SCF Official Review: 2011 Donruss Elite

[Enigma]

First and foremost, I'd like to thank our sponsors at Panini for providing us with this box.



20 packs per box
5 cards per pack
Current Retail Price (online): $94.99 - $109.99

Product Description

BOX BREAK
- 4 Autograph or Memorabilia Cards (at least one autograph)
- 4 Rookies
- 1 Aspirations/Status parallel
- 1 Craftsmen
- 1 Legends of the Fall
- 1 Power Formulas
- 1 Hit List
- 1 NFL Shield
- 1 NFL Team Logo
- 1 Additional Parallel, Insert or Rookie

2011 ROOKIES
Blaine Gabbert
Cam Newton
Jake Locker
Christian Ponder
Andy Dalton
Mark Ingram
Ryan Williams
Mikel LeShoure
DeMarco Murray
A.J. Green
Julio Jones
Randall Cobb
Leonard Hankerson


CASE BREAK
Look for one or more of the following autographs:
Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker, Mikel LeShoure, Ryan Williams, DeMarco Murray, A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Ryan Mallett, Leonard Hankerson, Passing the Torch, Throwback Threads, or on-card NFL Shield, NFL Team Logo.

Every case will deliver either a booklet card or dual Passing The Torch autograph.


HIGHLIGHTS
- 100 Commons
- 100 Rookies numbered to 999 ( 4 per box)
- NFL Shield & Team Logo on-card signatures of the top 2011 Rookies including Blaine Gabbert and A.J. Green
- Top NFL rookies from the class of 2011 with autographed versions sequentially numbered to 499 or less, including Aspirations and Status Die-Cuts Sequentially numbered to 49 or less
- Throwback Threads featuring; Otto Graham, Sammy Baugh, Joe Montana, Emmitt Smith, Dan Marino
- Passing the Torch featuring: Peyton Manning/Sam Bradford, LaDainian Tomlinson/Ryan Mathews, John Elway/Tim Tebow, Michael Irvin/Dez Bryant

WHAT WE PULLED



Base - 86/100 (86%)
Dupes - 0
Rookies /999 (4) - Adrian Clayborn, Alex Green, Tyron Smith, Julio Jones
Status /24 (1) - Matt Forte



Craftsmen /999 (1) - Santonio Holmes
Hit List /999 (1) - Clay Matthews
Legends Of The Fall /999 (1) - DeSean Jackson
Power Formulas /999 (1) - Anquan Boldin
NFL Rookie /999 (3) - Marcell Dareus, Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder



Power Formulas Knowshon Moreno Jersey /299



Power Formulas Marques Colston Jersey /299



Turn Of The Century Cam Newton Auto /199



Turn Of The Century Lance Kendricks Auto /499



FINAL RATINGS

Base - 4.25/5
Design - 2.5/5
Fun - 4/5
Value - 4.5/5
Rebuy - 4.5/5

Total - 19.75/25 (79%)

While Prestige has the honor of the unofficial beginning of the NFL trading card season of licensed product every year, it is Elite that really gets things kickstarted. The base set contains 100 veterans and 100 rookies (/999). Each box should yield four rookies on average. The cards are on a foil-based thin card stock, yet do not bend (bow) as much as chrome style cards. The Aspirations and Status die-cut parallels are back as well and usually appear 1 per box.

There are a few insert sets in Elite. All the sets are numbered from 999 or less, depending on parallel versions. While most focus on the veteran players, rookies do make appearance as well. Expect between 7-8 inserts in each box.

On average, Elite boxes will contain 4 "hits" breaking down normally with 2 autographs and 2 relics. The cream of the crop every year are the Turn Of The Century Rookie Autos. They range in numbering from 499 to 199 for the most part with the bigger name guys having a lower print run. There are two short prints this year with Vincent Brown /99 and Pat Devlin /14.

Elite always seem to get the blood pumping year in and year out. It carries the anticipation of another NFL season as well as typically stands out as a solid product in what it contains as well as design. However, the design is a huge question mark this time around. While it's been done before, the idea of the vertical cards for the veterans to be offset by horizontal cards for rookies is a mistake. It adds nothing to the look of the rookie card and then it is made disgustingly worse with the incorporation of the Turn Of The Century rookie autographs. The standalone main reason people flock to Elite are the TOTC autos and to see gaudy stickers on a white background on a foil card that is heavy on green makes me want to do something that is known to be green in nature. I do not know what the designers were thinking, but I hope this is the only time we ever see the cards like this.

Outside of that, Elite is a great product. While the price is not for everyone, most get their money's worth in each box. Out of the 20 packs, at least 16 will yield a numbered card of some sort. This allows each pack to take on a life of it's own and gets collectors wanting to come back for more.

Once again, I'd like to thank our wonderful sponsors at Panini for giving us the opportunity to open and review this release. For more information on all their products, visit them today at www.paniniamerica.net.