Tag Archives: Carolina Panthers

CFL, NFL

LeFors, Stefan

spx_sleforsCard: SPX 2005 (#0197/1275)
Acquired: 2016, Target Autograph Memorabilia

A two year starter for the Cardinals of Louisville in 2003 and 2004, Stefan LeFors led the nation with a 73.5% completion percentage, 10.1 yards per pass attempt, and a 181.7 quarterback rating.  He finished his career at Louisville with 416 of 630 for 5853 yards, 38 TDs to 13 picks and a 159.8 quarterback rating.

He participated in the NFL combine and clocked a QB best 4.56 40 yard dash. NFL teams were abuzz, but felt that due to LeFors lack of size and bulk, he was more adept to being a halfback or safety at the pro level.  The Carolina Panthers drafted Stefan with the 121st pick (4th round) of the NFL draft. With Jake Delhomme firmly entrenched as the starter and Chris Weinke as his backup, LeFors was placed on the practice squad.  He did not see any action in 2005 and did not make the final cuts of the 2006 team.

Lefors signed with the CFL later that year, joining the Edmonton Eskimos, and was named the team’s backup quarterback.  In 2007 he was named the CFL’s offensive player of the week when he threw for 412 yards in his team’s 36-29 overtime loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He served as the Esk’s backup QB through the duration of the 2008 season.  He was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2009 and threw for 459 yards and 2 TDs.

As of 2016, he is a coach in the Louisville area, and previously had served as a color analyst for his Alma Mater.

NFL

Cash, Jeremy

sage16 jcashCard: Sage 2016
Acquired: 2016, Hobby Box Breaker

Jeremy Cash is a force to be reckoned with while in the box. The strong safety is a physical presence evidenced by him recording 326 tackles and 7 forced fumbles over 3 years for the Duke Blue Devils. 10 years ago, there’d be a lot more buzz on Cash, but as the game has evolutionized to more of a passing game, there’s been less and less room on a roster for a straight line in the box safety.  While his pass coverage may be considered suspect by scouts, there’s no question that he’s an elite enforcer that some team will pony up for. Drawing comparisons to TJ Ward, Cash somehow slipped completely off the draft boards; However, Jeremy paid no mind, as a bidding war ensued for his services. Apparently upwards of 20 teams had him targeted as a priority free agent. He’d later sign with the Carolina Panthers as Jeremy received one of the most lucrative signing bonuses among the free agent class. The Panthers plan to utilize him at linebacker.

NFL

McDowell, Bubba (3)

scosup89 mcdowellpset92 mcdowellsky92-bmcdowellap90-bmcdowellpac91-bmcdowellgday93 mcdowellCards: ProSet 1992, Score Supplemental 1989, GameDay 1993. Pacific 1991, Skybox 1992, Action Packed 1990.
Acquired: In Person 9/13/2015, Houston Texans v. Kansas City Chiefs. 10/30/2016, Houston Texans v. Detroit Lions.
See Also: Leonard ‘Bubba’ McDowell, Bubba McDowell (2),

Bubba was at the Churrascos Pregame brunch with Curtis Duncan. It’d mark the first time that I’d meet him in person suprisingly- after all the School of the Legends (now defunct) discussions we had. I had quite a stack of cards and had hoped to get him at the Oilers 25th Anniversary Party but he had a last second commitment that prevented him from attending.  He’s even more engaging than I remember from the videos, and he was nice enough to take the time to sign a few cards for me from the stack.

Again it was a shame that ProSet made this switch mid-set to this design in 1992. Either look was okay with me for the time, but not in the same set. It’s a great full body photo of the hard hitting defensive back. His Score 1989 notwithstanding was one that I’ve tried getting autographed on numerous occasions but it got eaten by the mail gods. I never found this one until a few weeks ago and added it to the stack. It’s an oldie, with a purple frame and white marquee that leaves much to be desired. Still it’s his earliest rookie card. This GameDay 1993 card is a sizzling shot of Bubba. I mistakenly thought it was from the Bears game earlier that season when he took the ball to the house at the end of the half on Monday Night, but in reality it was one of the more grim days in Oilers history- a game referred to as ‘The Comeback’. Bubba intercepted this pass and returned it 58 yards for a score to make the game 35-7, before the Bills furious rally.

The next year, I went with my wife to the Texans v. Detroit Lions game. Bubba was among the selected players to appear in the fan zone, right inside the stadium gates, but outside of the stadium to give autographs. It was a long hike to the front of the stadium from our seats. The next problem I faced was that if you already have entered the stadium, you can not exit the stadium- even to go to the fan zone. It seemed asinine, but in this day and age of security I understood. After a brief conversation with the head of ticketing, they let me go through. Bubba was seated with former Oiler, Charlie ‘The Razor’ Frazier.

Unwilling to press my luck for more than three autographed cards, I selected the Pacific, Skybox, and Action Packed cards from my lot and let it rip. Bubba told me that he had a lot of great memories- fun memories- especially of former head coach Jerry Glanville.