something that Blowout posted on twitter today, Im not so sure!

Back during the release of 2011 Upper Deck Goodwyn Champions, many collectors were curious to see how they could bounce back from losing licenses in every major sport collected by the hobby. Goodwyn was a very successful set despite the loss, and much of the success was the addition of elements that did not meet normal expectations of the collecting base. One was non-sport autographs that played off of Allen & Ginter’s success, and the other was cards that contained an entire sample of some very unusual insects. Well, despite some objections, the cards sold like hotcakes, and personally, I am not surprised. They are truly awesome.

In fact, someone posted a complete set on eBay recently with a RIDICULOUS price. Scary thing is, he might get somewhere in that range:

2011 Upper Deck Goodwyn Entymology Bug Card Complete Set

I would go so far as saying that Upper Deck doesnt have many prospects in the pipeline for continuing to be the brand we all loved so many years ago. I have said on numerous occasions that a company like Panini is stupid for not buying them out for a drastically reduced value. Considering their brand loyalty and player exclusives for both Basketball and Baseball, waiting for the contracts to expire is not in their best interest with their slate of products on the horizon.

As much as it pains me to say it, Upper Deck is not ever going to return to the glory they once had without help.

Now that the playoff schedule is set, there is lot to go over when looking forward to the next six weeks before moving into the offseason. Aside from the obvious storylines, there are a ton of players who stand to gain a ton of standing in the hobby if they can pull off some big wins up to and including the Super Bowl. With collectors using playoff performances as a reason to spend a ton of money on a guy, these are some of the most important games of the year.

I have already talked endlessly about Aaron Rodgers and how he is currently the most valuable signature in the NFL. With his Packers finishing 15-1 on the season, there is not much more value he can generate unless he goes into the a chance to repeat as champion. Rodgers has more than just the Super Bowl to play for, as a win will give him more in two years than Brett Favre won in his whole career. Shadow of the Iron Man? Gone completely.

Tom Brady is another guy who has a lot to play for, as a Super Bowl win will put him on the level of guys like Bradshaw and Montana, if he isnt there already. He and Drew Brees had record setting seasons, and because of his previous success, Brady doesnt have much value to add to his already huge prices on cards among chased by his collectors.

Speaking of Brees, he has already picked up a few dollars because of his breaking Dan Marino’s passing yardage record, but is still one of the most undervalued players in the league. If I were a betting man, I would be putting all my money on either the Saints or the Packers to win it all, as both teams look to be the best in both conferences.

In terms of the rookies, where there is the most value to be gained, there are a few this year that have potential to be HUGELY impactful. The first is obvious in Andy Dalton and AJ Green going into the playoffs for the first time. The Bengals havent won a playoff game since 1991, and as a result, Cincinnati has become a collecting black hole of value. Despite his overwhelming success this year, Dalton still hasnt obtained value like he should be having, and I expect that if he is able to pull out a win, both him and Green will gain some major bumps.

The second person that could be a big gainer this post season is Julio Jones, who has come on to have the best second half of any rookie so far. He is finally getting comfortable in Atlanta’s scheme, and he managed some amazing games down the stretch. I expect him to have great games in the future, but a playoff run would make him almost uncollectable due to high prices.

Finally, there is one guy that I know you are expecting me to hate on. Tim Tebow has a game coming up against Pittsburgh, and he better pray to every God he can think of if he expects to make it through alive. To tell you the truth, after seeing him put up 3 points against KC’s defense, he better hope he can pull some of his magic out of his ass, or its not going to be an easy game. Value has come down once people got a view of what he is really going to be like in this league, but a playoff win or two may make him one of the most valuable QBs in the league. That is shocking and scary at the same time, considering how awful he has played.

Here are my predictions, and I am not trying to play it safe:

AFC Wild Card Winners: Cincy, Pittsburgh
NFC Wild Card Winners: New Orleans, New York
AFC Divisional Winners: New England, Pittsburgh
NFC Divisional Winners: New Orleans, Green Bay
Super Bowl XLVI: New England vs New Orleans
Winner: New Orleans
MVP: Drew Brees (Again)

In the last few years, there have been more than a handful of backup QBs who have moved on to be successful starters in the NFL. Matt Schaub played behind Michael Vick before signing with Houston, Matt Cassel was given to the Chiefs after a 11-5 season during Tom Brady’s injury, and now Matt Flynn may be the most valuable QB available during the offseason to a team that saw today’s SIX TD performance in the win over the Lions.

In Green Bay, Flynn will not overtake Aaron Rodgers as the starting QB, unless there is some horrible injury that puts him out for a long period of time. Now that his audition has gone about as well as it could, there will not be a question that some team will want to spend millons to make him their QB.

Check out his cards since the game started – RIDICULOUS:

2008 Bowman Sterling Green Refractor Auto RC /50

2008 Matt Flynn Exquisite RC Auto /150

Flynn definitely looked pretty damn good today, and it would not be surprising if he continues to be successful after this offseason lands him a starting job. The question becomes, is he worth spending THAT kind of crazy money for a guy that hasnt yet proven to be worth the paper his contract will be signed on? I mean, one game does not a QB make.

As usual, I say no.