Ranking the NFL Uniforms

It’s time for another edition of Set Apart Sports Uniform Rankings!! If you missed my NHL uniform rankings, check them out right here. But today, it’s the NFL under the microscope. Following are the rankings of the NFL uniforms, according to….me

32-16 revealed today, 15-1 revealed later in the week. Let’s go!

The Seriously Ugly

32. Cleveland – The Browns weren’t that bad, unless they wore the brown pants. But Jimmy Haslem decided to make a change….and was it awful. First, there’s too much brown. The helmet is orange – accentuate that color. Turrible.

31. Tampa Bay – Another recent change that was botched. The numbers? What on earth happened there? It’s supposed to be as if a sword is writing the numbers. Not even close. And too much going on; too many colors, too many little “nuance’s”, too many everything. I do like the enlargement of the logo on the helmet, a la college. But definitely not enough.

30. Jacksonville – Three words. Pick. A. Color. The two-tone helmet is an absolute horrific choice. They should have stayed with black, with the matte finish. But it looks like they ran out of black paint and only had gold left. Terrible. Outside of that, the uniform is nice, but the helmet is SO bad, they fall here.

 

29. Tennessee – I do not like the logo at all. If you have seen the alternate logo, it is much cooler. I CANNOT stand the partial stripes on the helmets. You’ll see this later on as well. Add those to the all powder blue uniforms at home…yuck. When the Titans had the navy home jersey with white pants, it was acceptable…and would be higher on this list. The away jersey is serviceable.

 

28. Miami – I was intrigued when the ownership group announced that they were going to change the logo and the uniforms. Boy, did they miss. First thing that jumped out to me was the white facemasks. Did we take a time machine back to the mid-80’s? C’mon guys. Secondly, the stripes on the helmet and pants are too large. It suffocated out the little orange that they kept. The compliment of the aqua and the orange was perfect before they changed. Now it’s terrible.

 

The Busy and Confused

27. Atlanta – The change to black helmets back in the Jerry Glanville days was a great change. Even when the falcon on the helmet was changed a few years back, it wasn’t too far off from the original. However, the uniform change that came with it was subpar. I just don’t understand all the busyness around the shoulders. Is there a need for 800 different lines and delineations on the uniform? As far as I know there is no meaning behind all the stripes and compartments on the shoulder. Simpler is better.

 

26. Arizona – see above.

 

25. Baltimore – Pick. A. Color. Are you a purple team or a black team? If the main color is purple than change the helmet to purple. If it’s black, then get rid of the purple uniforms. And for the love of all that’s holy, don’t EVER combine the purple and black uniforms. Awful look. Plus, the raven on the helmet looks too cartoonish.

 

24. Carolina – As discussed earlier, if there are going to be stripes on the helmet, they shouldn’t stop halfway up the helmet. Terrible look. The black on black home look is terrible as well. If the helmet is silver, I think silver pants for both home and away would look very cool.

 

23. Cincinnati – The last of the busy looks. Why are they higher than the others? The helmet. I LOVE the helmet. But again, why is there a need for 46 different colors on the uniform? There isn’t a rule that states a team has to incorporate all of the colors of the team on each uniform. The Bengals had it right when they first changed the uniforms back in the early 80’s. Don’t do the black on black ever either. See below in Denver's description about the pants striping.

 

We Tried Too Hard

22. Denver – The transition back to the orange tops at home was a great change for the Broncos. However, the blue pants aren’t a good look. The stripes on the pants get a little crazy for me. I enjoy the distinction between college and the pros in terms of the uniforms. Colleges can try new and different looks, while the NFL is more buttoned up. The stripes on the pants twisting to the front of the pants look very college to me.

 

21. Philadelphia – BFBS. If you haven’t seen or heard of that acronym before, it stands for Black For Black Sake. Why add black for no other reason then its black? It isn't the 90's anymore where black sold everything. Chill. The black jersey for the Eagles is awful. I liked the change to the darker green, but the faux pas with Nike and the color caused issues last year and there have been rumblings that they Eagles may go back to kelly green. That would be awesome.

 

20. Detroit – Another BFBS team. The Hawaiian blue (yes, that’s the color) and silver looks awesome together. Why ruin it by adding black to the uniform and facemask? Stop!

 

19. St. Louis – The Rams are here for two reasons: the blue on blue look they used at home last year. Awful. And for changing from yellow to gold. Their “throwback” uniforms are excellent. Go back to those… PLEASE!!

 

18. Houston – Too. Many. Combinations. Ditch the blood clot look (that’s red on red) pronto.

 

So Close…

17. Minnesota – The Vikings realized the error of their ways after changing from the classic Vikings look to the…I don’t know how to describe their Favre era ugliness. They harkened back to the classic look with a few tweaks. The one that caused them to be this low? The black facemask. Why?!?!?

 

16. Washington – Love the change back to the gold pants for the Redskins. The reason they are this low is the red-skinned Indian on the helmet. They should go back to the spear look.

 

There's the first half. Once again, thanks to Chris Creamer's site for all the photos.

Interested to hear your comments. Tweet me @illini3sc or leave a comment.

Shawn

Free Agent Madness

Yesterday was insanity. Leave it to the NFL to overtake the news at a time when conference tournaments are in full swing preparing for the NCAA Tournament and Spring Training games are being played as we prepare for the 2015 MLB season. It just goes to show you that the NFL truly is king.

There’s been a lot of talk about who has landed where, but let’s take a look at who’s left and where they might go…

1. DeMarco Murray – he’s #1 with a bullet on the available FA list. The Eagles appeared to be swooping in to sign him until they inked Ryan Mathews to a 3 year deal today. That would look as if it puts them out of the running…but you never know what Chip Kelly has up his sleeve. Obviously he can return to Dallas, but I have a strange feeling that Ole’ Jerry is going to put his eggs in the basket of a Texas native who might want out of where he is now – Adrian Peterson. Oakland has a ton of money to spend, but they’re Oakland and most people would say the same goes for Jacksonville. However, with the signing of Julius Thomas, Murray may want to form a core with him and Bortles. They now become intriguing. MY PICK – JAGUARS

2. Terrance Knighton – a pure nose tackle, the big man has interest from quite a few teams. He can return to Denver where he’s played for the last two years. He was drafted by Jacksonville but I don’t see any interest there. However, it does mean he’s played with Jack Del Rio as a coach for his whole career. Does that mean he goes to Oakland? Two other teams to look at are the Bears and the Redskins. Both run 3-4 defenses and are looking for that run-stopping, block-hogging guy in the middle and Pot Roast is just that guy. He’s allegedly visiting with Washington today. The Colts are also interested in him but with the signing of Cole, Gore and possibly Andre Johnson can they fit him in their salary structure? MY PICK – REDSKINS. They have a history of over-paying for free agents and I see this as the case for Knighton.

3. Brian Orakpo – he’s been an outstanding rush linebacker for the Redskins in his career so far but it’s going to be interesting to see if Washington wants him back after his third pectoral injury. They franchised him last year and signed him to a one-year deal, but you have to think the injury bug is a concern for the Redskins. The Titans are interested in him as they are looking for a rush linebacker. The Cardinals are also interested according to NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport. MY PICK – TITANS

4. CJ Spiller – Another player that has been injury prone his whole career, but is shown the door in Buffalo after they traded for LeSean McCoy. The teams interested in him are fascinating because they are all potential playoff contenders. Can Spiller sign with one of them and make a difference? Dallas is interested but I can’t see them having Spiller be their #1 back if they lose Murray. Philadelphia is in the mix, but again, with the signing of Mathews and the interest in Murray, who knows what will happen with the Eagles. Two AFC East teams are also interested. One being the Jets, but that just doesn’t feel right to me. Now the Patriots are really interesting here because they just lost Shane Vereen to the Giants and need another RB to complete their mix that Belichick likes to employ. MY PICK – PATRIOTS

5. Greg Hardy – my final selection has a lot of baggage to deal with should he be signed. He is still on the Commissioner’s Exempt List at this time, but like NFL.com states, with his age and production you know there will be teams interested. They mention a number, six, that might be interested but don’t give out any names. Here are my thoughts:

a. NY Jets – money to spend and could use another DE. Jason Babin is getting up there in age but is an OL and they could use a bookend to Wilkerson.

b. Patriots – Belichick has been known to take on a reclamation project or two (Dillon, Moss, OchoCinco, etc…) and again, with Hardy’s age and production he’d be a great fit in NE.

c. Titans – they’ve got cap room and their DL is nothing to write home about

d. Dallas – looking at their roster, they need a legit pass rusher to help solidify an improved defense. And Jerry is a guy who will take a chance on someone like Hardy.

e. Chicago – they didn’t get the production they would have like from Jared Allen and Hardy could be a nice fit as a rush OLB. After the debacle with Lamarr Houston last year the Bears need a solid pass rusher to put pressure on Rodgers, Stafford and Bridgewater.

f. New Orleans – their roster is being gutted by cap restrictions but they need a good pash rusher in the mix. But this is a LONG shot.

MY PICK - COWBOYS

There you have it. My picks for the best 5 free agents on the market that aren't aligned with just one team. It's been quite a conversation piece the last few days here in Indianapolis. I'm just ready for my Bears to make some more moves..... *ahem - Cutler for Brees*

Oh yeah, in case you didn't see it - the Young Guns took center stage in Mesa yesterday amid all the NFL free agent news. Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant went back-to-back-to-back against the Indians. Oh baby I'm ready for baseball. 

Until next time,

Shawn