By Phil Hecken
With the recent “scare” a few weeks ago with the “fake” Nike Pro Combat templates that went viral on the Interwebs, everyone began to fear the worst once Nike actually takes over the NFL clothing contract in 2012. And why not, some of those over the top designs were really awful — although admittedly very creative.
I actually think Nike’s taking over for Reebok can be a very good thing, so long as the teams themselves retain appropriate control over their own branding and designs. The compression sleeve element introduced over the past two years can be very effectively used to replace the vestigial sleeves that uniforms are now sporting. You folks likely remember Ricko’s compression sleeve idea was first showcased on UW over a year ago, and since then, Nike has outfitted many of their *select* schools with “pro combat” (a concept many of us, including yours truly, have derisively chided — but not for the idea…for the way they have “foisted” it upon their stable of universities).
But what if the pro combat concept were used for good, not evil? It could, if properly introduced, and if the creative forces in the NFL basically dictate the uniform protocol to Nike, instead of the other way around, actually make every team look better. Teams with their current classic looks wouldn’t need to change their specs at all, while those teams who seem to have gotten carried away with BFBS, and crappy trendiness and bad fonts, can fix their uniforms for the better, going forward. For a look at the NFC, circa 2012, here is what I propose (I will just give a short summary of the unis below — for a more detailed description, you can go here):
Arizona Cardinals: Home & Road. The Cardinals used to be one of the best dressed teams in the NFL, but their current uniform set is one of the worst. This changes all that.
Atlanta Falcons: Home & Road. Another team whose uniforms were once outstanding — just look at how gorgeous their throwbacks are — this set allows them to be a bit loud, but without the bumperstickers.
Carolina Panthers: Home & Road. The Panthers current uni set doesn’t require much change, but a simple color swap for the helmet and fixing the stripes makes all the difference.
Chicago Bears: Home, Road 1 and Road 2. This set basically keeps the Bears uni completely in tact, except the compression sleeves allow proper striping — a big improvement over the current uni.
Dallas Cowboys: Home & Road. One of the most annoying things about the Cowboys are their little uni quirks — this set standardizes their blues and silvers, but still keeps a unique look for the ‘pokes. Cowboy fans may hate it, but I think it’s quite a sensible solution, going forward.
Detroit Lions: Home & Road. The honolulu blue and silver have gone from great to awful to still pretty bad in the past few years. This set changes all that. It harkens back to the Barry Sanders days. Enough said.
Green Bay Packers: Home & Road. Like the Bears, the Pack’s current uni is “untouchable” so all this does is allow the Packers to return to the full glory-days of proper sleeve stripes and corresponding socks. This is what the pro combat was made for.
Minnesota Vikings: Home and Road. The current Vikings uniform set, like so many who have strayed from all that is good, will potentially benefit more from the pro combat than almost any other team. This will allow them to return to their Fran Tarkenton look, which is pretty much what they are throwing back to these days anyway. Damn these look good.
New Orleans Saints: Home & Road. The Saints have always had a pretty great look, but recently, they have fallen in love with the black pants, which must go. This set fixes the problems they have matching their golds and puts the proper striping back on the pants.
New York Giants: Home, Road 1, & Road 2. The current Giants uniform set is pretty close to perfect, but, despite the historical accuracy, I’ve never been a fan of the gray pants. They did have a period where they wore white pants with the old school unis, so this brings them back. Even though I’ve never been a huge fan of the red-dominant road jersey, I included that and a blue one, just to keep the ‘purists’ happy.
Philadelphia Eagles: Home & Road. How great did those week one, 1960 champions uniforms look? That’s right, they looked fantastic. The pro combat makes that look permanent.
San Francisco 49ers: Home & Road. The current ‘Niner uniform is pretty close to perfect. The pro combat fixes the one current problem with what they are wearing today — the sleeve stripes. Pro combat to the rescue.
Seattle Seahawks: Home & Road. I’m not alone in hating the current Seahawks unis — this fauxback set brings back the beautiful royal they dumped in 2002 and returns the silver helmet and pants, but keeps the current angry bird with the neon eye. Just so all that neon gear the fans wear still works on Sunday.
St. Louis Rams: Home & Road. The athletic gold home & white pants harkens back to Crazy Legs Hirsch, while the road is more like what they wore before they went to the current navy & vegas gold. A modernization that also harkens back to the past.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Home, Road 1, & Road 2. There may not have been a more iconic look in football, albeit one that was usually associated with losing, than the creamsicle Bucco Bruce Tampa Bay teams. But it’s such a classic Florida uniform, and it just needs an updating to become classic once again.
Washington Redskins: Home & Road. The Redskins finally got it right this year, bringing back the gold pants — but unfortunately, none of their striping patterns matched up. While the pro combat doesn’t make everything exactly equal, it brings us back to the Sonny Jurgensen era. I debated giving them burgundy road pants as well, but with the burgundy helmet, comp sleeves and socks, the gold pants work fine.
Well, there you have it. I’m sure many of you will disagree with my “suggestions,” but I think we can all agree that with a new uniform supplier, particularly if they decide to provide the NFL with their “pro combat” cut, we have a real potential to head into the 2012 season with a fantastic set of uniforms. If only we can be sure the template is used for good, not evil.
5 & 1, Bowl Edition
And now, the part of the post you’ve all been waiting for: The 5 & 1.
Even though we’ve gotten through the lion’s share of the bowl games thus far, Jim will have two “best of the bowl” 5 & 1 — the first comprising the first 18 games, and the second covering the next 17. Today we take a look at the first best 5, and worst 1, of the bowl season. I’ve got a hunch at what Jim will pick, but he never ceases to surprise.
5. Independence Bowl: Air Force/Georgia Tech — Tech would like to thank Air Force’s upgrade and SMU’s downgrade for getting them on the good side of this list.
4. Poinsettia Bowl: Navy/San Diego State — C’mon, Phil…the Aztecs don’t look that bad.
3. New Orleans Bowl: Ohio/Troy — Not your typical “boys from Ohio vs. the Trojans” bowl, but it still looks good.
2. Music City Bowl: North Carolina/Tennessee — Bet you thought this was my #1.
1. Pinstripe Bowl: Kansas State/Syracuse — Great unis, great location… this one had it all.
And the bad one: Humanitarian Bowl: Northern Illinois/Fresno State The humanitarian thing would have been to not play this game.
I’m a bit surprised at the order of the top 5, Jim, but I think you probably got ’em all correct. Well, all except the Navy/SDS game. And you had a few to pick for the “worst” one, but I won’t argue with the final call.
Uni Tweaks
Lots and lots of tweaks keep pouring in, so obviously this is a popular feature. A bunch new to get to today. If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.
Remember, if possible, try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per tweak. You guys have been great a keeping to that, and it’s much appreciated!
Got a big set of tweaks today…so lets get right into it.
Now, on to today’s tweaks:
Starting off the show is Hiatt Werling, who has some interesting ideas for a few NFL teams:
Dear Mr. Hecken,
Hi, my name’s Hiatt Werling, and tonight I made a few football tweaks. It started when I was looking at this picture. I really like that picture, mainly for the story it tells, but I also really like the colors in it. Specifically, I really like the colors and design of the Mayflower truck. Anyway, I imagined what it would look like if the Colts changed their uniforms to incorporate those colors I love, and then I made it for fun. That led to me making a couple other tweaks that would involve teams going against their color scheme. These are all pretty goofy and out there, and would never and perhaps should never be used as real uniforms, but they were fun to make, and hopefully you and maybe other would get a kick out of seeing them. Anyway, if you choose to use them on the website, here they are, with short descriptions:
“Today I came up with a few football uni concepts that are based on something in the team’s logo or stadium or city or history that all involve drastically going against the teams’ established color schemes. Obviously these are all pretty crazy and out there and would never be used, and probably violate a lot of the rules of what makes a good uniform, but I just made them for fun. Here they are:
Steelers – Steelmark Set: I’ve always liked the primary colors in the Steelers’ logo and wanted to create a uniform set that incorporated those colors a little more.
Bengals – Jungle Set: I like the idea of the Bengals’ stadium being “The Jungle”, and I like the green they have on the walls around the field, and I wanted to see what a uniform set based around that green would look like.
Saints – Mardi Gras Set: I really like the Mardi Gras-themed uniforms the Hornets have, and I wanted to use those colors with the Saints’ uniforms.
Colts – Mayflower Set: This is the craziest set of the four. Those of us familiar with football lore know of the Baltimore Colts fleeing to Indianapolis in a Mayflower truck in the dead of night. I’ve always really liked the colors of those Mayflower trucks, and I wanted to see what it would look like if the Colts for some reason wanted to pay tribute to the shadowiest part of their history by changing their color scheme to that of the Mayflower trucks. Obviously there’s no conceivable reason to ever use these (unless the Colts were playing the Ravens in Baltimore and really wanted to piss the citizens of Baltimore off for some reason), but I kind of like them, and just thought it was an interesting idea.”
Thank you for your time and consideration,
-Hiatt Werling
Next up is Sean F. who has some more NFL ideas:
Hey Phil,
Today I put together some tweaks I have done over the past few days. I just saw Peter Saunders did a Patriots throwback uni in current colors, which I also did, though its a little different. Basic color swap, making the pants and helmets silver/grey and the top of the socks and jersey navy blue.
I noticed the Chiefs helmets are red/white/black while the jerseys are red/white/yellow, so I tried to add some yellow to the helmet to make it go a little better. The facemask was changed from white to yellow and a yellow outline around the arrowhead was also added.
I also added a lot more yellow by changing the helmet and pants, although it looks a little to McDonalds to me, and the yellow pants look a little too similar to the Redskins.
I know many people don’t care for the monotone pants and socks on this site, so I took a few uniforms and changed that. First is the Ravens, I just changed the socks to purple and I think it looks a lot better than the black.
Also, I changed the navy blue socks on the titans to the sky blue to make them stand out more from the pants.
Thanks for your time,
Sean F.
That will be all for today’s tweak show. Check back next week for more.
OK, let’s put this one in the books. Hope everyone is all recovered from New Year’s Eve, six bowl games, and a moist Winter Classic over in the NHL. We enter the final weekend of the league where they play for pay today, and there are actually only a couple spots up for grabs for the post season. Here’s hoping the Bears can do the G-men a favor (assuming the Giants can actually defeat the ‘Skins), so I’ll have at least one more weekend to watch the G-men with my pop. I know he’s not reading this, but I’ll give him an early shout for a Happy 83rd Birthday this Tuesday. Love ya Dad!
Every bowl game is just a random matchup of two losers. Usually one team is prepared to win and one team is there enjoying themselves. There is no meaning behind them or any purpose. — Phillip Wilson
Holy Buccaneer Blunder, Batman!! Bucco Bruce is backwards by-golly!
Not bad…
You need a bit more tweaking on the Seahawks – the current colored logo on the old colored uniforms is bad. You can’t be fixing the Cowboys blue issues and then giving a different team mismatched blues. It’s just not right.
I’d keep the Bucs current logo as well. The pirate flag works perfectly fine on a white helmet.
…and I’ll give you a couple points for getting rid of the gray facemasks on the Cardinals & 49ers, but you lose one for keeping it on the Giants.
Funny. I’m not vehemently opposed to the gray facemasks like you are. I think they look right on certain teams/helmet colors.
Then again, I’m against the return to gray “just because” that a lot of folks around here want to see for some teams (Bears, Steelers, etc.).
That being said, The 49ers’ gold facemask looks really bad to me. Gray is the right look for them. Or, if we must have a team color on the mask, I guess red is acceptable.
I do agree with you about the Bucs. Put the modern logo on the helmet and that’s a great uniform (the orange pants are questionable, though).
Agreed the 49ers gold helmets and the Cards white helmets look the best with gray facemasks. I know Jeff will probably want to have me banned from this site for saying this but I think white helmets look best with gray facemasks.
Luckily, I have no authority. :P
My whole problem with gray facemasks is the same reason that I’m against white jerseys and in favor of color vs color games – team colors. The Lions throwbacks with black facemasks bother me just as much as the Cardinals gray. It’s not that I’m anti-gray, it’s just that I think the mask should match the uniform.
I agree on the Seahawks uniforms. I like their current colors, just not how they use them. I think the need some silver or grey in the color scheme. Pants and/or helmets are a nice way of getting that in there. That being said, it would be nice to see a team or two buck the trend of moving to darker and darker tones of their traditional colors (‘Hawks, Rams, Eagles, Broncos, etc.).
I think I’d like to see that Bucs uni with the current logo as well. I mean, I know Bucco Bruce is associated with losing, but the Bucs have been doing alot of losing in their current set as well. But the old color scheme is better, and so much more South Florida. Combine the two eras.
I’m old enough that to me, gray is the only color the facemasks should be. I still wince whenever I see white, yellow or bright red facemasks, which to my eye practically glow and make today’s big, complicated facemasks practically overwhelm the helmet itself. Gray helps the facemasks fade into the background a bit so the helmet itself remains the visual focus at the player’s head. My tastes were formed when every team used neutral gray and one or two players (Tommy McDonald on the Rams and Falcons) still didn’t have a facemask at all.
I don’t understand how a gray mask blends into the background any better than a mask that’s the same color as the helmet. I can understand (but disagree with) the idea that the Redskins yellow mask distracts from the darker helmet, but I really fail to see how the Steelers black mask is distracting compared to a gray one.
Here’s a link of why the “gray is the only color cuz that’s how they always used to be” mentality is flat-out wrong.
Three guys on the same team and three different color facemasks.
phil~
i have to say nice job on the nfc. it is hard to do an entire league, and do a good job. sure there were a few that i said to myself, i would change this or that, but a really good job everall. exception:cowboys: you took away their multiple blues & their iconic jersey, that was a fail. but you got bonus points for the bucks, so that evened out.
as for the facemasks, i can’t really say i have a set rule as to what i like, it is a total case by case basis. and i would never say it should ALWAYS match(steelers look good), or ALWAYS contrast(skins look good), or ALWAYS be gray(niners/cards look good), that would be ridiculous. that being said, i played with dark green, white, yellow, and grey. and for me, the lighter the facemask the more distracting it was to my vision. i hardly noticed the dark green, and the flat grey didn’t bother me in the least, but the yellow and white stank. anybody else have similar experiences? by the way, my senior year i saw a single bar in the equipment closet, asked to use it, but the coaches refused. single bar centre/linebacker would have been killer.
Wilson (George Halas’ supplier for the Bears for decades) predominantly used white facemasks (look for photos of Brian Piccolo) as well as the brown cowcatchers in the 1950s, and I believe Bill Wade wore a blue one personally into the 1960s.
That being said…still prefer gray for the Niners and Seahawks. I’ll grudgingly accept red, but NOT gold – I’ve never seen an exact color match for metallic gold yet.
And why, if we are trying to preserve “traditional” looks, are the Cowboys’ and Rams’ unis completely jacked up? No contrasting sleeves for the Cowboys – use two plain blue sleeve stripes (white on blue for the roads). No yellow gold helmets for the Rams – blue with yellow gold horns (or go back to the 1960s Rams blue with white horns if you’re really daring).
Good suggestions all…but you don’t necessarily need to go the Pro Combat route to carry them out.
So it’s taken the Pro Combat template, and for the most part, made everyone wear throwbacks? We aren’t in the 70’s anymore. Some modern stuff is really not that bad. But the weird stripes on the Cardinals and Falcons pants could re-engineered. I look forward to Part II, but I can see where it’s going. I bet Pat Patriot returns and the Broncos in a lighter blue and orange tops.
No, some of the modern stuff isn’t that bad. But I can’t think of a single “modern” NFL uni that’s really good, either. And some of them are complete garbage — Falcons, Vikings, Cardinals, Bengals, Bills…
And yes, a good portion of the designs are throwbacks, but not all of them — for example link.
It kinda depends on how you define modern. I think the Titans and Broncos could both qualify as good modern uniforms.
All 5 teams you list as horrible could be fairly easily tweaked and fixed while still being modern.
I like the TEN unis as well. I especially like their white/powder look in road games. My only problem with their unis is the logo on the helmet. I’ve never liked the flaming tack. I can’t believe it’s lasted this long. But it is an example of a very good modern uniform.
I would also agree on the simple fixes for those teams James mentioned. I think sometimes the NFL ought to step in and save a team from itself.
the broncos?? so dated, 1997. they’re still wearing “modern” uniforms that every college team wore.. can’t believe i am the only one to see this.
Happy belated birthday, jC.
I agree with “some” modern stuff really not being bad. I was somewhat opposed at first, but I eventually jumped on the cell phone idea. I’ve always enjoyed television as well. What will they think of next?
Florida’s Pro Combat gear yesterday tried to replicate their non-Pro Combat uniforms. Other than the different cut they did a pretty good job except for the pant stripe which Nike was unable to continue onto the belt loop.
Not a fan of the striping on the Cardinal helmets, nor of the reversal of colors on the Rams. Other than that, the designs are quite good.
The compressions sleeves look good. However, I think they should be the same color as the uni top. That way the stripes/other logos can be on the replica jerseys.
I really like the design overall. It’s great work. I particularly liked the Panthers and Redskins sets. I can’t wait for the AFC version. That said, my only suggestions would be white or grey pants on the ATL (the black/red jersey/pants combo just doesn’t look right for me); and blue-dominant jerseys on the Rams. Really great presentation today.
what the hell? no new england?
I wish.
I assume the AFC (including NE) will be addressed in Part II.
no, phil just wanted to tweak the nfc, i bet he neeeever shows the afc.
My gripe is not with the designs, but with the template. Particularly, the helmet. (A) It looks like a helmet made out of aluminum foil that someone scrunched into a little ball and then tried to re-shape back into a helmet. Way too angular and “dented” looking. (B) It’s a great template if your primary interest is facemasks. To convey graphic designs on the shell…not so much.
It is a pretty detail-heavy template with way too much gloss & glitzy. A good football template is hard to come by & I’m in the process of trying to make a new template off a pic that shows off the side sleeves, front numbers & side pant stripes all in one image. I’ve concluded there will always have to be a separate helmet image.
A template that can show off all the key design elements of a uni would be a wonderful thing. I look forward to the end result of your labors, concealed78.
To LI Phil: I agree that reinventing the wheel is not a necessity, but that Schutt template abomination is so ill-suited to the task of showing off helmet design elements that it really needs to go. If that hideous Ion helmet is necessary, then an angle similar to this would be preferable: link
Even better: an angle like this, of a helmet that would actually be used in the “real” NFL — link
(Please understand, Phil, that my gripe is with the Schutt Ion template, and not your decision to use it, nor with your design work, which is greatly appreciated!)
So football teams (NFL and NCAA) have had stripes on their sleeves for years. Lately the fashion for non punter/QB’s is to remove the sleeves. So teams have been hacking their sleeve stripes so they could keep it part of their uniform in some way.
Sleeves : link
Ugly : link
Sleeves : link
Ugly : link
First it just looks lame and ugly that they cut them off like that. If they don’t want sleeves, get rid of the sleeve stripes. Sleeve stripes were put on the sleeves because the sleeves were already a part of the clothing. Removing the truncated part from the shoulder and adding it to a compression shirt just seems odder to me. Like the sleeve stripes are more important part of the jersey than the form of the jersey. If the NFL wants tank tops, let them design around tank tops. You can’t have your cake and eat it, while having a good looking jersey.
How silly would this look if the NBA decided to do stripes on compression shirts (too lazy for PS, just paint)
link
It doesn’t make sense.
It should be
I don’t want sleeves == I can’t have stripes
I want stripes == I must have sleeves
So many of the NFL jerseys look terrible because they are trying to force a design for sleeves onto a sleeveless jersey. Compression shirts just makes it look weirder in another way. When they sell replicas, will they still have sleeve stripes like they do now?
link
That NBA thing isn’t a fair comparison. NBA players look weird with sleeves at all, because basketball has used tank tops for 50 years.
Football on the other hand, does have a rather long history of jerseys with sleeves. I’m not seeing how this: link is really any different from this: link
I agree with you that design should follow form.
If sleeves are gone, go to Plan B and design for that pattern.
That said, the reason my mind went to stripes on comp sleeves was for teams that might want to somehow keep the striped look, largely because their unis have remained unchanged for so long (Bears, Browns, 49ers and Giants road, to name a few). Never advocated that every team should do it. Way back when, just did mockups to see how it would on the teams that could be candidates (which of course people took to mean we were espousing every single one of them).
Some kind of league-wide thing? Ick, no. For, at best, a few teams, sure. Intriguing.
It’s tough to disagree with the general overall vision of Phil’s stuff, though. With Nike incorporating decorative comp sleeves into Oregon State’s Civil War unis and Oregon’s upcoming BCS tite game gear, it isn’t difficult to imagine something similar when they get their hands on NFL unis.
And, of course, they’ll beat it to death, much as they now do their clearly evident fixation on ass trim. That way they can puff up their chests and say that they—yes, they—changed the look of football unis…because they knew better than everyone had gone before.
There’s something childish and at once both insecure and arrogant about believing we simply must throw out every single thing that has gone before. Just as it’s narrow-minded and evidence of brain ossification to believe nothing should ever change.
Then again, polarization seems to be the way of world these days. You’re either with me or agin me in my oneness of view. That’s too bad, because common sense rarely resides on the extremes. It lives somewhere in the middle.
—Ricko
I tend to agree with Phillip. No sleeves: no stripes.
Phil’s work and vision here is compelling. His Eagles treatment (thank you for bringing those wings back to the helmet!) really stands out…
link
I think that is the way to go if there are to be compression sleeves.
No stripes
Compression sleeves match the color of the shell
Number fonts and colors, pant and sock colors and stripes and, of course, helmets differentiate the teams.
I still maintain– the lone voice on the prairie–that actually sleeves will return someday. Just you wait. ;)
I do hope that sleeves, at least to the elbow, return to football jerseys. And, for what it’s worth, sleeves
on basketball shirts are OK with me, in part because they allow for color-contrast striping.
Phil. Lions – YES, YES, YES, YES. I could “think” about becoming a Lions fan again if they wore that.
Eagles. Yes.
Jim Vilk
C’mon, Phil…the Aztecs don’t look that bad.
They don’t look that good either.
Oh, they’re not great, but they’re not horrid, either. Good enough to get them on the list with a shortened schedule.
If those jerseys would be put into play, the Seahawks would become #1 in the NFC with out a doubt, those are amazing jerseys, the combination of the Grey and Blue are fantastic!
The Current NFL Helmet Contract with Riddell won’t go away until at the earliest 2014, so we don’t have to worry about those Shutt helmets, Riddell has a deal with the NFL that they have to supply at least 90% of the helmets and have naming rights to everything on the helmets. So don’t worry about how bad those look…
enjoyed all the NFC redesigns. you fixed the entire NFC North: Vikings, Packers, Lions and Bears are all great…i would suggest making Green Bay’s road sleeve stripes match the retro look of the 1960s.
may i offer a redo on your Falcons uni with white pants:
link
better?
the only one i didn’t like: Rams. the helment just doesn’t look right with dark horns…give it a do-over with blue helmet, gold horns
I thought the Vikings & Eagles versions were outstanding. I really liked a lot of them including Buccaneers & the 49ers in even less black.
I don’t know if contrasting compression sleeves are such a good thing, and if it matches the helmet & has the same logo, it does come off as redundant. Don’t really like the Falcons black over red, and the Rams & Seahawks just don’t look quite right. There’s already so many blue & silver teams, the Seahawks need more Kelly green to be more distinct.
Overall, pretty damn good, but I still wonder what’s the point of having compression sleeves acting only like a bicep/tricep glove for show. You figure they’ll come off as uneven when the muscle is flexed.
I LOVE the away Packers set, and both Redskins uniforms.
Out of curiosity, would you recommend having the compression sleeves sold WITH the jersey as a set to the fans? Otherwise there would be a lot of similar jerseys out there (especially away) with only different number colors and fonts.
My thoughts on the Pro Combat suggestions.
I’m not sure I like having the team’s logo on the sleeves (Falcons, Panthers, Cowboys, Saints, Seahawks). What about having the numbers on the sleeves for some teams?
I am a Panthers fan, and I like their current uniforms (including the helmet stripes). I would have preferred a less drastic update. I do like their blue jerseys over their black.
The Bears jerseys should be fixed so that they still have the initials “GSH” on left sleeve which honors George Halas.
I wouldn’t mind if the Lions went with their plain silver throwback helmets full time.
Why does the Vikings road jerseys have the stripes on the shoulders instead of the sleeves? That seems inconsistent.
The logo for the Seahawks seems too big for the helmet. Also, can we made the logos connect on the back of the helmet (not shown)?
The uniform with the yellow jersey for the Rams would probably work better as an alternate roadie (perhaps with blue numbers). Then they would need a blue home jersey.
Syracuse and K State. Quit bringing that up will ya!
Spell check? Got no use for it JTH. I do use punctuation though. And caps sometimes. When I feel like it.
Speaking of Caps, (segway) — yes I know how to spell segue — great game last night. The weather, while not snow, had an impact and I enjoyed it. And the Caps looked great.
And the Caps looked great.
Out at a sushi bar for my wife’s birthday, and they were showing the game on a TV over my shoulder. At one point, must have been in the second period, my wife said, “Is that the outdoor hockey game you mentioned? The team in blue looks nice.” So props to the Pens as well. Whatever faults I might find with their Winter Classic unis, they looked good enough to get a non-hockey-fan watching the game with a rooting interest.
Bravo. The NFL uniforms are great. I agree with the general philosophy behind these, that most teams that have changed their look in the past decade or two looked quite a bit better in the past than they do today. And think about many of the teams that really excite the public these days — Cowboys, Packers, Colts, Giants, Bears, Steelers — I think the fact that these teams look a lot like they did a generation and more ago is a big part of why the whole country cares about them. And some of the other top draws like the Patriots and Eagles might be a bigger deal if in every game they looked like they do when they wear their throwbacks.
I’d love to see the Falcons design with white pants, I think their original 1966 uniforms are still their best.
Love the yellow jerseys on the Rams — might be worth going closer to their early 1950s uniforms.
I would love to see the Ravens incorporate at least a little something to harken back to the Colts. When I was online the other day, this was brought to my attention, I think it’s perfect. I can’t find a name to give credit to, other than “Matt” , and I don’t even know how to post a proper hotlink, but please do yourself a favor and look at this logo concept. It’s a Raven bird that makes a horseshoe.
link
I don’t anyone in Indianapolis would appreciate that. It’s almost as wrong as this: link
Well, personally, I wouldn’t like the Ravens to look like a “purple Colts” as the blogspot poster designed. But as a Baltimore fan, (Orioles and Ravens), it would be nice to see that logo. It certainty evokes a horseshoe, but it is not one. It’s also a different color. The Browns comparison doesn’t work for me, because the Browns never played in Baltimore. Also, why would Cleveland change their historically good look for a computer-generated, 90’s ugly “B” ?
If the team in Indy doesn’t like it, well, they can retire their logo as they should have years ago. Methinks the team in Indy wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if they wanted to press a trademark case either.
The Ravens still don’t have a bonafide identity yet, and their current logo really needs to go.
That was actually intended as a Baltimore Browns uniform, which I did for NCAA ’10 along with a few other “wrong” teams. NY Titans with a Tennessee based uni/logo link , Denver Donkeys link, KC Chefs link Arizona Cards link …couple others.
I was bored.
Too bad Ravens couldn’t work something out with the original logo.
Much more appropriately “Poe-ish”, meaning just a tad “spooky old house” dark.
The current logo looks too much like “Jeremy” in THE SECRET OF NIMH.
link
I would rather the Ravens move in a new direction. The current logos and fonts (Save for the shield. Any thing incorporating Maryland imagery is perfect) are too 90s and the stripe-less pants are bizarre. I would prefer either a faux retro design, maybe a logo-less helmet, or something harkening back to the old AAFC Miami Seahawks who became the original green Colts.
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But anything reminding us that the Colts quit us for Indy should not be allowed. Unless we rename our team Baltimore Unitas. That would be fine by me.
For the Packers jersey, I would prefer the current sleeve stripe design with 3 stripes to be on the undershirt instead of the old 5-stripe design. It always looked a bit cleaner to me.
in re: my NFC pro combat stuff…
first off, i haven’t even begun the AFC, so if anyone has suggestions, then please, i’m all ears — originally these were taking about 3+ hours to do the “home” and then under an hour for the road…but i’ve improved as i’ve gotten more familiar with the template…
as for the template — most of the “nike fakers” use the resart template (found here), and some added the schutt helmet, so i kind of created my own based on what the others had done before me (why completely reinvent the wheel?)
there’s also a bazillion of these things on the interwebs, but they all seem to take the thing in crazy directions (some of which i’ve posted, and if you want to see them i’ll post them again)
i thought, since ricko (and probably others) first proposed using the comp sleeves, this might just be a way to have nike’s takeover of the clothing contract actually improve the current duds…rather than just see how much color and in crazy directions could be created — i have to say, some of the “fakes” are truly works of art — they just don’t belong anywhere near the playing field
anyway…i could fix some of the ones i showed you guys today (i think the falcons in white pants probably would be better — the red pants version was actually one of the first ones i did)…
and as far as liking the “older” style on some teams — you’re damn right i do…maybe some teams should go with a more modern uniform look, but not in my “NFL 2012″…
Try a template of a big 330 lb. lineman for the AFC. You know, one where the numbers disappear on the chest? How come nobody does a presser introducing a new uni on someone shaped like Tony Siragusa? link
I love nearly all those NFL uniform redesigns, especially my Atlanta Falcons. I’ve been yearning for the return of the red helmets for almost 20 years now. The compression shirt idea is excellent.
Not so crazy about the Bucs, though, as I’m really fond of the burnt orange and pewter, one of the few recent redesigns I think looks good. I could live with the return of Bruce and bright orange, but it would be a shame.
Oh, and I appreciate you using the dark jersey/light pants-light jersey/dark pants look- all white and all solid color just looks bizarre to me, always has; maybe, just maybe exceptions could be made for the Browns or Colts but if it was up to me I’d slap orange/brown and blue pants on both of ’em on the road.
Jim nailed the uniform combination for the bowl games with Syracuse-Kansas State at the top of his list. Having attended the game and spending the final five minutes on the field, the two team’s contrasting colors the beauty of their respective colors/designs and the Yankee Stadium atmosphere, with snow banks just off the field of play, was a great scenario. I did like the North Carolina-Tennessee combination as well, but it was a close second.
Okay, I have a quirky mind, no secret there.
But I’m watching the Fox pregame show and they’re talking the Rex Ryan foot fetish business and wondering if such a thing would be a distraction for the Jets.
As opposed to Jimmy Johnson being a spokesperson for Extenze?
—Ricko
That kind of inanity always makes me wonder: Would finding out that kind of thing be a “distraction” in the speaker’s workplace? Like, if someone released emails showing Rupert Murdoch likes to have his wife use a riding crop on him, would all the people at Fox Sports be unable to do their work that week, and there would be dead air on Sunday instead of the games they’re supposed to broadcast?
Could we add…
“…shocked the world”
to the Overused Words & Phrases list?
—Ricko
Green over green??!?!?! BOOOOOO!!!! WTF, Rex?!!?!!?!
The Jets are becoming as stupid as the Mets are. They’ve worn their best uniform combo, green over white, only four times this season; they wore white at home twice (the first of which, the home opener, at night, was inexplicable) and now the all-green Hefty-bag look twice.
W. T. F. ?. !.
The Jets’ monochrome green look is what I like to call ‘fawful’.
the bills almost are the better looking team out there today…
how often in any given season can we say that?
I’ve noticed on today’s NFL schedule that all the games being played are divisional opponents: Chicago-Green Bay, Pittsburgh-Cleveland, etc. Seems like a pretty rare thing to me. Anyone care to look up NFL schedule history?
it seems like they almost planned it that way ;)
You are giving the NFL WAY to much credit.
This was by design to place more significance of divisional races, if they were there (like the ‘Hawks-Rams). This is more like MLB where you have final weekend drama somewhere on the scheds.
Fantastic job overall. But speaking a Giants fan, I would hate, hate, hate any home uniform that didn’t use gray pants. Getting rid of them would ruin the uniform for me.
Sorry for using two posts, but I forgot to put this in the original:
Also, although the blue away Giants mock-up technically looks better than the red, when you win a game like Super Bowl 42 in a particular uniform, you’re not always apt to change it.
In the minority here, but I didn’t much care for the Redskins bringing back the gold pants (and attendant striped socks) this year.
Simple reason. The orginal was such a blatant “We’ve got Lombardi now so we’ll wear a blatant Packer knockoff” that it was so good to see it go when it finally went.
At the time, the white over burgundy at home, etc., was great because it was a look the Redskins could call their own. They were no longer somebody’s East Coast imitation of another far more successful team from the Midwest.
And they did pretty well in those new duds, too, as I recall.
—Ricko
I don’t mind the occasional use of the yellow pants, but I agree that the white over burgundy is the best look for the Skins. With 30 years of use it is itself a classic and still looks sharp.
After starting out on the wrong foot (that Cardinals striping looks way too much like the Buckeyes), you really redeemed yourself with those Falcon unis!
“a bit loud, but without the bumperstickers.” – that describes my ideal uniform.
Panthers should go double blue instead of blue and black. I know the Titans are double blue, but this design is better…let Tennessee change.
Surprised you changed the Cowboys while keeping the Bears and Packers intact. Not complaining, just surprised.
Only thing I’d change about the Saints is putting the Louisiana logo on the sleeves instead of the pants.
Only change for the Giants would be putting the TV numbers on the compression sleeves.
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OK, maybe throw in a logo-less helmet for an alt, too.
I should love that Rams helmet…but I don’t know…something tells me keep the blue helmet. Feel free to put the Stillers in yellow when you do the AFC, though.
Seahawks look great. But, on behalf of all neon green lovers, how about a road uni with neon numbers? That would be more subdued than last year’s alt…a compromise I guess I could live with.
Surprised you didn’t change Washington’s logo.
It may sound as if I’m nitpicking, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like this set. On the whole, I’d wear them all.
I’d love to see the Bengals Pro Combat modeled after Oregon State’s uniform. They’d look like the original Bengals. In fact, here is a quick & dirty version…
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i haven’t done the bengals yet — but i’d imagine something like that could be considered
please, im open to suggestions for the AFC…or changes to the NFC…
as far as mothersunbowlker’s comments, you aint getting more than an eye with neon
and sure, i could have changed the washington team (i’d love to in fact), but the point was to try to keep as much continuity as possible — debated using the spear instead of the native american head, but that would be just as “un-PC” … and i never liked the lombardi “R” … until they change their name, i’ll just stick with what they have
stillers in a yellow lid? maybe…
Feather stripe, then?
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And I agree with Ricko – the yellow pants look good, but aside from the helmet, I wouldn’t change the Gibbs/Theisman unis.
“as far as mothersunbowlker’s comments, you aint getting more than an eye with neon”
Not even when it’s interpreted like this?
link
Or Bengals could use the comp sleeves to go Princeton/Tiger-Cats nuts, maybe…?
link
(from the original UW comp sleeves post).
SO many things that could be done with comp sleeves once the genie’s out of bottle, heaven help us. Remember the spider-webbed skiers from a few years back?
link
—Ricko
Love the tweaks today. Hiatt, your stuff is fun. As you said, some of it probably shouldn’t be considered, but…
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this would be a great Week 17 tradition. After all, Carnival starts in a few days.
Sean, this is my favorite of yours:
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I’ve been thinking for a while that the KC logo needs a yellow outline.
Thanks, guys!
Okay, all you NUMBER-WATCHERS out there….
Some numbers fall out of favor for awhile.
For example, Vikings’ Joe Webb (#14) vs. Lions’ Shaun Hill (#14) right now.
There’s probably a “duh” answer…but when was the last time two 14’s faced one another as opposing NFL quarterbacks?
I’m having a devil of a time thinking of one. Maybe as far back as when Craig Morton was wearing #14 for the Cowboys?
—Ricko
Or maybe Bengals’ Ken Anderson vs. Dan Fouts?
—Ricko
Or Steve Grogan.
By the way, can someone let KGB know they’re wrong?
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Frank Reich wore number 14. Alex Van Pelt wore number 10.
And that missed FG was not an “easy” one. A 47-yarder is no chip shot.
Does that give us Neil O’Donnell vs. Frank Reich in the 1992 playoffs?
On a related note, how odd would it look if Vikings had kept Webb at WR a bit longer, assigned him a number in the 80s…and he was still wearing it today?
Wonder of the NFL would have insisted in a number change under such unforeseen circumstances.
—Ricko
Any chance Brian Griese and Neil O’Donnell faced each other in a game?
I absolutely love the more realistic pro combat adaptations. Look way better than the clownish ones that came out earlier. The NFL would be an aesthetically more pleasing place if it looked like those. Great job.
mothersunbowlker~
nice job, i know it was tough with some teams breaking out their worst. the only thing i really see glaring is ksate-cuse at the top, because kstate always looks like crap, even though cuse looked gret, and unc-ut could easily slide up to 1.gt-af was a solid 2, navy-sdsu i can see at 3. i know everybody is going to think this is crazy, but a lot of times, for me at least, it is more then just the individual teams, and the higher the contrast the better sometimes. so i would offer up a controversial usf-clemson. sure the purple pants are not their best look, but you have to admit they own orange-purple, and the contrast on that game was awesome, that could have cracked the top 5(for me). i also didn’t mind ucf-uga. sure that wraparound stripe on ucf is awful ,but overall, it was a pretty game, but i can live with your Aou-troy just for the bobcats, as long as kstate got the boot. but hey, that’s me, purple and grey is almost as bad as purple and black. you will have a lot more to work with for the second round of 5-1 bowls. again, that was a good job, just my 2 cents.
I don’t have a problem with Clemson’s purple and orange. That game is part of the final 17, so you may or may not see it in the final list.
Not sure anyone else besides a Tech fan would put their game at #2, Robert…
troy on their own has no business either, zero. but in a red-green game against the bobcat, fine, it makes it i guess, or at least i won’t argue. the air force uni is super, and i think the ramblin wreck is underrated, but GT only makes it because of air force presence do they have a chance. sure there is to much bell and whistle, but they are still purdy nice, and 2, 4 it’s all the same. you had slim pickins for the first batch, GT-AF wouldn’t crack the top 5 if you looked at all bowls. as for clemson-usf, neither individually was stellar that day, but together they made for a very interesting high contrast game on a sunny day which made it all pop that much more. i know most people wouldn’t agree with me, but i really don’t care either. final 17? out of 17 right? good one jim. you can make arguments for or against anything, it’s all subjective i dig, just giving my argument for the tigers this week. for instance i too think sdsu looks pretty good, but that navy uni is a dog. syracuse looked great but kstate was a dog. really the only strong game was unc-ut, which is why i was arguing for usf-clem in a rough “week”, that could have been 1 and 5 not 5 and 1.
FYI rpm, Your two cents is wrong.
no it’s not, it’s my 2 cents on a subjective argument. doesn’t mean you have to agree, but does not mean i am “wrong” either”. you are just mad because i think k-state looked like crap and had no business even smelling the backside of a 5 and 1.
well, there was that and the fact that the ref’s totally screwed k-state out of at least a legit shot at overtime
and k-state’s unis do not suck, not in the least — they are far superior to that shitmess GT thinks is poppin’
k-state was robbed of nothing! THE was flagged 3 times against michigan for the similar. will the ref’s flag it? maybe, but why take the chance? k-state got what they deserved, a penalty, throw the ball at the ref and jump into a lineman’s arms, i’ll still see you. do people do worse? sure, but they still got caught lookin at me, oh well. i have a feeling next year there will be some new ref guidelines to make sure others are flagged more often. but as much as it was too bad, they got the just flag, note to receiver, don’t be such a receiver. and k state does not look good, especially when you consider the helmet. that ksu wildcat is the weakest of all college mascots on a helmet, puuuh-lease. it’s all about the helmet in college football, it seems to be the one constant for a team, and in that respect, and the white at home(which ,matches the band, tech rules). not to mention the game aesthetic which tech dominates by running the ballet that is the option. horchata.
THE was flagged for their nike seig heil…k-state for saluting the troops
were they both dumbass, look-at-moi moves?
sure as shit
but the ref’s totally took the game out of the players’ hands with that cocksucking call at that point in time — they should WARN the players aforehand that sort of thing will draw fitteen
now, if they were warned, bring it…but i doubt they were
still, it wasn’t like the catcher was making a big ole “O” with his nike gloves
then every look at me flag is a crap game interference, let the players do whatever. my arse they ere not warned, did they not watch games this year? i don’t know for sure, but i would not have doubt that was a big ten crew, and if it was, they were warned by their presence, because the big ten does not put up with crap. and as someone who has been a ref, how do you know that player wasn’t quietly warned ,i bet he was at some point, and he ignored it. dimes to donuts he was warned about behavior. bottom line he did it, he was flagged. was it marginal, maybe, but he did what he did, and the wildcat payed the price, oh well, don’t be a dirtbag.
and why is it worse in nike gloves? why is that worse? because the players played along? a penalty is a penalty.
For what it’s worth, this year’s Pro Combat bowl experiment has thus far been inoffensive and in keeping with the teams regular uniforms. TCU actually looked rather nice last night. But it has exposed the real flaw in the “stripes on the undersleeve” theory:
A lot of players aren’t wearing their full compression sleeves. The Florida uniforms looked fine yesterday, but I barely noticed the orange undersleeves, in large part because so few players bothered to wear them. If a team went to this full time without corresponding NFL uniform legislation, you’d wind up with the problem we had 10-12 years ago, some players with sleeve stripes and some without.
Back then a lot of players had half stripes, the lower part of their sleeves gone. This was corrected by moving the stripes up the sleeve to where they are now. I know it happened to the Lions, for one team, in 1999.
Speaking of the Lions, I wish they’d bring those blue pants with the silver and white stripes from 1997.
All these unis are really plain and boring….They all look the same, one color jersey with white lettering. The only one thats unique is the Rams.
and your contribution to this effort is………where?
See widespread use of anything BUT white numbers on dark jerseys currently in the NFL, do you? A few silvers and golds, but otherwise white.
That’s on account of the idea being they should be legible from the stands and on TV (although some of the current fonts are a tad off on that).
—Ricko
My point was that I could described the jerseys in a compound sentence, they are very basic.
didn’t read yours before i posted my own but i agree 100%. how boring would the NFL be if they all just traded colors with the same uniform designs?? oh wait, we did.. back in the 70s and 80s
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What’s going with Wayne’s side panel? I know it has to be something with light or moisture, but it just looks weird.
Does anyone know Andy Reid’s hat has gold trim on the Eagle’s emblem as opposed to silver?
Rams-Seahawks tonight.
Sorta the NFL’s D-II Championship, isn’t it.
—Ricko
Are the bumps and ridges and cut-outs on all the newfangled helmets things that improve safety or for aesthetic reasons only?
100% corporate branding. Because god forbid if you can’t instantly tell the Schutt Ion II from the Riddell Revolution Speed.
Did the Eagles throw back green uni make only one appearance? If that’s the case, that would be a shame.
The plan was for it only to be worn in Week 1. I suspect it will stay in Philly’s uni set for next year, however.
For the most part those pro combat uni’s look ok. I would like to see more of the color tops and color bottoms. The Cowboys look was totally off. If the road unis had the current scheme of the Thanksgiving double star look or the dark blue jersey would look better. Jim, what is wrong with SMU with the black jerseys. It was awesome to see. I guess im in the minority, I love when teams wear black on black.
If it was a school color, it would have been cool.
But it isn’t.
So it wasn’t.
See, Phil? It isn’t just Oregon…
So whats wrong with color on color. The only team I don’t want to see color on color is the Oklahoma Sooners. Thats the best look in college football.
Color on color can work in some instances. I love this, for example:
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Well it was a great look. Kinda wish TCU would have come out in the Purple on Purple.
I really wanted to see TCU in this:
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Yeah, there’s black there, but it’s not the predominant color.
Pair that with what Wisconsin wore, and that would have been a contender for the final #1.
ugh…solid black or solid purple is better than that mess…
not that i wanted to see the toy combat jim morrison pants, but it’s almost impossible to pair black and purple and have it look good…and that tcu shade of purple particularly sucks
So apparently, St. Louis Rams SS James Butler is paying tribute to Antoine Winfield by wearing all-white socks.
anyone besides me really like the rams in all white…that is, as long as they’re going to wear vegas gold instead of athletic gold…
just looks like an actual NFL team compared to the seabirds
With the white long sleeves, pretty good. Don’t like them with the players wearing blue long sleeves, however.
Does the NFL (or MLB, for that matter – I know no white long sleeves for pitchers) have any protocol on under-shirt sleeve colors? (I remember the old 1990 Bills spiderman looking sleeves and how bad those were, but hadn’t really ever thought cold weather sleeves.)
I think their white jersey with gold pants is one of the very best looks in the league, so I’ll always vote for that. Also think the trad striping on the white pants doesn’t match well with the more modern striping on the white jersey.
Yes, they look better than the Seahawks, but they don’t look their best.
i totally agree that the white over gold is a great look — but the vegas gold sucks
i mean…which looks better?
this…or this?
i think they both look better than white over white, but the all white is still a nice, clean look
I actually like the Vegas gold for the Rams. Works for me.
I like all three.
Don’t think I’d want white over white if they still wore the yellow, however.
Never been a fan of the jersey and the pants being the same color.
My wife was just commenting on the Rams’ look. She digs the white over white. So yes, there is someone besides you.
She also mentioned that she thinks the Seahawks look like crap because they appear to be wearing unitards.
I’m with Paul. The Vegas gold for the Rams works for me but the striping on the white (and blue) pants just looks out of place.
I hated their redesigned unis when they debuted, but they quickly grew on me. (I actually have a white Kurt Warner jersey lying around somewhere.)
I do hope they keep wearing the throwbacks a couple times a year, though.
Today there were a lot of near perfect color contrast games – Steelers/Browns; Skins/G-men; Falcons/Panthers; Packers/Bears. The Saints and Bucs in the dim Superdome was a bit hard on the eyes.
On the topic of the Nike Pro Combat uniforms, the fake Pro Combat Lions jersey was shown on the video screen at Ford Field twice during the Lions-Vikings game.
Would it have been to hard to add a watermark on these or a disclaimer that says they aren’t real?
I have already seen one of these prototypes on a message board claiming that it is the new design.
Don’t get pissy when people start posting these exact pics in the comments section
Something like link?
perez hilton approves
Would help a bit.
yawn, boring, repetitive… and yawn. same uniforms just different colors and logos…
They had Big Ten officials in the Tenn-UNC game and they had a lot worse td celebrations with no penalties called for excessive celebration. The reality is the NCAA has made an ambiguous “anything that draws attention to yourself” rule and in so doing have brought attention to themselves for having an ambiguous rule that is to open to interpretation by officials. What the NCAA needs is to create a set of guidelines that says do “this” get penalized and if you do “that” your perfectly ok to be a robot and not celebrate a momentous occasion on a football field. They just need a concrete yes and no list of what’s ok and then the refs need to be consistent in enforcing it.
These NFL combat mock ups are absolutely beautiful … incredible work. Well done. Thank you. I would love to see every one of these on the field.
This is great of you. You have better designs that I have never seen and you look to know your stuff as well.
Not a fan of the Eagle’s edits…please, keep the Midnight Green. Bring the kelly as an alt.
Orange Bowl Breakdown:
Mascot Edge: Hokies v Cardinal
Ok so this is kind of a weird one. Nobody really knows what a Hokie is although they have a strange bird as the personification of a Hokie. Cardinal is essentially a color but they’re represented by a tree. Birds nest in trees therefore the Cardinal tree owns the Hokie bird. Advantage Stanford
uni edge: Frankly both teams look great. I like the orange helmet. I like Stanfords look better.
Haven’t read the other comments about the pro combat tweaks, but while some of them are pretty good, most are bad. My biggest complain was the actual jersey on most teams. To much focus was put on the comp sleeves, socks, colors, etc. and not enough on the actual jersey itself. Most of the jerseys were bland and boring and looked like the “replica” jerseys you find at wal-mart. Fix that and most of these would probably be a lot better.
And one last thing, I love throwbacks but I am not a big believer in the “throwbacks fix everything” philosophy. Throwbacks may be the best idea in sports and the coolest thing to see on a team, every once in awhile. If teams wore them every game, they would lose the magic that makes the throwback so awesome!! With exception to the Rams, Bucs, and 49ers, most teams should stick with their modern uni looks. Although as a Skins’ fan, I’d like to see a throwback/fauxback “Spear” uni!