Sadly, the 2010 regular season is over, and I am both bummed that the season is almost over and happy that the playoffs are here. I think that 2010 was a great year for surprise successes and a bad year for the many epic failures that abounded, especially in DC, Minnesota, Cincy and Dallas. For the 14th year in a row, five teams that made the playoffs last year were left looking in this year, though I am sure there are many people who would say that KC, Seattle, and a few others were definitely an unexpected inclusion in the post season.

In terms of the cards that were tied to the 2010 season, I have no problem saying that disappointment was the word of the year. With a few exceptions, most of the products on the calendar left a disgusting taste in my mouth, as laziness and lack of creativity proved to be the approach that each company decided was the way to go. Despite the unavailablity of great products, the focus on the top rookies was a major boost in many ways.

Players like Sam Bradford, Dez Bryant, Tim Tebow and company had some pretty great rookie campaigns, and that tended to soften the blow when busting products that had no redeeming visual value. Based on that , I wanted to take the opportunity to review the performance of the players who really made the difference this year.

Sam Bradford – SCU Rookie MVP

It takes talent to bring a 1-15 team to the verge of a playoff run without adding more than just one guy. The Rams had nobody on their receiving end of things from Bradford, and yet they still ended up one win short of the playoffs. Pretty crazy stuff. If they are able to add some pieces around Bradford in next year’s draft, I think they could easily make a run in such a weak division. I will say this, I expected Sammy Boy to have a bunch of problems, mainly because the Rams were SO bad last year. Their offensive line and receivers were a mess to start the year, and their defense was just barely at the league average. What we didn’t expect was for Bradford to play like he knew what he was doing, and for the rest of the division to suck as bad as they did. He ended up with more completions than any rookie QB in NFL history, and oddly, didn’t have many turnovers like many Rookie QBs usually have. This type of performance led to huge numbers from collectors, with his Chrome autos topping out above 150 dollars. That hasn’t happened since Adrian Peterson, which is a badge of honor in itself. Tebow definitely had the value crown before the season started, but Bradford did wonders to pull it back towards his side. I wouldn’t have thrown fifty bucks his way on any autograph before things got going, but now, who knows where things could end up. If the Rams make a run next year, Bradford’s ceiling in the hobby will continue to rise.

LeGarrette Blount

Blount had major problems coming out of college, but found his niche with Tampa Bay. He ended up being the only rookie rusher above 1000 yards for the season, something that hasn’t been done in the last three years. Blount wasn’t even invited to the rookie premiere, and barely had any autographs in the early sets due to the character issues he displayed at oregon combined with his draft status. Now that the season is over, you can bet that his mug will definitely be all over future products. His hobby numbers have echoed his performance on the field, with many of his rare autos selling well above the people who were at the premiere. Blount has made up for a lot of the problems that many teams saw in him, and as we see with his cards, collectors have too. Because Cadillac Williams is a glass shell in all senses of his durability, I would think that Blount will have a VERY bright future for a team that showed they are ready to play. It also helps to have Mike Williams and Josh Freeman drawing attention away from the running game and leaving it more open to move around.

Chris Ivory

Like Blount, Ivory came out of no where to perform at the level that he did. After both of the Saints’ backs got injured with significant time missed, I don’t think there were many of us expecting that Ivory would come even close to producing on a regular basis. It just goes to show why so many of the card companies like to have undrafted scrubs in their sets, as its obvious that there was a demand for his stuff.

Tim Tebow

Aside from my feelings on Tim Tebow’s potential in the league, he was by far the most followed and hyped late first round picks in history. He had a few times where he was given the ball on the goal line, but up until the last three weeks of the season, he didn’t see much action. When he did get on the field, he played well against terrible defenses, and performed with mediocre success against the one defense that was above average. His card values held steady near the top of the class the whole year, mainly because of who he was, not what he produced, and I would expect that to continue. With the new coach coming into Denver, Kyle Orton may oddly be on his way out despite a GREAT year, and that will spell well for Tebow collectors.

Jacoby Ford

I don’t know what I can say about Ford, as he plays in a hobby black hole in Oakland. Because of his blazing speed and uncanny success returning kicks, his values started climbing midway through the season. He had a few games receiving too, which is especially refreshing considering how little Darrius Heyward-Bey has done in his short career. Ford isnt going to be the next Jerry Rice, but I don’t think he is going to be the next Troy Williamson either.

Dez Bryant

Its tough to gauge Dez’s season appropriately because it ended prematurely, and because most of it happened without the services of Romo throwing him the ball. Bryant has a level of talent at receiver that is rarely seen out of college, and I think he will definitely be a great player. His values were high to start the year because he was a Cowboy, and they only increased as his production increased. They are down a little since the injury, and im not sure if they will recover to the point that they were at before the injury. Wide receivers rarely carry big values, and Bryant was riding high due to potential investment return and the team he plays for. Next year will be big for his collectors, and we will have to wait and see it looks like.

Colt McCoy

When McCoy was handed the reigns midway through the season, it was a last resort. As a later round pick, he wasn’t supposed to be on the field as quick as he was. He performed well initially, and even came away with some big wins. However, that caught up with him as the season drew to a close, and he ended 2010 with an abysmal game against Pittsburgh. McCoy will be the starter next year, and I think if Cleveland does well, his cards will too. Its all going to depend on who they draft to get him some help not named Hillis, and whether or not he is as good as he seemed to be.

Ryan Mathews

Talk about ending the year with a BANG, right? Mathews had arguably the best game of any rookie rusher this season on Sunday, and ended the year with 7 TDs to lead his RB class. With all the injuries he experienced during the year, as well as some of the lack of confidence his coach had in his pass blocking skills, Mathews ended up with a good season. It wasn’t the amazing season that everyone expected him to have, but it was enough to maintain at least some of the value he had coming into the year. Of all the rookies that underperformed to expectations this year, Mathews looks to have the best shot at breaking out, so I wouldn’t cut ties so quickly. If you do, this IS a good time to do it, and I will not hesistate to jump on a few more cards than I already have.

Mike Williams

Having Josh Freeman throwing you the ball this year was like Peyton Manning throwing you the ball last year. Williams definitely REAPED the rewards, and you could tell that he is on his way to being a great receiver. He did have some off the field issues that were worrysome, but its easy to see that the stats don’t lie. Like many rookie receivers, production drives value, and he definitely had the production to be a good pull from packs. However, because he isnt on a bigger market team, he wont be as valuable as guys like Bryant who had lesser seasons. Williams is a good buy right now, and I think that if you are looking to latch on, he is a good place to start.

Jahvid Best

After week 4, Best looked like he was going to run away with the ROY balloting. After a nagging foot injury limited his action, he didn’t have another good game the whole year. It was really unfortunate for all the people who bought in after the big games, and looking ahead, he may never get back there if Detroit continues to be what Detroit always is. Running Backs rarely improve drastically year to year, so im not sure if there is a good investment ceiling there, but who knows once he gets back to 100% during the offseason.

Dexter McCluster

Man, when Dmac went nuts with those big returns early on, I thought he was going to explode. Instead he quieted down and Dwayne Bowe started to get all the attention, and rightfully so. McCluster ended the year in disappointing fashion, and I don’t think there is much of a potential there in the future as well. Although the Chiefs were good this year, competing for face time with his teammates is going to limit his success.

Jimmy Clausen

Man, I thought Clausen was going to be a lot better than he was, but like many of the people who bought in, the joke was on us. When DeAngelo Williams and Steve Smith both went down with injuries, Clausen was literally left with no one to hand off to or throw to, and that definitely limited his options on the field. This is really too bad, because with a new coach and the number one pick coming their way, its pretty obvious that Clausen will not be back as the starter in 2011, if there is a 2011 season. Regardless of the fact that his top receivers were Brandon LaFell and David Gettis, two rookies, he will not be given another opportunity in Carolina unless Andrew Luck gets hurt.

CJ Spiller

Another guy who a lot of people thought would do extremely well in the NFl, but didn’t live up to expectations. Spiller rarely got the chance to shine, and when he did get the ball, he rarely did anything at all. Spiller’s value has declined steadily as soon as people realized that he was not going to perform very well in the dead zone of Buffalo, New York, and I would expect that will continue unless the Bills draft an offensive lineman.

Considering that this draft class was more Defense focused, im surprised how much value was driven by some of the most unlikely of offensive prospects. I think that with next year’s class having so many QBs and good receivers, we will have a much stronger resulting value in the boxes themselves. It will continue to depend on the improvement of the horrible products that infect the release calendar, and Im just not thinking much will come in terms of that kind of help.