Heads Up Quads #25 - The one I thought was going to cost infinity million dollars

I'm getting down to the last few cards needed for my Heads Up Quads set, and I'm finding that some of the talent on these cards are making them fairly pricey.  Of the four I have left, two have verifiable HOFers that jack up their cost (Brian Urlacher's Bears and Jerome Bettis' Steelers), one has a verifiable HOFer and is incredibly hard to find (Zack Thomas' Dolphins) and one is kind of randomly high priced (Brian Griese's Broncos).  Today's card features THREE HOFers (Like the Rams pants card from a few weeks back), and was somehow cheaper and easier to find than all of the aforementioned cards.  Go figure I guess!

Anywho, given the star power on this card, I think it has a firm chance of being the biggest card in the set from a combined accolade standpoint at the very least.  I mean the back of the card alone has two of the best players in NFL history.  Let's see if ya'll agree.

Zack Crockett is by far the least decorated player on this card, but dang did he have a pretty decent career.  Primarily a FB, he played a whopping 13 seasons in the NFL, which included four seasons with 6+ rushing touchdowns in the early 00s.  I always think of him as a younger FB when I've played Madden 04, but he's actually 31 in the game as he was actually a third round draft pick of the Colts in 1995.  I learned today that his greatest career achievement probably came in that year's playoffs too.  Marshall Faulk was injured, so Crockett started at RB and had 147 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Colts first playoff win in 24 years.  Not bad at all for a FB!

Tim Brown is a legend and a HOFer, but might still be third best on this card, which definitely speaks volumes about the card's flip side.  Brown made the Pro Bowl nine times and is 7th all time on the career receptions list, so he's certainly no slouch.  Two interesting facts about him.  One I forgot is that he actually didn't play for the Raiders in 2004, his final NFL season.  They cut him when he didn't want to take on a lesser role in the offense, so he moved on to Tampa Bay for his final season.  The second fact I have on Brown is that his first Pro Bowl nod came way back in his rookie year of 1988, and came primarily due to his special teams play.  As someone who was two in 1988 I mainly think of Brown as a solid possession receiver rather than a special teams ace, but he had league leading KR numbers in that rookie season and was returning punts at a solid clip as late as 1995 - solid stuff.

So here's the back of the card, starting with a man who needs no introduction - Jerry Rice.  Wikipedia gives him the nickname "World," which is...not a nickname I knew he had?  It's crazy he was ever a 16th overall pick (In 1985), because the man basically reset the entire receiving record book in his 21 years in the league.  He won Super Bowls, he made it to 13 Pro Bowls, he was top three in MVP four times (A WR has never won NFL MVP...and honestly if Rice couldn't do it I don't know if anyone can) - the guy did it all.  And interesting enough, like Tim Brown, 2004 was Rice's last season and it ended with a different team.  Only Rice's was Seattle.  I remember both Rice and Brown being fun adds in Madden 04, because they'd give you one solid season of production but then immediately retire during the first offseason.  Classic old guy stuff.

Last but not least we have Charles Woodson, the HOFer and nine time Pro Bowler who also won Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.  He made it to the Pro Bowl in his first and last seasons, which is impressive for a guy with 18 years in the league.  I also constantly forget he was ever on the Packers, even though he spent seven years with them which included four Pro Bowl nods and a Super Bowl win.  No disrespect to Packers faithful with that comment...I just remember the young Woodson who came out of Michigan and the old Woodson who tied up his spikes as a Raider more than I do that middle years guy.  He was ridiculously good during all of them though.

Who wins the card? Tonssssss of solid players on this card, but it's Jerry Rice in a landslide.