Dennis sends awesomeness my way - Part 2 of 3 featuring DeMeco Ryans!

My brothers get mentioned from time to time on here (one is 3 years younger than me, the other is 6.5 years younger and just graduated college), and it's the youngest one that really spurs some of my weirder card collecting sprees.  We all loved sports in my family, but that youngest brother was the most into Madden/football/cards like me, and so we definitely shared that bond.  A big piece of that was the Houston Texans franchise upon its return to the NFL - we both loved Expansion teams and the Texans were very much that.  Tony Boselli, Jamie Sharper, David Carr, Dominick Davis and others quickly became frequent topics of conversation for us, even though the Texans were never very good.  

One guy that quickly became my brother's favorite player though, at least for a while, was DeMeco Ryans.  He was a 2nd round pick in 2006, and over the next six years he won Defensive Rookie of the Year, made two Pro Bowls, and was a first team All Pro.  He then was let go by the Texans, and signed on with Phily, where he has played the last couple of years.  He reminds me a bit of former Patriots safety Lawyer Milloy in that he doesn't show up a ton on the turnover side of the statsheet, instead just being a tackling machine who makes players think twice about going over the middle.  So he's well worth being a favorite player, and given the good memories he brings up, I figured he was worth collecting too, so that's why I collect DeMeco Ryans.

But you clicked this post for the cards.  Here they are - a two card lot that Dennis won for me on Ebay.  First is a nice little sticker auto:

I kinda dig this "INTENSE" Score with the splattered paint effect...reminds me of the WWE.

The backs are simple, but nice.  I just wish there was a little more write up than just the certification...but I'm not gonna complain much about a card numbered /249!

The nicer card of the two is definitely this rookie from Bowman Sterling:

Ooo...so fancy (even if they could have centered the auto a little better!)

And that's more what I'm talking about in terms of backs...lots of information, good write up, solid stats - all around good.  I dig the whole framed portrait thing too - really a very classy card from a pretty high end set.  Happily Dennis was able to grab it for much cheaper than it probably cost back in 2006!