Tag Archives: new orleans saints

NFL

Williams, Ricky (5)

Cards: Playoff 1999 (6279), Leaf Rookies & Stars 2004 Slideshow, Panini Classics 2016 NL, Panini Classics 2016 Legends*, Panini Contenders 2018, Panini Elite 2018, Atomic 2002.
Acquired: In Person 2018, 43 and 34 Camp, Heisman House Tour
See Also: Ricky Williams, Little Earl (2), Ricky Williams (3), Ricky Williams (4)
* future considerations D-Rock

There is really no end to the plethora of cards I can find that I like for Ricky, so I just keep stacking them up- as long as he keeps signing of course. I’ve gotten Little Earl more times than any other player, and each time I meet him, each interaction is a unique experience. When I went to the 43 and 34 Camp, it was a blisteringly hot Texas day.  After the event ended, people swarmed him as he slowly made his way to his car. He knew if he didn’t start that way at that moment, he’d be here all night. Still Ricky practiced an immense amount of patience, realizing perhaps that he was stuck, he just stopped at the entrance to the stadium and started signing. His gatekeeper tried in vain to get people to line up, and although there were cutters I waited to get up to him. It’s like the world goes silent and nobody is there. Ricky has that effect, or I do- I am not sure. He was like, “Hey man! Long time no see.” I told him that having a kid will do that to you.

Ricky has a new line of cannabis/ natural herb  wellness products. I’m hoping to get some shipped to Texas to see if it can be of benefit to my father who suffers from lupus.

These cards are just flat out amazing. Every time I think I run out of cards, I find a few more that I really like. The Leaf 2004 Rookies & Stars Slideshow is translucent. The scan just doesn’t do it enough justice, but it is a well designed, exciting card. The Playoff 99 card is another gimmicky card. It’s translucent with the numbers in a velvet material.

Later I went to the Heisman House Tour that came to DKR before the Texas USC game. Knowing Ricky was there I packed quite a few cards for him to sign. The problem was they had a nasty gatekeeper. I got up to the stage and Ricky recognized me. We chatted for a few seconds while he signed a card. This woman came out from the door connected from the tent and shooed me away before I could get the rest. I just said to Ricky with a smile, “I’ll come back around again.” The line was not long at all for Ricky. The humidity or the weather prediction (of rain that never happened) kept people away. I got back in line, cruised back around, and got the rest of the cards signed. 

We had a good and quick chat this time. I asked him if he’d have a touchdown dance now- since the league had lifted the restrictions on the rules. He initially told me no, but then re-thought it when I suggested Arian Foster’s ‘namaste pose’. I then quickly suggested that he go on Arian’s intriguing podcast as they both had really interesting philosophical ideals. He said he’d be interested and consider it, but he and Arian hadn’t talked in a while. 

All in all again, some really nice cards I got signed at the Heisman House Tour. I really liked the NEXT LEVEL card the best- even if it is the same photograph from the Panini Elite card. The backside has him in a New Orleans Saints uniform, and could also be mistaken for the front as well if not for its lack of gloss on it. The Elite card is nice and flashy. I like where they have taken the design of this set over the years. Even the logo is a much needed improvement over the Donruss Elite logo. It’s a shield/chevron. That’s smart design. 

The Classics 2016 card is for D-Rock on Sportscollectors.net. He had previously helped me out by sending me a Eugene Chung autograph I needed. What was touching about it was that he was reaching out to me because he hadn’t seen me on the boards in a while.
 
I had been stung badly by another collector on Sportscollectors.net who offered to get me some autographs and then pulled the rug out from under me as soon as I agreed.  Anyway D-Rock’s kindness really struck me, so I offered to help him out when I had a chance. It took me a lot longer than I thought to get this autograph, but I can see why he wanted to get this one signed as the Classics card is not only a nice card, the autograph really sticks out on the canvas.

NFL

Lipps, Louis

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, GameDay 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Home
Sent: 7/8    Received: 7/18   (10 days)*
* Fee enclosed

Louis Lipps is a highly reliable TTM respondent, provided you insert his very nominal fee. He’s got a great signature with two very nice loops in it, which accentuates these cards very nicely. Once ProSet and Score came out, a bevy of really nice action shots popped up of him. Among my favorites are these Proset entries and the Gameday card I got autographed. I always hesitated getting Lipps- much like many members of the Steelers, because of the rivalry that they shared during the late eighties and early nineties with the rise of the Oilers.  He always seemed to bring his best games against the shoddy secondary of the Oilers there for a while, until Cris Dishman and Darryll Lewis stepped up.

Louis Lipps slipped onto the NFL radar and into the first round of the 1984 draft. Selected by the Steelers out of powerhouse Southern Mississippi, Louis had a stellar rookie season, under the tutelage of grizzled veteran John Stallworth. Louis went on to become NFL rookie of the year, with 656 yards in punt return yardage, to go along with 856 yards on 45 passes and 9 TDs. He also earned a Pro Bowl berth and AP honors. His best season as a receiver came the following year, when he posted 59 catches for 1,134 yards and 12 TDs. A solid barn-burning option, Louis had 4 seasons over his career where he averaged 18.9 or more yards a click. While he’d never crack the 1,000 yard plateau over the rest of his career, Louis twice peaked at over 900 yards with 973 in 1988, and 944 in 1989- a year in which he was named team MVP.  He finished his career taking a flyer with the Saints for 2 games in 1992, in an otherwise unremarkable season.

 Thanks in part to playing during the highly forgettable era of the mid to late 80s (for Steeler fans), and a swath of unheralded quarterbacks, Lipps largely is ignored for his contributions and numbers in the Steelers stat books. He also was surrounded by talent from other eras such Lynn Swann, the aforementioned John Stallworth, and then in the current era by guys like Antonio Brown. Louis currently lives in the Pittsburgh area.

G/GS 110/98     REC 359     YDS   6019    AVG   16.8     TD 39    LG  89T
PR  112     YDS  1234     AVG  11.0     TD  3     LG   76T

NFL

Savage, Tom

to14f tsavage

Cards: Topps Finest 2015, Topps Prime 2015
Acquired: 2017, EBay

Tom Savage is a fierce competitor and a good study.  He started one season at Rutgers (2009) and put up solid numbers as a Freshman with 149 of 285 passing for 2211 yards and 14 TDs in 12 contests. He then lost the starting job after he busted up his hand in 2010 so Tom opted to transfer to Arizona and sat out a year. In the meantime the school fired its coach, so Tom transferred again- this time to Pitt where he was able to get one final year of eligibility in 2013. Savage posted 238 of 389 passing for 2958 yards and 21 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions. Scouts were intrigued. They felt that Savage was a nice sleeper for the right team. He has the right tools, build, a cannon for an arm, good football acumen, and is willing to just do whatever it takes.

Tom was projected to go in the 5th or 6th round of the 2014 Draft, and with a run on quarterbacks the Texans decided to pull the trigger selecting Savage in the 4th round. Pundits felt that Tom was the right fit, and Bill O’Brien the quarterback whisperer got his project to work on. He threw 19 passes his rookie year for 127 yards and an interception.

The Texans in the meantime continued to look at their quarterback options. 2015 went by and Tom didn’t throw a pass. It’d be in 2016 things got- well a bit crazy. The Texans decided to make a splash in free agency. Feeling that they were just a legitimate quarterback away from making that happen, Houston signed Denver backup signal caller Brock Osweiler to man the fort. Friction quickly grew between Bill O’Brien and Brock to the point the coach benched the erratic quarterback midway through a game against the Jaguars. Tom came in and lit a fire under the Texans guiding them to a win. For a second there fans thought that Savage was the answer at quarterback, but Tom would be concussed during a game against the Titans the following week ending his season.

During the offseason of 2017, Houston got rid of Osweiler while the Texans attempted to wait out the Cowboys for Tono Romo. Unable to make it happen the Texans named Savage the starter and then traded up and selected Clemson QB Deshaun Watson. Savage lasted all of 3 quarters into his first game against the new and improved Jaguars. It was really rough for Tom, but he was ever the team player. He’d return to the starting lineup again, after Watson tore his ACL, but suffer a vicious concussion against the 49ers ending his season. Highlights of his season included leading the Texans to a 31-21 win over the Cardinals on 22 of 32 passing for 230 yards and 2 TDs in Week 11, and in Week 13, when Tom threw for a career high 365 yards in a loss to the Titans. His final season numbers were 1412 yards on 125 of 223 passing and 5 TDs to 6 interceptions.

Moving into 2018 it really wasn’t known how the Texans would proceed further with the Tom Savage experience. It’s a shame really. I really like Tom and I still believe he can still ball in the league given the right situation. During the free agency period he signed with the New Orleans Saints where he lost a battle with Teddy Bridgewater to be Drew Brees backup.  He spent about a month on the roster of the 49ers, and as of the end of  2018 is a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.