From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there’s a box you’d want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.
The box: 2012 Panini Absolute Football (blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby when available)
Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 81
Base set completion:
77 of 100 (77 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Notables on base cards – Cam Newton, A.J. Green, Ben Roethlisberger, Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Larry Fitzgerald, Matt Ryan, Adrian Peterson, Eli Manning, Tony Romo, Dez Bryant
Insert/short-print cards: 3 (all gallery below with some base)
Spectrum Red Rookies (1) – Josh Gordon
Marks of Fame (1) – Arian Foster
Gridiron Force (1) – Paul Posluszny
Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
War Room Materials (1) – Michael Egnew
What’s Buzz-worthy: This version of Absolute at retail isn’t all that thrilling with just three inserts and one hit per box but those four cards will tell you pretty fast whether you landed a good one. This one just feels average. Thankfully Panini has upped the ante with this brand since then — our break of this one from this year not long ago included eight inserts and a hit, though not all boxes will include a hit. For this retro rip, there were stars in the 100-card base set and then rookies are short-prints beyond that. The only rookie here was a Spectrum Red parallel. I found this one in the discount bin at a retail chain so the sting of an average box wasn’t a big deal — but this collector definitely prefers this year’s version. Absolute is a brand I’ve enjoyed for a long time but this particular year is definitely one to find in hobby where you get a hit per box and a rookie’s standard cards in every other pack.
Product Grade: A- (includes both hobby and retail versions)
Box Grade: C
Fun Grade: B-
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