Tag Archives: baltimore ravens

NFL

Forsett, Justin

Card: Score Signatures 2010
Acquired: COMC, 2020

I had been wanting Justin Forsett for sometime on a few cards, but being that he doesn’t sign through the mail from what I saw, so I put him on my list to pick up a certified of when the price was right. With COVID in full swing, COMC ran an aggressive sale on their inventory, so I was able to get Justin with a stack of other autographs that I was after. -I just didn’t expect this gem of a Score 2010 to appear.

Not to mention that Justin was a hero to me for shoring up my lineup during his rookie year in my fantasy league. I grabbed him with two to three games left in the season, and he provided me with a win to help propel me towards the championship in 2009. Later as a brief member of the Houston Texans he blew past the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day in a very memorable game.

Justin had a pretty decent 4 years at Cal playing for the Golden Bears from 2004-2007. He rushed 567 times for 3220 yards and 26 TDs, and caught 41 passes for 386 yards and a TD. Despite his solid output at Cal, Forsett was not selected until the 7th round of the 2008 NFL Draft, and bounced on and off the roster of the Seahawks and Colts. Returning back to the Seahawks in 2009, he played in all 16 games, posting up 619 yards on 114 carries, scoring 4 times, and catching 41 passes. He’d spend the next two years with the team, as his playing time slowly dwindled. Eventually Forsett was allowed to walk after the 2011 season.

Justin signed with the Houston Texans in 2012. With Arian Foster the primary back in the lineup, Ben Tate and Forsett would fight over playing time as his backup. As a great change of pace, Forsett rushed 63 times for 374 yards and an 81 yard TD against the Lions. Disappointingly, he didn’t resign with the Texans after the season, electing to spend 2013 with the Jaguars.

Justin’s final act in the NFL was primarily with the Baltimore Ravens. He’d earn his only Pro Bowl nod in 2014 rushing 235 times for 1266 yards and 8 touchdowns, catching 44 passes for 263 yards as a replacement for Ray Rice. An injury plagued 2015 saw his numbers dip. In 10 games, his numbers dropped to 641 yards on 151 carries. He’d be released during the 2016 season, spending time with the Lions and the Broncos.

Forsett retired in 2017. An inventor, he’s come up with quite a few successful ideas, attracting former NFL players as investors.

NFL G/GsRUSHYDSAVGTDLG
122/3782038904.71981T
RECYDSAVGTDLG
21013516.4147
AAF, CFL, NFL

Hunt, Akeem

Cards: Topps AAF 2019 Certified
Acquired: EBay, 2019

A quick and shifty runningback, Akeem Hunt played college ball for the Boilermakers of Purdue from 2011 to 2014. In both his Freshman and Sophomore years Akeem averaged over a gaudy 8 yards per carry, while being utilized on kick returns. His playing time grew over his Junior and Senior campaigns, and in 2014 he finished with 1242 yards from scrimmage and 8 TDs.

A free agent signee of the Houston Texans after not latching on with either the Giants or Ravens, I was very impressed by Akeem. He started one contest his rookie year in 2015 and ran for 96 yards on 17 carries over the course of the season. He spent 2016 there as well before being signed by the Chiefs in 2017. The Chiefs used Akeem primarily as a kick returner. He had 611 yards on 25 kicks but did score his first professional rushing touchdown.

After being released with an injury settlement by the Chiefs, Akeem was in training camp with the Titans but didn’t make the squad. He then joined the Alliance of American Football for 2019. I felt the signing was a quality one- being familiar with his work on the Texans. he immediately became my favorite Orlando Apollo, and I pined for his autograph on his cards.

Hunt bolted out of the gate for the Apollos and led the league in rushing after the first week with 73 yards on 10 carries.

Being a part of a team that loves to win as you can see and just being a part of a team that has a great coaching staff that loves to put points on the board and just to drive up the enthusiasm of all our players and the motivation that goes in that people don’t see or the fans don’t see through our practice or whatnot—all the people coming together just to build this league, it speaks volumes for everybody that’s on the playing field that has so much passion for the game.

-Akeem Hunt on his early success in the AAF

On the season, Akeem finished with 37 carries for 185 yards and a TD., to go along with 5 catches for 49 yards in 7 games (2 starts).

During the hotly contested San Antonio Commanders versus the Orlando Apollos matchup, fans around me erroneously identified Akeem Hunt as Kareem Hunt- (the former Chiefs player who was suspended from the NFL for beating his girlfriend). Thankfully before anything could happen, I updated the fans on the difference between the two.

In early December of 2019, Akeem signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL- but the league suspended operations early in 2020 due to COVID issues.

AAF, NFL, XFL

James II, Charles (2) ‘Socks’

Acquired: IP 2020, Houston Roughnecks Season Ticket Holders Kickoff Party
See Also: Charles James

Charles James has continued to stay busy as a defensive back playing football and keeping the dream alive since his last stop in Houston going back to 2016. He joined the Colts for a game in 2016 and then spent the 2017 off-season with the Bills and the Jaguars.

After a year out of football, Charles found a home in the Spring league of the Alliance of American Football (2019). Charles was the old vet in a very young secondary, for the Memphis Express, posting 18 tackles and 5 pass deflections. In the final contest against the Orlando Apollos, Charles had his best game with 6 tackles and 4 pass deflections- as the Express almost upset Orlando, but lost in the closing seconds.

Charles next joined the XFL for the 2020 season originally with the St. Louis Battlehawks. He’d be traded to the Houston Roughnecks before the season, and added to an already capable secondary. In 4 contests Socks had 7 combined tackles and a pass deflection, before the league was ended by COVID.

James as a defensive back by nature is skilled in the art of smack talk, and with the XFL being very upfront and personal with sideline interviews you know they were bound to catch some quality audio from James, and indeed they did.

During the league’s week 4 contest against the Dallas Renegades- Renegades QB Landry Jones had a particularly poor game, throwing 3 interceptions in the first half. As the camera rolled on the sidelines, Socks blurted out to the camera crew, “Get that quarterback the f*** outta here!”

I met James at the Roughneck’s Season Ticket Holder Party. He was very grateful to sign autographs and meet fans, and he very much enjoyed his short time in the AAF.

I lobbied hard to get Charles an official football card from Topps, but surprisingly he was neither included in the AAF or the XFL card sets. About a year after the AAF folded I went ahead and designed Charles his card out based on the above shot he signed. Looking back I wish I had thought of doing this sooner, as I am sure he would have appreciated this card.