rfraser85

Alternates and uniform changes aren't the problem. It's the sloppiness of the uniforms. I can accept changing uniforms, and some of them are an improvement. But there is no reason teams can't have matching socks or tucked in undershirts. It's about professionalism more than anything else. If your job has a dress code, you should follow it.

There's one jersey I wish that we could have seen debut this year from a team that's not changing jerseys this season. I think the Bengals need to create a version of their white jersey with orange shoulder stripes. The current version doesn't have enough orange to go with the primary helmet, but it looks great with the white helmet. Also, having orange stripes would better match the black jersey and create a potential "modern throwback" look to the 80's Bengals using the white pants with orange stripes and orange socks.

No, but that doesn't mean they'll wear those combos either. That was from GUD, and the graphics artist likes to create all possible combos in advance for in-season use. Also, there will still be players that wear white socks/leggings even if the official uniform release is navy or orange.

Wow. 37 possible combos. This really shows that the white helmet was unnecessary. You can see the logo better on the navy helmets, and the overall combos with white helmets vs. navy helmets are a wash.

One new issue I just thought of: the vents in the helmets. I don't know what they're for, but all of these caps would cover the vents.

That's still a dramatic improvement, and it still looks like a football helmet. If SAFR and Guardian caps have comparable stats, then SAFR would be the way to go.

I've seen those too, but I don't know if there's any room inside the helmets for more padding. Not to mention, those make the aesthetic argument moot.

I think these would be better than the Guardian caps aesthetically, but how do they compare for protection? SAFR caps at least look like football helmets and can have the decals applied. MLB tried to give pitchers external headgear to protect from comebackers, but I only remember one pitcher using it. Function and safety need to be the priorities, of course, but I could see players refusing the caps while voluntary for the look.

The vertical stripes could solve the TV number issue in a way. LSU has the TV numbers where NW stripes normally go, and they were very easy to see. One other thought for solid color sleeves (without TV numbers). They might make more sense with solid color socks being used now because the base of each will match, even if the colors don't.

Yeah, there's nothing I like about that and no excuse. It shouldn't be that hard to tuck the shirts in.

That would help, but the players wanted the sleeves shortened for the same reason they wanted the jerseys tightened, less to grab onto.

I'll try to answer each question individually. Why do sleeve stripes not go around the entire sleeve anymore? Sleeves are so short at this point that a full stripe would get cut off at the armpit and/or hit the torso of the jersey. Why is everything so flat? Players likely wanted lighter jerseys and more flexibility, so everything is made 2-D to reduce weight and rigidity. Why does everyone, including offensive linemen, have to have their uniforms vacuum-sealed? Tighter jerseys are harder to grab hold of, and the jerseys are lighter. Unfortunately, players have started wearing undershirts longer than the jerseys, possibly to reduce imprints on their skin. These are based what I've read and how I interpret the tailoring.

This may be a stretch of merging modern and classic, but the Lions' new jerseys. I don't think any team has used Mustang style stripes, so it's a new use of a classic design. And it's a tie to the region that doesn't look forced.

Good find. I had forgotten about the Cougars trying to use that color. It's just a shame that the Texans couldn't make better use of the color. I pointed out in another post where to find the new blue on their uniforms, but it's invisible when the jersey is worn. So it's almost like the Texans were told they couldn't use it.

That's how I feel about leggings. If the leggings do have a functional use, and as a bonus would encourage players to not go "yoga pants", I would like them a lot more.