Tag Archives: oakland raiders

NFL

Carr, Derek

leaf14 dercarrCard: Leaf Draft 2014
Acquired: 2014, C/o the Oakland Raiders
Sent: 10/6           Received: 10/22     (16 days)

Derek Carr had an impressive career at Fresno State playing for the Bulldogs. He shattered many of the records previously held by his brother David at his Alma Mater. In his Senior season, Derek led the nation in pass attempts (454), yards (5,083) , and touchdowns (50), and finished 8th in Heisman voting.  He posted decent numbers at the combine, and was drafted near the top of the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL draft.

Considered one of the top quarterbacks of the NFL draft, Derek was rumored to be on many team’s shortlists, and with the Houston Texans dealing with their sudden implosion at quarterback with Matt Schaub and a new coach, that the Texans would possibly take a flyer on him. I didn’t believe that for a second. Everybody knew in the Texans’ organization that if they took Derek Carr, there’d be riots in the streets with loinclothed savages turning over vehicles. You see Derek’s older brother David, was the Texans’ first quarterback ever, and he got a bad wrap as a starter in Houston taking all those sacks and dealing with that wonky delivery.

The Raiders thankfully took Carr near the top of round 2. He had a pretty solid season for the franchise going 348/599 for 3,270 yards, 21 TDs to 12 picks. Derek won 3 games his rookie year. His best game came against the Chargers in week 6 when he threw for 282 yards and 4 TDs.  Frankly based on the lack of talent that was around him he did pretty well and all signs point to up for Derek as the Raiders continue to build an offensive nucleus around him.

CFL, College Football HoF, NFL, NFLE

Ware, Andre ‘Air Ware’ (2)

pset90 wareCards: Pro Set 1990, Upper Deck College Legends 2011
Acquired: 4/30/15, Houston Texans Draft Party
See Also: Andre Ware ‘Air Ware’

Lance and I arrived at the 2015 Houston Texans Draft Party with high hopes, but were ultimately disappointed when we didn’t have cards of the Ambassadors who showed up, and the players I did have a card of were only taking photo ops. Queue the Astrodome air raid siren, because Andre Ware came to the rescue.

As Lance and I made our way towards the photo op booth, I heard a familiar voice on TV. Andre Ware was being interviewed on Fox Spots Southwest. Recognizing that the broadcast was taking place in the stadium, I walked over to one of the people working at the stadium and asked them where Andre was. The stadium employees identified it as being at radio row where only the VIP fans were allowed. We got as close as the elevator, and after borrowing a pen and waiting for about 15 minutes, Lance and I decided to locate the ground floor exit of the VIP area to get a better vantage point.  We walked for about 5 minutes, and emerging out of the crowd from the other direction, wasudlgd11 ware Andre Ware. Kudos to Andre for cheerfully signing 2 cards for me and Lance, even though he had his hands full with two kids by his side and all their stuff.

I can’t encourage collectors enough to build out a compact and expanded box of cards that covers the full gamut of players, former players, and sports personalities. With Andre covering the Texans on the radio as a color commentator and also being  a local legend, it made sense to have a few extras on the off chance he did make an appearance.  Otherwise  these are great cards of Ware, and leaves me with only a handful of extras that I would love to have autographed for my collection.

CFL, NFL, NFLE, XFL

Barnes, Pat

to00 barnesCard: Topps 2000
Acquired: 2014, Albany Acquisition

Pat Barnes played for Cal during the late 90s, and was a second team All-American, under future NFL head coach Steve Mariucci. Putting up great numbers in the West Coast offense and defining himself as a future star, Barnes was a 4th round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1997. He’d get lost in the shuffle behind Rich Gannon and Trent Green, and sign with the Oakland Raiders the following year.

Pat is best remembered for his time in the NFLE for the Frankfurt Galaxy, where he defined himself as perhaps the best quarterback in that franchise’s extended history. He’d lead the team to a World Bowl victory in 1999 throwing 3 touchdown passes in the win over the Dragons.

In between his two stints with the Galaxy, he’d return stateside to ride the bench for the 49ers in 1999.

Perhaps Pat would have etched his name more definitively into the Galaxy record books if he just had some more time, but with a new league on the horizon, Barnes jumped at the opportunity to play for the San Fransisco Demons of the XFL in 2001, backing up former Cal QB Mike Pawlawski. The Demons played in the Million Dollar Game, but lost to the Los Angeles Xtreme 38-6.

Pat again dabbled in another league, heading North to the CFL, this time to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, in 2002. Another short run on the offseason roster of the Browns the following year, returned him to Winnipeg in 2003 where he retired after the season. Currently he lives in Los Angeles.

NFLE    Att 414     Comp 232    Yds 3422      Pct 56.0      Td 30    Int 18    Rat  89.3   |    Rush  38     Yds   179    Avg  4.7      Td  3      Lg   24