Category Archives: NFL

NFL

Still, Devon

Card: Sage Hit Low 2012
Acquired: 4/27/12, Box Breaker

At 6’5″, 303 Devon Still is considered one of the most NFL ready defensive linemen in the 2012 draft.   He has massive size to clog lanes on the inside and occupy blocks, displaying good technique to beat double teams,  the ability to get to the passer, and the power to bowl over would-be blockers. He has been a reliable and productive player throughout his time at Penn State and is considered an almost immediate starter to the run defense hungry team that might draft him. Still is a strong player who gets off the line quickly for his size and shows the explosion to blow back offensive guards into their own backfield. He excels as a run defender by using his strength to occupy a blocker while he reads the play and reacts, which is ideal for a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. He has the ability to use hand technique and footwork to remove himself from blocks and get in the backfield. For a massive nose tackle, he is an above-average pass rusher who can use an array of swim and dip moves to get to the passer.  In his final year at Penn State Devon recorded 55 tackles, 17 for losses, 4.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.
The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Still with the 21st pick of the 2012 draft.  He’ll spell Geno Atkins at DT his rookie season as he learns the more complicated pro ropes. The Bengals needed him as they were badly exposed in the playoffs by the Texans who had all day to pass and run against them in both the 2011 and 2012 playoffs. Playing in 8 games in 2012, Devon recorded 7 tackles and 2 PD. He had 14 tackles, .5 sacks and a forced fumble through week 8 of 2013, but an elbow injury has left him shelved much of the season.

NFL

Wyman, Dave

Card: 1992 Stars & Stripes, ProSet 1989
Acquired: 2012 Canton Acquisition

Dave Wyman was a fixture at linebacker for the Stanford Cardinals. A tackling machine, who was named the team’s most valuable player in 1983, he blew out his knee so badly in 1984 that the upper part of his leg was pointing one direction and the lower another. He spent the entire year out of football rehabilitating the knee and getting back up to playing speed. It paid off as Dave led the team in 1986 with 169 tackles.

The Seahawks made Dave their second round choice of the 1987 draft.  He again established himself as a fixture at linebacker for the Seahawks by 1988, occupying first the RILB position and them moving to MLB. Over a 6 year career at Seattle, Dave had 3 100+ tackle seasons, before moving in 1993 to Denver where he finished his career after the 1995 season.  Wyman is torn by the current NFL attempt to cut down on players leading with their helmet where he was quoted as stating that, “My head was my weapon of choice”.

When the Stars & Stripes set came out, I flat out avoided it. I just didn’t get the idea of merging patriotism with football and really it came off as sort of trashy and generic to me. They were also a bit expensive too. When I received the S&S cards as part of the Canton Acquisition, I almost wanted to reject them, because I have no interest in them still. The Pro Set cards of course were above and beyond what were in the market at the time and here we have another excellent action shot that gave a regional player some exposure to a larger fan base, galvanizing you to read more about him on the back of his card.

G/Gs  92/83     Tac 540      Sac 5.5       Fum 6     Int  3       Yds  33     Avg   11.0    Td  0     Lg 22

College Football HoF, NFL, Pro Football HoF

Dickerson, Eric (2)

sky92 dickerson aprks92 dickersonCards: Action Packed Rookies 1992, Skybox 1992
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 6/10   Received: 7/13  (33 days)*
See Also: Eric Dickerson, Eric Dickerson (3)
*included donation of $10 per card.

Really pumped about these 2 coming back to me as I had followed this address on a hunch. At his website,  it stated very plainly that he does not sign free autographs, so I sweetened the pot a bit to see if I could game a response. It worked like a charm and I was shocked to receive a response in such a short time, as both of these cards were ones I really wanted signed. The Skybox was just a great photo of Dickerson. It really screams ‘poster card’. The Action Packed Rookies 1992 is from a set that I unabashedly collect. It is from his one season with the Los Angeles Raiders and I wouldn’t have gotten it signed otherwise.

I had decided to write Eric after going to the Houston Fan Fest this year. We were driving through Sealy, Tx on the way home from the event and passed by the stadium he ran to High School glory on, which prompted me to start thinking about Eric’s legacy.  A few days later Eric got into a brouhaha on Twitter with an unnamed child musical artist who can’t seem to drive safely in their shared neighborhood. I took it as though fate was slapping me on the face and took pen to paper that evening.

Dickerson is unabashed when asked about Adrian Peterson’s recent run at his record 2,106 single season rushing record, and said that he’s glad he still holds the record. While other more… let’s say modest… players might say otherwise, I actually agree with Eric. There are certain records that I hope never fall again. Some things such as 2,106 should stand the test of time, and I am glad Dickerson (HoF Class 1999) holds it. Eric is also a member of the 2,200 strong NFL alum that won litigation against the NFL for concussion related injuries. His name is the largest name in the hat, statistically, as he piled up over 13,000 rushing/receiving yards in his career.

At this time he does a lot of charity work, speaking, and golf tournaments to pass the time.