I’m moving on to 2018 Donruss Football and as more of a set collector (not that I do that for football but…) this is getting more into my area. You get A TON of cards in a Donruss blaster. An absolute ton.
While there’s a lot to like about Donruss, for me it’s not the greatest design this year. I feel like this is a progression from the design in previous years, but I’ve like it design-wise a lot better in previous years. One thing I do like this year is that they aren’t so dark at the bottom of the card. For a TTM guy like me that’s great as it gives guys a place to sign.
What I do like are some of the inserts. They repeat some of the themes from year-to-year and I’m OK with that. Like Gridiron Kings and things like that. Those are always good cards for me. But there’s also some gaudy stuff that I can always do without too. I feel like what I’m trying to say that there’s different levels of good and bad that in the end, cancel each other out to make something middle of the road.
Take a look at some other recent Breaking Blasters posts for football: 2018 Panini Prizm, 2018 Rookies & Stars, 2018 Absolute, 2018 Prestige, 2018 Score.
A Wavy Base
The base cards in this set are solid. I think I would have like the design more had it not had those wavy white lines that cover part of the background of the image. And maybe that black line that fades down the left edge as well. Do the waves harken back to ’84 Topps baseball cards? Maybe. I just think it would be fine without it.
This is not just a Donruss comment, but those Color Rush jerseys really do wonders for images on the cards. Aaron Donald in all yellow/gold is a pretty sweet look to me. I won’t say that every Color Rush jersey is great, but it sure helps to make a sharp card.
Old-Timers Base
I’m not always a fan of old players on new cards. But there are a couple things I like about these. First, I like the effect on the pictures. I think it helps it modernize them a bit. It also helps make for more consistency in the older pictures on the cards.
The other thing I love is that they used the logos and colors from the old Jerseys. It’s great seeing the old Giants and Broncos logos on there. And they tweak the colors to go with it. I think that’s a nice touch.
Rookie Stuff
I didn’t get much as far as high end rookies. The only name I really recognized is Keke Coutee and really how could you forget a name like that?
If you’ve been reading my other recent Breaking Blasters posts you’ll notice Jaleel Scott again. I think I got a couple of his jerseys cards out of these packs.
Classic Inserts
Pro: Gridiron Kings
Con: Elite Series whatever the hell that is.
Gridiron Kings are great because they have a canvas feel to the card and all that. The Elite Series (whether it’s rookies or standard) and just so hard to look at for me. I feel like I might have a seizure if I look for too long. They actually look better in photos because they don’t make your eyes go as crazy.
So overall, it’s a lot of cards. There’s some positives in the design and some negatives. There some good and bad all over. I think more good than bad but I can only feel like it’s a solid offering and nothing I’m really crazy about.