NFL Changes 2014+

[Ted Cunningham]

Madden 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

In action, this still looks like the Buccaneers. Red blob on a pewter helmet, red over pewter, etc. I understand that we now all have HD TVs and it's not 1968 anymore, so the ugly details will be more apparent on close-up shots. But my thinking is thus: The Buccaneers still look like how they used to look in a general sense. They're still red over pewter (with the exception of the sad addition of pewter shoulders; what's that about?). So while it's a downgrade in detailing (I mean really, what an awful "update" for that logo [from a logo to an illustration] and the numbers are the worst in the NFL), I don't think this is anywhere near as much of a downgrade as the Bills, for example, going from a bold red, white, and blue team in 2001 to a drab and over-complicated navy team with some red, blue, silver, white and whatever else.

Making orange a tertiary color (instead of a very small outline number), adding several shades of silver, and adding a chrome facemask are on par with what the Bills did to their color scheme.

I agree that they've added too many small details, but again, they haven't really changed the basic color combination and the way it's arranged. It's still red shirts over pewter pants. The Bills went from blue over white with a good bit of red to all navy with details in those other colors. Even though the helmet was essentially the same, the complete addition of another color, and then using the color as the primary for the shirt and pants totally overpowered the red helmet. Again, the overall feel of the Buccaneers hasn't really changed that much.

My argument is not that this was a good idea or even an lateral move. It's not. It's most certainly a downgrade. But it's not the worst in the history of the NFL by a wide margin.

[SoxSteeler]

I hated the warriors name when floated as a replacement years ago but have really come around to it as of late. I think it would work well and honor all parties. Would it be acceptable if they were to become the warriors to use the old spear logo and throwbacks that went with it? Just get rid of the name and the Indian logo?

[wonderbread]

They dont need to get rid of the Native American logo though. It shows native Americans in a very dignified manner, it's just the name that's a racial slur and needs to be changed.

[Mitch B]

I've been a huge supporter of one of two names that could provide a compromise between a rightfully mad public and an owner with sole control of his team's decision...

A name that honors Native Americans and has express permission from the necessary parties involved.

Two options.

Washington Red Clouds or Washington Potomacs.

The Red Clouds article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-washington-red-clouds-a-team-name-to-honor-a-great-warrior-and-leader/2013/11/01/292f20c4-40e3-11e3-a624-41d661b0bb78_story.html

I like the Red Clouds idea.

[WSU151]

I know people on here wish the Redskins would go to that spear look...but why go back to a look that is now pretty much owned by a successful college team? Stick with the Indian head (which is not offensive), or come up with new logos. Even the throwback Indian head is far superior than the spear. Having a spear that is incredibly similar to Florida State is a non-starter, IMO. Don't forget the Chiefs already use an arrowhead, too.

Warriors wouldn't be bad. Tomahawks (as mocked up in the Concept section) is pretty good.

Red Clouds is too college, plus the NFL isn't big on two-word nicknames.

[BJ Sands]

Did the Chargers change the lettering on the home jerseys? If so, is this old news?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BtPpVOwCAAAswfx.jpg

[phutmasterflex]

Did the Chargers change the lettering on the home jerseys? If so, is this old news?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BtPpVOwCAAAswfx.jpg

Sometimes these photoshopped images for the online store are not accurate. I'd just wait to see the real jerseys in action first

[WSU151]

Probably a custom editing file from 2012, when the Chargers had the white letters.

[Red Wine Pirate]

How much longer are the Jaguars under league rules to keep the current muli-colored helmet?

[guest23]

How much longer are the Jaguars under league rules to keep the current muli-colored helmet?

Some believe 4 more seasons but as others have noted the 5 year rule is not set in stone nor is it legally binding. A waiver could easily be granted any offseason depending on how willing the league is to accept a change request. Also paying a waiver-expedite fee of some sorts could likely enact change much faster.

Big business makes these types of exceptions all the time .

[Red Wine Pirate]

How much longer are the Jaguars under league rules to keep the current muli-colored helmet?

Some believe 4 more seasons but as others have noted the 5 year rule is not set in stone nor is it legally binding. A waiver could easily be granted any offseason depending on how willing the league is to accept a change request. Also paying a waiver-expedite fee of some sorts could likely enact change much faster.

Big business makes these types of exceptions all the time .

I believe an all gold or all black helmet would greatly upgrade their current look.

As for my Bucs, I still holding judgement until I see them in preseason.

[oldschoolvikings]

How much longer are the Jaguars under league rules to keep the current muli-colored helmet?

Some believe 4 more seasons but as others have noted the 5 year rule is not set in stone nor is it legally binding. A waiver could easily be granted any offseason depending on how willing the league is to accept a change request. Also paying a waiver-expedite fee of some sorts could likely enact change much faster.

Big business makes these types of exceptions all the time .

The Jags only spent 4 years ('09 to '12) in their previous uniform, so who knows the status of this "rule" anyway.

I can think of quite a few other minor uniform changes that happened with teams within a five year window, also. (Off the top of my head, the Rams fiddled with their current look a few times... number font, side panels... in the first couple years they wore it.) So if "minor adjustments" are OK, you just have to define what is or isn't minor.

But what makes you think they feel any need to change it? Don't get me wrong, I hate it, too, but is there any indication that the Jags are feeling pressure from their fanbase to dump it? They aren't going to do it out of a sense of good taste. Obviously, if they had good taste they wouldn't have done it to begin with.

[wonderbread]

In the rams case they are able to make minor adjustments before the 5 year waiting period. Now why the jags changed after 4 years is because they got a special exemption fo change because of the Nike deal. Now when it come to the helmet they could probably change it and be considered a minor change, but I dont know for sure.

[BRice16]

I hated the warriors name when floated as a replacement years ago but have really come around to it as of late. I think it would work well and honor all parties. Would it be acceptable if they were to become the warriors to use the old spear logo and throwbacks that went with it? Just get rid of the name and the Indian logo?

I've advocated this for years.

[guest23]

How much longer are the Jaguars under league rules to keep the current muli-colored helmet?

Some believe 4 more seasons but as others have noted the 5 year rule is not set in stone nor is it legally binding. A waiver could easily be granted any offseason depending on how willing the league is to accept a change request. Also paying a waiver-expedite fee of some sorts could likely enact change much faster.

Big business makes these types of exceptions all the time .

The Jags only spent 4 years ('09 to '12) in their previous uniform, so who knows the status of this "rule" anyway.

I can think of quite a few other minor uniform changes that happened with teams within a five year window, also. (Off the top of my head, the Rams fiddled with their current look a few times... number font, side panels... in the first couple years they wore it.) So if "minor adjustments" are OK, you just have to define what is or isn't minor.

But what makes you think they feel any need to change it? Don't get me wrong, I hate it, too, but is there any indication that the Jags are feeling pressure from their fanbase to dump it? They aren't going to do it out of a sense of good taste. Obviously, if they had good taste they wouldn't have done it to begin with.

In my opinion the two tone really deviates from the rest of the league's helmets and given the league's tight fist on their graphic branding around helmets, a half gold/half black helmet just looks amateurish and out of place. Given all of the college concepts that have come out over the last few years years there has to be quite a few modern takes on a pro football helmet that utilize a base shell color that could also look ultra modern to fit Khan's test. The current helmet looks like a teenagers garage early experiment with Krylon.

[oldschoolvikings]

How much longer are the Jaguars under league rules to keep the current muli-colored helmet?

Some believe 4 more seasons but as others have noted the 5 year rule is not set in stone nor is it legally binding. A waiver could easily be granted any offseason depending on how willing the league is to accept a change request. Also paying a waiver-expedite fee of some sorts could likely enact change much faster.

Big business makes these types of exceptions all the time .

The Jags only spent 4 years ('09 to '12) in their previous uniform, so who knows the status of this "rule" anyway.

I can think of quite a few other minor uniform changes that happened with teams within a five year window, also. (Off the top of my head, the Rams fiddled with their current look a few times... number font, side panels... in the first couple years they wore it.) So if "minor adjustments" are OK, you just have to define what is or isn't minor.

But what makes you think they feel any need to change it? Don't get me wrong, I hate it, too, but is there any indication that the Jags are feeling pressure from their fanbase to dump it? They aren't going to do it out of a sense of good taste. Obviously, if they had good taste they wouldn't have done it to begin with.

In my opinion the two tone really deviates from the rest of the league's helmets and given the league's tight fist on their graphic branding around helmets, a half gold/half black helmet just looks amateurish and out of place. Given all of the college concepts that have come out over the last few years years there has to be quite a few modern takes on a pro football helmet that utilize a base shell color that could also look ultra modern to fit Khan's test. The current helmet looks like a teenagers garage early experiment with Krylon.

I agree, obviously, but my point has always been that the NFL and the teams put an amazing amount of time and energy into uniform and logo changes, and I can't believe that both the Jags and the league didn't know exactly what this helmet was going to look like, and how it would be received. I think Khan knew how he wanted his team to be perceived, and what kind of reaction he was looking for. And my guess is, he got it. I strongly doubt this helmet is going anywhere. The only thing that might cause a change is a consistent and near unanimous uproar from the average fan of the team itself (in other words, not from us). They wanted everyone to do a double take. They wanted a certain portion of the people seeing it to dislike it. They wanted to be "that team". From that point of view, this ridiculous helmet is a success.

[guest23]

How much longer are the Jaguars under league rules to keep the current muli-colored helmet?

Some believe 4 more seasons but as others have noted the 5 year rule is not set in stone nor is it legally binding. A waiver could easily be granted any offseason depending on how willing the league is to accept a change request. Also paying a waiver-expedite fee of some sorts could likely enact change much faster.

Big business makes these types of exceptions all the time .

The Jags only spent 4 years ('09 to '12) in their previous uniform, so who knows the status of this "rule" anyway.

I can think of quite a few other minor uniform changes that happened with teams within a five year window, also. (Off the top of my head, the Rams fiddled with their current look a few times... number font, side panels... in the first couple years they wore it.) So if "minor adjustments" are OK, you just have to define what is or isn't minor.

But what makes you think they feel any need to change it? Don't get me wrong, I hate it, too, but is there any indication that the Jags are feeling pressure from their fanbase to dump it? They aren't going to do it out of a sense of good taste. Obviously, if they had good taste they wouldn't have done it to begin with.

In my opinion the two tone really deviates from the rest of the league's helmets and given the league's tight fist on their graphic branding around helmets, a half gold/half black helmet just looks amateurish and out of place. Given all of the college concepts that have come out over the last few years years there has to be quite a few modern takes on a pro football helmet that utilize a base shell color that could also look ultra modern to fit Khan's test. The current helmet looks like a teenagers garage early experiment with Krylon.

I agree, obviously, but my point has always been that the NFL and the teams put an amazing amount of time and energy into uniform and logo changes, and I can't believe that both the Jags and the league didn't know exactly what this helmet was going to look like, and how it would be received. I think Khan knew how he wanted his team to be perceived, and what kind of reaction he was looking for. And my guess is, he got it. I strongly doubt this helmet is going anywhere. The only thing that might cause a change is a consistent and near unanimous uproar from the average fan of the team itself (in other words, not from us). They wanted everyone to do a double take. They wanted a certain portion of the people seeing it to dislike it. They wanted to be "that team". From that point of view, this ridiculous helmet is a success.

Well Khan got his moment as being the helmet of the moment, but strangely enough the helmet now looks 5+ years old and was completely one upped by Tampa this year. Love it or not, the Bucs helmet is clearly a better representation of ultramodern in the nfl. The jags are more of a cluttered mashup than a cohesive modern design. So does sacrificing good design and taste for immediate attention for a hot moment pay off? In my opinion it did not as there's likely going to be at least one new modern helmet each year for the foreseeable future and the JAGS design will just be lost and utterly forgettable if it's not already.

[ScubaSteve]

The Jags initially were not going for a two-tone helmet, but a black to gold gradient to represent some sort of shadow (I forget the BS reason they gave). And the rumors were that the two-tone finished product was not exactly what the team was trying to achieve. Whether it was sloppy production or whatever, it wasn't what they intended.

So would it count as an actual 'change' if the Jags release a slightly improved helmet this year that was closer to what they initially wanted?

[wonderbread]

It would be a minor change which is allowed by the league

[TruColor]

The Jags initially were not going for a two-tone helmet, but a black to gold gradient to represent some sort of shadow (I forget the BS reason they gave). And the rumors were that the two-tone finished product was not exactly what the team was trying to achieve. Whether it was sloppy production or whatever, it wasn't what they intended.

So would it count as an actual 'change' if the Jags release a slightly improved helmet this year, that ahieved the initial effect they wanted?

Well, the official helmet graphics show it like this:

...which IMO, looks a heck of a lot better than what is actually worn.