Tag Archives: detroit lions

NFL, XFL

Cook, Connor

Cards: Panini Contenders 2016 GameDay, Panini Contenders 2016 Passing Grades, Leaf Draft 2016, Leaf Draft 2016 All-American, Score 2016 ScoreCard, Panini Elite 2016, Topps XFL 2020, Panini Prism 2015, Panini Draft 2015
Acquired: IP 2019, Houston Roughnecks Fan Meet & Greet.
TTM 2020, C/o Home
Sent: 7/3 Received: 7/24 (21 days)

Connor Cook was a 3 year starter for the Michigan State Spartans. He played college ball there from from 2011 to 2015, and saw action in 43 games, passing for 9,184 yards and 71 TDs to 22 interceptions. Cook was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft. The Raiders saw value selecting him and decided to groom Cook behind incumbent quarterback Derek Carr.

He was pressed into his first starting duty- a grinder of a game against the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2016 Playoffs. The Raiders fell 27-14, as Cook threw for 161 yards and a TD to 3 interceptions. Connor saw no action in 2017 and was cut in 2018 after the Raiders traded for AJ McCarron.

Connor spent the next year on and off the rosters of the Panthers, Bengals and Lions. He was selected in the first round of the XFL 2020 Draft by the Houston Roughnecks. I sort of questioned the move considering the Roughnecks already had Philip Walker allocated to the team, but coach June Jones insisted that he was picking the best player available with NFL experience.

I pulled every card I had of Connor and added 2 or 3 more hoping to get Connor’s autograph during the season. Luck was on my side as the Roughnecks frequently put together fan events.

The Roughnecks put together an event in the Woodlands where they had Connor Cook and Sammie Coates at. It was a no brainer. I was going to call it a success if I could get 2 or 3 cards signed- but in the end I was able to get all 5 knocked out along with a stack of cards of Sammie as well.

The event itself went well. The players were friendly and approachable. Connor talked to me one on one for a few minutes. We talked about briefly about the AAF and how it failed before he had to go up on stage. There Connor really shined, with a quick wit and clever smile. Afterwards both he and Sammie signed more autographs for fans. I was able to get them both on posters before I headed back out.

Of this group, the Panini Contenders cards really stood out. I love the Gameday cards. I wasn’t really fond of either of the Leaf entries, but the Score Scorecard makes up for the Leaf cards trite design.

Well the quarterback competition between Cook and Walker apparently went down to the wire. In the end PJ was named starting quarterback of the Roughnecks. I really had hoped to see more of Connor, but PJ played lights out the entire way. Still I think Connor has the prospects of being one of the brighter stars in a spring league if he decides to try that route again.

I got a few more cards of his after being caught flat footed at the Roughnecks season ticket holder event, but the cards, ordered 2 weeks before the league shut down- didn’t arrive until after 2 months after the league shut down. Still that gave me a chance to add his Topps XFL 2020 card to the batch, which really pushed him up on my list of players I wanted to get an autograph from thru. I really liked how the Elite cards were designed in 2016 as well. The abstract design is actually really smart as the lines all cross artistic points of emphasis. It’s a beautiful card, but like many the distribution kills my interest in making this one a set to collect. I’m not very hot on the gaudy Prism set, but I liked the die cut helmet one enough as it is eye catching.

NFL, University of Texas

Babers, Rod (4)

Card: TNT UT Legends
Acquired: IP, 2014
See Also: Rod Babers

Over the years I’ve pretty much tapped out the complete card collection of Rod Babers. He’s a great local radio personality, and a really big fan and student of sports. It seems that whenever I run into him- we pick up where we left off, promise to hang out, and never get around to it. I mean maybe its the unsaid rule I follow that is basically even if a person is a D-list celebrity you should give them a lot of space. We tried to network for a Texans game in 2017, but that fell through. In the meantime he had a fallout with 1300 the Zone, but thankfully picked up right where he was at with ESPN doing what he does best.

I decided to pop in and say hi in 2018- A year after the last time I saw him at the Texans draft party when I had accurately predicted the Texans would trade up to take Deshawn Watson. We again picked up where we left off, and just started talking sport. His team thanked me for coming by and hanging out and we chatted for a bit. It was good times. We talked briefly about the AAF and the Texans but really weren’t able to get into details since he was pretty busy.

We catch up from time to time and he’s always very personable and friendly and loves to sign autographs.

CFL, NFL

Ferguson, Joe

Cards: Topps 1982, ProSet Legends 1991
Acquired: TTM 2019, C/o Home
Sent: 2/2 Received: 2/9 (7 days)

Joe Ferguson was the QB for the Bills who owned nearly all the franchise record books before Jim Kelly shattered them over the next 10 years.

A Southwest Conference Alum with the Arkansas Razorbacks from 1970 to 1972, Joe competed 327 of 611 passes for 4431 yards to 24 TDs and 32 interceptions- shattering many of the passing records at the school, and earned the Liberty Bowl MVP award in 1971. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. The team pressed him into service immediately, where he posted 3 winning seasons in a row. Ferguson played ball during the dead ball era. Regardless he led the league in a variety of categories including TDs (25, 1975), attempts (1977, 457), yards (1977, 2803), and interceptions (1977, 24. 1982, 16). In 1976 he started 7 games and threw 9 touchdowns to just 1 interception for a 90 QB rating.

With the arrival of Jim Kelly in 1985, Joe began the journeyman phase of his career. He’d play 2 seasons for the Lions as a backup, starting 5 games and posting a 2-3 record. Afterwards he’d play 3 more non-descript seasons for the Bucs (1988-1989) and the Indianapolis Colts (1990).

Joe went into coaching after his playing career wrapped up and saw stints at Louisiana Tech and Arkansas.

Perhaps most intriguing was when he joined the CFL and was the QB coach for the San Antonio Goldminers in 1995. After an injury befell starting QB David Archer, head coach Kay Stephenson needed somebody who was familiar with his offensive system. Enter backup Joe Ferguson for one final season. An ironman of football, Joe started at one point 103 consecutive games, and played 16 seasons.

Joe has also been inducted into numerous Arkansas Sports Hall of Fames, All-Century Teams, and All-Decade Teams. He also has a spot in the Bills Ring of Honor.

I loved these Legends cards made by Pro Set in 1991. I had never gotten this one when I pulled packs as a kid so I was doubly surprised when I originally saw this Corning masterpiece. Joe is a great signer, so I had been kicking the can down the road the past few years before I decided to pull the trigger on this one, and he responded in no time flat.

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