Unlike Cam Newton and Andy Dalton, who have started since day one and have performed well above expectations, there have been a lot of other skill position rookies who have done very well to this point. AJ Green, Julio Jones, and even Mark Ingram to a point have all played well, and even Blaine Gabbert hasn’t had too much of a poor experience considering what he has to work with. After yesterday, two other rookies got their shot, and one set records for their team that eclipsed some of the best players ever to touch a pigskin.

First, DeMarco Murray had a lot of high expectations based on his pedigree in college. He wasn’t a first round pick, but many collectors liked him because of his flashes of brilliance at Oklahoma as well as the oft-injured RB corps in Dallas. He was going to get a shot, and that shot was put into the chamber to fire on Sunday afternoon. Murray exploded for 253 yards on the ground, setting a team record in the process. Remember this is a team where both Emmitt and Dorsett ran for years, and now Murray is at the top of the list. Amazing. Granted, it was against a TERRIBLE Rams team, but the numbers are the numbers. As a result, his cards have understandably exploded. His rookies jumped almost 200% in value overnight, and should be on the rise if Felix Jones continues to sputter.

2011 Inception DeMarco Murray Red Auto

2011 Finest DeMarco Murray Patch Auto

Secondly, Christian Ponder showed some real potential, taking the Vikings / Packers game down to the last drive. Although there were obvious shortfalls in his performance, he was able to throw for 219 yards and two scores, including a 95 yard drive in the fourth quarter and 31 rushing yards as well. I honestly believed the Vikings were going to lose 70-7, but after a 72 yard bomb on the first play of the game put them ahead by 7 before the Packers could take the field, showed some promise.

2011 Inception Christian Ponder Letter Auto

2011 Finest Christian Ponder Jumbo Patch Auto

Of course, Ponder had some major lapses in judgment, but I would chalk many of them up to rookie inexperience than anything. Ponder also played the whole game without the starting center, and his starting right guard played 50% of the snaps. Harvin spent the entire second half on the bench, and you could tell he was struggling to find open guys. Will he be Peyton Manning? I doubt it. However, he does look so far like he will be a solid starter. It will all come down to the rest of the year, and I am much more excited to watch the Vikings play now that he is involved. Ponder’s cards have been on a spike since last Sunday, and they don’t look to be on their way down quite yet. When you come within 6 points of beating a team that could go undefeated, its definitely a good day.

Overall, these types of situations could not be better for the card manufacturers, as it means their products will sell that much better. I think we had a very similar outcome in 2010, but after Bradford laid an egg these last few games due to his lack of people to throw to, the value bump hasn’t continued in 2011.