tBBP

Not to be pedantic, but that's the '90 set; they made the switch in 1990, and really took off with it the following season. (Of course, around '96 or '97 they switched to red numbers and socks on the aways, but that's a minor gripe.) But yeah, between the '91 2L2Q squad and the '98 Dirty Birds, I agree THAT'S the look for Atlanta to throw back to.

I don't think I've ever stated it for the record, but that was and still is my favorite of all the many nicknames that have passed thru this process by far. (And also yes, the "Hogs" thing would've been only too appropriate.)

I wonder if there's a poll anywhere that illustrates percentages of what folks think thr new name will be. There used to be a way to do a poll in here, maybe there still is, I don't know--whatever way, I'm still betting what few internet coins I have on either Armada or Admirals.

As much as many of us would like to think otherwise, this is the NFL and specifically Nike we're talking about...I guarantee you they'll say it means something. As some have already said, it may be a foregone conclusion about the shape of "Old DC" (before the Union gave Virginia its land back--and therein lies one tie in, "Fight For Old DC"). Having observed that Nike operates in design cycles, and that right now patterns (and specifically number treatments) are their thing du jour, dang straight they'll come up with something hokey to justify it. Now, stepping back and looking at some concepts of what could be the new aways, between the dot-matrix (diamond-matrix? Yeah--that's probably what they'll call it) patterns on the road stripe and the same pattern in gradient on what looks to be the numbers, it reminds me, however tangentially, of indigenous wampum belt patterns--it totally wouldn't shock me at all if the design team pulled that one out of their collective hat, as well.

And on the subject of Washington Wolves, well...there's this. (Don't know if they're still playing, but it is out there.)

I can see them trying to somehow tie that in to "fight for Old DC", as well. It'll be hokey as all get-out, but I can completely see it.

Looking at the logo on their Twitter announcement--or as much of it as is there--I kinda had the same thought. If true, that would definitely lend itself to the name Armada. I don't know what else an implied "A" could be for, if that's they way they went. Now, pivoting off the speculation angle for a bit, here's some screen grabs I got from the video: Let us all be very glad we're not getting this. I've seen this before. I'm also pretty sure I know who created this. But the fact that it's so blurred out leads me to believe this is either a potential finalist or an alternate logo. Not your typical NFL logo at all--its more of a soccer-style badge--but I really like it for what it is. It seems they really worked this Redtails direction pretty far into it--and I'm guessing the R was inspired in part by the alternate R logo Joe Gibbs used to wear on his hat so often. I believe had they gone this route, I'm pretty sure the big R would've gone on the helmet, while thie shield would have been a patch on the jersey. But the double solid yellow stripes plays off the DC flag very well. And finally... Look all the way over there to the right. They were also working a literal bird angle, as well.

Based off the Twitter video, we can eliminate two of those right off the bat. Common sense would seek to eliminate Presidents, as well. (Like, for real though...who thought that was a good name?) That would leave Armada, Brigade, Redhawks, Commanders, and Defenders. (This assumes that Ms. Snyder wasn't running a misdirection.) I wonder if they may have run into any trademark issues with the XFL DC Defenders. I cannot for the life of me see them going with Armada--but this is Dan Snyder we're talking about here, so...as far as Commanders, *technically* the senior ranking officer is a commander [of troops/forces], regardless of the actual rank; that'd be the only way I could see that working with the stars--but again, the XFL (or was it the AAF?) had a team named Commanders in San Antonio, so...assuming either of those two scenarios posed a problem, that'd strike Defenders and Commanders from the finalists, too, leaving us with Armada, Brigade, and Redhawks. And seeing as how they showed some Redhawks concepts in the video, I doubt that'll be their new name, which leaves just Armada and Brigade--and this potential wildcard of a nickname, Admirals. Now, let's get some of the marketese out of the way early... Honor tradition/the past/yadda yadda yadda Honor/tribute to the fans, the energy, the passion...or something along those lines Not Nikespeak, but that essentially rules out any chance of DC being the location identifier This could be anything...it'd fit best for Defenders, though "Honor the past...embrace the future." Yes, we know... Could be a subtle hint at Armada--but "launch" in and of itself is vague. After all, they're about to "launch" a new identity, just as the XFL2 will "launch" later this spring. And that'd be about the Nikeest thing ever if that comes to fruition--especially if the aways are indeed devoid of yellow gold. As was mentioned earlier, the Navy Yard sits in southeast DC. It's mostly museum exhibits these days; back in the day it was a shipyard & UXO depot and housed some Navy command staff. But last I heard (unrelated to WTF) it's been transforming into an up-and-coming residential zone.

Oh I'm sure, as are we all, the DC flag is the primary inspiration for the three stars...but there is ample opportunity to pull a double entendre on them if they do (did?) it right.

From what I'm seeing, this has all the makings of "piecemeal for piecemeal's sake". That said, until we know for sure how involved the Nike creative team was in this, I'll hold judgment on this. If that 17 is indicative of the rest of the number font, then they already deserve props for not going the unnecessary serifs/opposing corners/hackneyed chopjob route, a la Tennessee. (And speaking of Tennessee, yeah, um, about those three stars on the inside collar there, Washington...yyyeeeeaahh, about that ) I too see some kind of patterned gradient fade on both the white jerseys and the numbers on those jerseys, which leaves me really curious. (I hope they're not trying to pull a SF Giants City Connect jibe with those road jerseys.) And, again, with the road jersey numbers being outlined in black...why? (But then why add black period to an already good colorway? Sales, I guess.) I want to see the pants and socks, which I guess we all will when WTF breaks the internet--and these forums--on 2/2/22. (You think they planned that day on purpose??) I've seen some of those concept logos before--I know the.guy who made one of them, the one that looked like a W in a shield shape. The Redtsils concept logo in the shield shape was an interesting take; it looked more like a soccer crest than a football logo, but I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. But, those helmets...no way around a facepalm on that one. And "one of...the main helmets?" How many helmets they got...three? Sixteen? Guess we'll see. And as for the potentially leaked name...I that's it, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest. That's about the only military-themed nickname that could work with the three stars and actually be half-accurate...the three-star rank is Vice Admiral, and being that the Navy Yard is right there in DC, I'm sure that'd have been their inspiration. If that's indeed it, I wouldn't mind it; in fact, I already kinda like the idea of it.

I mean, I guess...yeah, whatever. But is there a particular reason they wouldn't go with the one-word version versus two? And I get why they'd keep the "Red" if they are, but if there's fire to this smoke, what would've been wrong with simply going with "Wolves"--or would they feel that name "ain't enough"? (Off to the side: would the Minnesota Basketball Team have any legitimate [read: legal] beef with should WTF go ahead with the new rumored name?)

Which serves as something of a full-circle moment for him considering earlier in the season neither he nor GB's kicker could make a FG to save their lives--or a victory. As am I. Having been to Cincy about eleventeen hundred times over the past decade and change, the city and its fans deserve this. I'll be pulling for them to make it in the playoffs (except of course, under one potential scenario...haha). AND, as I correctly opined, they beat the Chiefs to do it, which now means they sow up the division and a playoff spot. (AND, not to be lost in all this...the Snatit now hold the 1 seed! The Snatit now hold the 1 seed! Now all they have to do is to go not get beat by Houston at Houston next week and they keep the 1 seed and home field throughout.) Now someone go check on @Sport's pulse, please...I know he happier than a mug.

That's exactly what it is... Nashville's Civic logo.

Well unless the NFL plans to host the SB in Lima OH I don't think we'll have to concern ourselves with the first part of that. That said, we WILL now have to be subjected to endless amounts of Big Been slathering from like all the media talking heads, to include the no-doubt "surefire first-ballot HoF talk because SUPERB OWLZ!!!321" and all that...then pine over just how great a career he's had and all the hero worship that'll come with it. (To be sure, though, dude is like in the top 10 of just about every passing category there is...buy serious question: if he had played and accomplished all his individual stats in a place like, say, Cincinnati or Jacksonville, would people still be "convinced" he's a HoFer at all, let alone a "surefire first-ballot" HoFer? We all know that black and yellow carries a whole lotta weight in Canton.) It is at this point we cease all discussion and reference to the overly obvious Detroit Screwjob that was SBXL...nope, not gonna go there.

Watch that change inside of the next two years. (May not be a current major-pro team, but some team somewhere s going to. Maybe the new Vegas MLS squad when they [inevitably] get one...)

^And to that point, to quote Chris Berman: "THAT'S...why they play the games!" Meanwhile, down in Jacksonville, it has LITERALLY become a clownshow now...

As a counterpoint...the fact that they ran off eight straight at all is a massive accomplishment in itself...especially when everyone else left them for dead. Secondly, three of the teams on that list actually beat two of the current top three AFC playoff seeds--well, really, two of those teams; one did it twice, the Jets, beating both the Snatit and the Bengals, with Houston also beating, and pretty soundly, the Snatit. (And that right there is the very reason I give the Dolphins a chance in their next game...yes, Mike Vrabel has done some kinda job in keeping that team as competitive as it while losing dang near half the roster to injury over the course of the season, but at the same time, they just have this penchant for playing down and sometimes WAY down to teams they should blow out, and that's why I don't trust them just yet. It already happened twice this season, as previously mentioned.) Whatever the case, we'll see what happens come Sunday. Should be interesting...

I may have remarked on this a few weeks back when we were talking about potential dark horses--at the time, Miami had just ran off five straight. Wellp, here we are, and there they are, presently at 8-7. Now, next week will be pivotal in about a dozen different ways. For one, they get the Snatit in Nashville this coming Sunday, and given that the Snatit have established a penchant for not just wilting, but totally cooking the goose when it comes to pivotal games--especially on their own home field--Miami should feel pretty good about their chances. This may also be a matchup nightmare up front for the Snatit if they don't get that OL together...Miami's DLs can and just might tee off on Ryan Tannehill all day. Thankfully, the equalizer may actually be Tennessee's defensive backfield, which somehow despite rotating a brigade's worth of bodies back there and now trotting out some guy named Jackrabbit Jenkins, they're still one of the league's better cover units. All the analytical stuff to the side...this one's gonna be ruff as a fan. On the one hand, I'm pulling for Miami to make it to the postseason (and then become the second team no one wants to face, behind Indianapolis), but that would require them beating the Snatit in their house (which as recent history has shown is DEFINITELY doable), and then New England after that (but Miami has had NE's number for a couple years now, so that's probably doable as well)--and plus, im a fan of ol' Tuanigamanuolepola Tagovailoa, so I'd be happy for him. On the other hand, if Tennessee wins, they still hold the 2 spot and then hope that somehow KC loses one or both of their remaining games so that if they win out or end up with the same record as KC, they get the 1 seed. (That said, they'll actually need to do something with that top seed if they get it, and it remains to be seen if they can do it when it really counts.) If Cincinnati doesn't go full DERP mode, I believe they can beat KC. (Shoot, LA almost did...until they remembered that they were, in fact, the Chargers and just "played their position".) I just hope they don't get overanxious about the moment and play so tensed they get boatraced halfway through the first quarter.

Now I REALLY feel old...

I'm not sure how old you are, so you may or may not remember this, but the Chiefs were actually one of the AFC's better teams through most of the 90s--basically the Chargers of that decade, and like the Chargers of the 2000s, the Chiefs were also about the most one-and-donest team ever, dang near guaranteed to go 13-3 or 14-2 in the regular season, dang near guaranteed to get bounced in the first round. (Probably not much of a coincidence then that the two teams were coached by the same guy: Marty Schottenheimer.) Anyway, I say all that because even back then, the Chiefs were one of those teams that unless you lived in KC, you were completely indifferent about--nothing to write home about, but nothing to hate about them either; they were just "there". It's much the same way with the Colts these days...good luck finding a Colts fan outside Indiana unless they're either from there or have some tie to Indiana. Because of that, I actually grew to like both teams, once I spent enough time around both towns (one of which I lived in for four years). I say all that because I've seen the arc the Chiefs have taken over the past three decades (dang I'm getting old!): from regular season Champs and one-and-dones in the 90s to absolute butt in the 2000s and early 2010s to slowly picking up steam to drafting Mahomes to where they are now. I've also, unfortunately, seen how the fanbase has fluctuated--not the ones in and of KC, but all the recent frontrunner bandwagoners that have popped up in the past four years, acting like they've been Chiefs fans their whole lives. That right there will draw the ire and angst of many fans of the sport (like myself) more so than the team on the field sometimes. (I also observed this about the Saints and the bandwagon fans they gained shortly after Drew Brees and Sean Payton got there in '06...and from having grown up three hours east of NO I can GUARANTEE you not a single Saints fan existed outside of the New Orleans area prior to that unless they either had a tie to NO or was from there.

America can thank the Chargers for reverting back to the Charger-esque ways and Chargering away the game in a way only the Chargers can...or said another way, "Chargers gonna Charger." Speaking of KC, they get the Steelers next week in Arrowhead. Now this can go one of two ways: either the Steelers defensive line can decide they're great and beat the mess out of Patrick Mahomes--which they'll need to since apparently scoring first-half touchdowns is illegal in the Steelers organization--or the Chiefs can come out firing, open enough holes for their RBs to gash through, and if KC keeps their foot mashed to the gas, the Steelers will get boatraced all the way back to Pittsburgh. Look, I like Buffalo. But at this point, people need to quit picking them to win the big ones. They're not near as solid this season as last, and quite frankly I don't trust in their ability to break through when it matters--that is, unless they somehow meet and Buffalo copies the blueprint Indy just laid on the Patriots. Speaking of the Colts, could someone nominate...them?? (Especially if the Snatit go full Snatit the next two weeks...and with their next game coming against SF in Nashville, that's a very real possibility. Though, with all the injuries they've been ravaged with, they might get only the slightest bit of a pass. But not really.)

One other thing that came out of that game was this: because the Patriots lost, currently occupying the AFC 1 seed--at least for the next five hours--is the Snatit. Win today, and they go up 2 1/2 games on the Colts (though technically they can't clinch the division just yet), and because they swept the season on them and beat the Chiefs earlier this season, Tennessee would hold the tiebreaker advantage over them for the time being. And considering that #1 seed would come with a first round bye, that would be absolutely And games like today illustrate precisely why they are the Snatit. Now true, they are straight up DECIMATED by injuries at just about every position (and they just lost 6 more players for today's game), so by just about any qualitative measure no one should be too mad if they get pasted today in Pittsburgh. BUT...with as butt as Pittsburgh has looked all season long, if ever there were a game for Tennessee to actually prove itself as a truly top-tier team, today is the day. BUT...a/ Tennessee ain't beat Pittsburgh since 2013 (which some Steelerheads have taken to calling the "curse of stomping on the towel", which I ain't even finna get into); b/ the game is in Pittsburgh, c/ that aforementioned injury situation, and d/ the refs wear black and [throw] yellow, so...you know. EDIT: And as I type this, the cameras caught the Snatit gathering on the Steelers' midfield logo....that ain't gonna go over well. Did they not learn from when they did that in Baltimore? All that said, I'm gonna go ahead and call it: I don't trust Tennessee; they're gonna get pasted in Pittsburgh today. They're welcome to prove me wrong, but I don't see it happening.

What this thread's about to become...

Pump the praise brakes there for a minute--according to "sources" (because we all know folk can simply say "sources" in this business and get away with it), your boy Pederson has his eyes on another position in the NFC North...

I must be the one person on Earth who prefers the Robopenguin over the skating penguin... ...Don't @ me.