Tag Archives: Jacksonville Jaguars

NFL

Payne, Seth

udxl02 payneCards: Upper Deck 2002 XL, Scoreboard 1997, Upper Deck Houston Texans 2002
Acquired: In Person 5/19, 610 Houston Fan Fest 2013

Seth Payne has always been a model player and leader where ever he went, from his days at Cornell and on into the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars and later the Houston Texans.

At Cornell, Seth received All-Ivy League 1st or 2nd team honors from 1994-1996. His 19 career sacks from the defensive end position, set the school record. He finished his career at the school with 34 games played, 182 tackles, 25 tackles for losses, 19 sacks, and 1 forced fumble and recovery. Coming from a small school, probably worked against Payne, but his 6-4 , 290 frame bode well for him to transition from end to tackle in the NFL. The Jacksonville Jaguars made Seth their 4th round pick of the 1997 draft where he made the transition slowly into the starting lineup. By 1999 though, Payne was a fulltime starter. He played through the 2001 season with the Jaguars recording his best season that udhou02 payneyear with 5 sacks and 55 tackles.

At this point the Jaguars were in salary cap hell, so to get out of it, they arranged with the expansion Houston Texans a deal- take Tony Boselli with the first pick, and the Jaguars would
make Seth Payne and Gary Walker available for the Texans to grab as well. This would help alleviate some of the Jaguars cap purgatory. Former Jaguars defensive coordinator (1999-2000) Dom Capers and Texans head coach, jumped at the offer.

Seth was moved to nose tackle in 2002. He recorded a career high 65 tackles and the Texans first safety in the team’s first game against the Dallas Cowboys.  After injury claimed his 2003 campaign, Payne returned to form in 2004 with 2 sacks and 51 tackles. In 2005, he hustled his way to 4 sacks and 59 tackles, but injuries claimed the majority of his 2006 season, and while Seth survived the initial change over from Capers to new head coach Gary Kubiak, he’d be cut in early 2007. Payne at the time of his departure was the longest tenured member of the defense and the sbd97 paynelast member of the Texans initial expansion draft to be cut. Although the Jaguars resigned him later on, Seth was cut in training camp before the next regular season.

Seth at this time has joined the Houston Sports Radio 610 team. At Fan Fest this year, he signed these three cards for me, even remarking that the (hideous) Scoreboard college card of him, was actually a photo from his junior season when he was mobbing Columbia tailback ( and future NFL defensive end) Marcellus Wiley. Wiley was a short yardage back at the time, and clocked in generously at 6-4, 275, so when he and Payne collided, it provided fans quite the show.

G/Gs 121/98    Tac 333     Sac 17.5       Fum 3
Int 0      Yds 0     Avg -.-     Td 0     Lg -.-

 

NFL

Shipley, Jordan

sco12 shipleyCard: Score 2012
Acquired: 2/2/13, IP Sam’s Club Austin

Jordan Shipley was an outstanding receiver for the University of Texas football program. At the time of his graduation he was the school’s all-time leader in receptions with 248, second in yards with 3,191, and second in touchdowns with 33. A two time All-American catching passes from Colt McCoy, Shipley also demonstrated versatility on special teams holding on FGs and returning punts and kickoffs.  (Jordan played 6 years at UT, losing 2 to medical redshirt.)

Shipley was taken in the 3rd round of the 2010 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were set with starters Chad OchoCinco (Johnson) and Terrell Owens, so he spent a significant amount of his time on the bench behind them. Thankfully with Carson Palmer under center at the time, there was plenty to go around. Jordan finished 2010 ranked 3rd among rookies with 52 receptions for 600 yards (11.5 YPC) and 3 touchdowns. Things were looking up going into 2011, but in week 2 he suffered a terrible kneemem shipley injury that required him to miss the entire season and a good portion of the 2012 preseason. Inexplicably he’d be cut by the Bengals, and was picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers briefly. Soon there after Shipley was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars and finished 2012 with 23 receptions for 244 yards, 10.6 YPC, and a touchdown. In early 2013, the Jaguars rewarded him by resigning him as an exclusive rights free agent.

I heard about the Jordan Shipley signing at Sam’s Club through the Texas Autograph Club boards. Surprisingly there was very little traffic for Jordan at the store, so he had no problem signing the Score card plus the Tyson’s card. I was a bit disappointed that I only had one of him, but hear that he’s always found signing things around Austin, so I will try to get back to him again. We talked briefly about his grizzled beard, if he’d sign with the Texans who needed a good slot presence, had a good laugh, and took a photo before I was out the door. Overall it was a pretty good experience and I hope he gets to prove himself with the Jaguars- just not when playing against the Texans.

 

CFL, College Football HoF, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFLE

Ware, Andre “Air Ware”

pset90 wareCards: Pro Set 1990 Heisman Winner, Pro Set 1991 Heisman Hero, Score 1990, Action Packed Rookies 1990
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent: 9/7     Received: 12/12   (96 days)

Way back in the days of the SWC (SouthWestern Conference) the Houston Cougars were continually struggling for attention under the heels of the traditional powerhouses of the conference. While peppering occasional league titles and bowl appearances, the team went some 10 years without a top 25 finish from the late 70s through the mid-late 80s. It’d be with the arrival of Jack Pardee that the team experienced a renaissance, and return to the national stage. Andre Ware stepped up at quarterback to command Pardee’s Run ‘N Shoot offense in 1989. Despite being under pressure from NCAA sanctions limiting scholarships, and a bowl and TV ban, the Coogs posted a 9-2 record.  Ware lit the offensive record books on fire, including a 95-21 drubbing of SMU, where Andre threw 6 TDs in one quarter. Andre went on to set 13 NCAA records, including most yards passing in a season (4,699),pset91 ware HH while his 46 TD passes fell one short of Jim McMahon‘s record. Ware won the Heisman in 1989 after the season during 4th closest vote- ahead of RB Anthony Thompson (Indiana),  QB Major Harris (West Virginia), and QB Tony Rice (Notre Dame).  Initially Ware intended to stay for his Senior season at UH, but with Jack Pardee bolting for the Houston Oilers down the street- Andre changed his mind and declared for the 1990 NFL draft.

When the draft rolled around I had hoped the Oilers would take Ware to become quarterback Warren Moon‘s heir apparent but Andre did not last long enough for the Houston to nab him. The Lions took Ware at #7. (The Oilers later in the round took another UH alum instead- linebacker Lamar Lathon.)

The Lions ran the ‘Silver Stretch’ Run ‘N Shoot variant under head coach Wayne Fontes, and offensive coordinator Mouse Davis. At quarterback the team had Rodney Peete, and Bob Gagliano, but the Lions were truly built to run with Barry Sanders in the backfield. Ware only started 1 game over the next two seasonssco90 ware rarely getting a chance behind Peete and later Erik Kramer. He was rumored to have alienated players and coaches with his attitude, but Ware, just wanted to play. The Oilers in the meantime attempted to trade Cody Carlson on two occasions to the Lions for Ware, but failed.

After the 1994 season, Andre began the journeyman phase of his career. Over the next few years, Ware saw offseason stops with the Vikings, Raiders, and expansion Jaguars, before finally landing in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1995. Later he signed with the BC Lions in 1996, and then found himself backing up Doug Flutie on the Grey Cup Championship winning Toronto Argos in 1997.

Andre last played football in 1999 for the Berlin Thunder in the NFLE, finally retiring after the season due to a fractured shoulder.

Andre has kept to his hometown area, working in the Houston media. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He currently works for the Houston Texans as a radio color analyst.

Ware marks another in a long line of players that I really wanted on aprks90 waretheir cards. With an abundance of amazing shots, it is easy to notice that many of the companies had Andre tabbed as one of the next big superstars and did not want to have their set left in the cold. I had previously attempted to get Andre through my Houston Texans connection, but that obviously failed when he was cut. It took me some time but with some responses popping up occasionally through sports collectors, I jumped at the opportunity to sign the former Cougars’ signal caller. I really couldn’t decide which cards to send to him. His ProSet 1990 Lions card, and Andre’s Score 1990 Supplemental card also deserved some mention along with these 4. Even his Pacific entry had a nice, dynamic look to it. Feeling guilty about sending these four cards, I sent a check for the autographs, but Andre voided the check, and signed and inscribed all of them, in a bit under 100 days.

G/Gs 14/6    Att 161   Comp 83     Yds 1116    Pct 51.6
Td 5   Int 8    Rat 79.4  |
Rush 38     Yds  217    Avg  5.7    Td 0    Lg 32

CFL 29     Att  252    Comp 134   Yds 1542   Pct 53.1    Td 10  Int 10  |
Rush 40   Yds 316    Avg 7.9      Td 1    Lg 39

WLAF    Att 121   Comp 54   Yds 715   Pct  44.6
Td  4   Int 4   Rat 61.1
Rush 16   Yds  170   Avg  10.6    Td 2     Lg 45