GFB

You can tell art direction from management was phenomenal here,  from the obvious "it needs more red" which led to the forth(!) outline being added, and the dubious "can we make this more exciting/energetic?" which resulted in the weird wave warp effect,.

6 hours ago, BBTV said:

I always thought those stripes would work really well for the Lions, as it fits their history, ownership and the general vibe of the city:

3 hours ago, 4_tattoos said:

I like the simplicity of DC United's new jerseys. Solid 9/10 in my book. If the shoulder stripes were red instead of white, I'd give it a perfect score.

 

 

White stripes on black shirts are DC United though.
 

While I agree that this is an exceptional kit, feels like a weird thing to dock them an imaginary point for…

Funny, but I wrote this yesterday in the MLS Kits topic:

On 2/15/2022 at 2:20 PM, GFB said:

9. Seattle Sounders - Green (Look, the Sounders have no business being this low with their brand and color scheme, but it feels like they are running out of ideas at this point and they haven't had a good home kit since 2016. Too much blue on the front of the kit here and the identity doesn't have the same energy it did in the early 2010s with the XBOX sponsor and the "futuristic" Adidas templates)

I think a refocusing of their brand would help, but I don't think looking backwards is the right direction for the Sounders. I'd much prefer them to pull a Juventus and go with something more modern than try to do something historic, but that's just me.

19 minutes ago, LA Fakers+ LA Snippers said:

But he’s 33 years old, and his wife had surgery in 2019. He had been in Detroit for eleven years (drafted in 2008) at that point, and they went 0-2 in the playoffs. How much longer was it going to take? If his wife doesn’t have brain surgery, I doubt he’s in LA right now. He was in no rush to leave Detroit until this year. We heard nothing about him wanting to leave until he left.

Kelly was pregnant and gave birth to their third child in 2018, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2019 and had a lengthy recovery period (where she was treated in the Metro Detroit area), and then they had their fourth and final child in 2020. It's no coincidence that the trade request came after their family situation finally settled down and the Lions were about to embark on a full-blown rebuild after firing the GM and coach that offseason. 

Stafford also nixed a potential trade to Carolina because they weren't in a position to win,

And believe it or not, not everyone is in a rush to leave Detroit, even when they should: see Barry/Calvin. 

1 hour ago, LA Fakers+ LA Snippers said:

The problem with Stafford is that HOF QB’s don’t deal with losing the way he did. HOF QB’s do one of three things:

A ) elevate the play of his teammates [Aaron Rodgers]

B ) leave a situation where they can’t win anymore [Peyton Manning]

C) all of the above [Tom Brady]
 

Stafford did none of those things. He never complained about losing, never hinted at leaving, he just stood pat and padded his stats. He may have been a talented QB, but he’s missing that competitive itch that most Hall-ers have.

Stafford asked for a trade to leave a bad situation and won the Super Bowl... If that's not (B), I don't know what is.  He also may have asked for a trade earlier had his wife not needed/recovered from brain surgery over the last few seasons.

6 hours ago, BBTV said:

As for the Romo/Big Ben tier, lol - how is there any universe in which Romo and Big Ben are in the same tier?  A 2-time SB champion that played for nearly 20 years and was nearly-impossible to bring down vs a guy who didn't play half that long and choked every time he made the playoffs.  Romo had a good career, but he's not in the same tier as Ben.

In my opinion, Ben's the most overrated QB of this century.  He was carried by an all time great defense in 2005 (who can forget his QB Rating of 22.6 in Super Bowl XL or that his best play was the tackle of of Nick Harper after the Bettis goal line fumble) and then he took full advantage of the Brady ACL year in 2008 and had a nice run to the Super Bowl.

But since the 2008 Super Bowl, he's been incredibly average.  He lucked his way into another Super Bowl in 2010 by avoiding Brady/Manning in the playoffs, having the AFC gauntlet of home games against the Flacco/Ravens and the Sanchez/Jets before being dispelled by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in the Super Bowl. Big Ben is/was 1-5 in the playoffs vs HOF-caliber QBs (Brady/Manning/Rodgers/Mahomes).

Here's a list of the QBs that the Steelers have lost playoff games with Roethlisberger at the helm:

• David Garrard
• Tim Tebow
• Joe Flacco
• Blake Bortles
• Baker Mayfield

And here's the full list of opposing QBs that the Roethlisberger-Steelers have beat in the playoffs since 2008: 

• Joe Flacco
• Mark Sanchez
• A.J. McCarron
• Matt Moore
• Alex Smith

Big Ben was obviously a very good quarterback, but I think if you put another very good quarterback (the Romo / Stafford / McNabb, Matt Ryan / Philip Rivers tier) in Big Ben's situation, with the same coaching/talent (Antonio Brown, Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, Leveon Bell and the Polamalu/Harrison defense) and in that division, I think you're probably getting the same results, if not better...  

The truth is that Roethlisberger has done just as much stat-padding with a lack of winning over the last 15 years as Romo/McNabb/Stafford/Rivers.

6 hours ago, BBTV said:

If Tony Romo gets in, then Donovan McNabb needs to get in (and he shouldn't either.)  McNabb had 10x the career that Tony Romo had.  And if they get in, then Infrared41, IceCap, me, you, and that troll that doesn't know what things mean and can't argue a point should all get in.

I don't think Romo should get in (though he likely will) and I agree that McNabb would rank higher for me in a vacuum... but there's a different argument between what the HOF bar should be and what the bar actually is.  I'm also ok with letting a higher number of QBs into the Hall of Fame in this era because of the premium on the position and because the level of play is so much higher now than ever before (yes the QBs have more protection now and the rules have shifted in favor of the offense, but defenses weren't running the coverage schemes or had the athletes that modern defenses do).

Lastly, I think Stafford is looked at in a different light if he didn't share a division with (arguably) the most-talented QB of all time in his prime. His three playoff games before this season were wild card games at the Brees/Saints, Romo/Cowboys, and Wilson Seahawks, all losses. If the Packers didn't have the NFC North in a vice grip similar to how the AFC East was held by the Pats or the AFC South by the Colts in the 00s and Stafford was able to get a couple of the Big Ben/Steelers wildcard layups, maybe his perception is a little different and he gets a few more Pro Bowl nods or All Pro consideration. But it's difficult to get those when you're (A) on a lesser team (B) not winning division titles/playoff games and (C) you have QBs like Rodgers/Brees/Wilson regularly cycling through those awards with other guys like Ryan/Romo/McNabb/Newton filling in when they have career years. 

38 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

Here's another question I'll throw into the mix: Would Stafford have similar stats in a different era? For example, I think most of us would agree that Montana, Elway, and Marino would be just as good, if not better, playing today as they were in the 80's. Same deal for Kelly, Aikman, and Favre in the 90's. I think most of us would also agree that Brady, Manning, Brees, and Rodgers would play well in any era. I'm not sure you can say that about Stafford.

Stafford playing in another era would be just as effective as Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Dan Fouts or Sonny Jurgenson.. any QB with a big arm and a penchant for airing the ever-loving crap out of the ball.  Sure, he was helped by having Calvin Johnson or Cooper Kupp like any QB would, but Stafford's numbers actually improved from 2015 (Calvin's last season) to 2016 and he has elevated the play of several receivers like Golden Tate, Nate Burleson, Marvin Jones, and Odell Beckham (think of Odell catching passes from Baker Mayfield a few months ago) who weren't the same players without Stafford. 

QBs go into the Hall of Fame via several different criteria, and longevity is one of them. If Stafford plays for 5 more seasons, he'll likely end up 5th all time in passing yards and I don't see how you can keep him out with numbers like that. Warren Moon only had one second team All-Pro to his name with no playoff success, Tony Romo seems like a good bet to get in next year, and Ben Roethlesberger appears to be a lock for the Hall of Fame despite barely sniffing a Super Bowl and stat-padding for the last decade and almost never being in the best QB discussion.

Stafford is at least in the Romo/Big Ben tier and if this was a different conversation about tightening up the hall so the Eli Mannings or Tony Romos aren't considered or a more strict Hall of Fame like baseball, then that's a different animal entirely. But as things stand I don't know how you could keep him out after another 3-5 years of elite production.

My personal rankings for the new kits thus far:

1. Charlotte FC - Black/Mint  (a true home run that will absolutely outsell the primary kit)

2. Colorado Rapids - Burgundy (perfect example of how to use a tonal pattern - elevates the shirt without being generic or too loud... Light blue name/numbers/shorts put it over the top.)

3. Charlotte FC - Blue/White (even if it's a recolored Arsenal kit, the colors look fantastic with nice collar and cuff detail)

4. Austin FC - Mint (Curious choice considering the clash disaster vs the Sounders last year, but thankful it's not white or black and I love the shade  of green)

5. Portland Timbers - Rose (Too loud for my personal tastes, but it's unique and sure to be well received by fans and over-worn)

6. New York Red Bulls - Red (The tonal checkerboard is a nice element that's in the sweet spot of being noticeable yet not overpowering)

7. LA Galaxy - White (Far too white/navy heavy and not enough yellow; quasar collar/cuffs is a better in concept than in execution)

8. NE Revolution - Blue (Was hoping they would take the rebrand as an opportunity to incorporate some character or red elements into the kits and instead we get something even more generic.. yawn.)

9. Seattle Sounders - Green (Look, the Sounders have no business being this low with their brand and color scheme, but it feels like they are running out of ideas at this point and they haven't had a good home kit since 2016. Too much blue on the front of the kit here and the identity doesn't have the same energy it did in the early 2010s with the XBOX sponsor and the "futuristic" Adidas templates)

 10. NE Revolution - White (Not really a new kit and it's just as bland as it was last year, but did they really have to put a white crest on a white shirt? Yuck.) 

5 minutes ago, Digby said:

The Galaxy collar graphic looks like a pearl necklace... not great.

Perfect commentary for the club though 

3 hours ago, YNWA said:

Team President Jason Wright said that per NFL rules " a color from the home or away uniform must be present for it to be used on a 3rd jersey, hence the black trim on the white uniform"

On 2/2/2022 at 2:25 PM, GFB said:

For example, incorporating black into the road uniform may have been a directive from the Washington market research team or it may have been a prerequisite from the NFL saying that if they want an all-black alternate uniform they need black on the primary uniform somewhere... but the blame for executing it the way they did still falls on Nike (and their designers).

I can't say it enough, but there's a difference between something being mandated to you and how you choose to go about solving that issue with design. The Colts were given the same dilemma with their graphite color and chose to make the Nike swoosh grey on the road uniforms... which was not an ideal design solution, but it solved the problem a helluva lot better than just replacing all the gold with black like the Commanders did.

2 hours ago, insert name said:

Not a fan of this trend of

GIANT TEAM NAME ON CHEST IN CASE YOU FORGOT WHO WE AREI

Username does not check out.

Designers may be hamstrung by the client's tastes, whims and desires... but normally there's a way to make the client happy and still do some good design work in there somewhere.

For example, incorporating black into the road uniform may have been a directive from the Washington market research team or it may have been a prerequisite from the NFL saying that if they want an all-black alternate uniform they need black on the primary uniform somewhere... but the blame for executing it the way they did still falls on Nike (and their designers).

3 hours ago, gosioux76 said:

 

The immersive nature of that original helmet was what made it so unique. It would be a huge miss if they end up doing a truncated version of it.

 

Also, I've said this before, but I dislike how they've left the inside of the panther head hollowed out rather than filled in like the original. It comes off, to me, as far less substantial. 

 

 

 

 

I agree with everything that you said @gosioux76

I can't believe an NFL team would steal valor like this:

Quote

And in one of several references to the military, the stripes represent the military concept of "earning one's stripes."

Quote

Washington now has a new font that includes line breaks and indentations in the numbers, which is an assertive stencil that alludes to stylized military fonts. Inside the numbers, there is a perforated diamond texture, which is a nod to the diamond shape of DC's district boundary.

Quote

On the black uniforms, the lines that frame the players' last names on the back mirror the strong, bold lines of the "Commanders" primary logotype. They also feature the logo positioned in an authentic military nametape placement. One sleeve has the DC flag, representing the city. The other sleeve has the crest, showcasing that the Commanders are a team of leaders.

The black uniforms come with another more military reference; there are camo stripes, which were custom designed for the uniform, that represent an ownable DC narrative.

Quote

The "W" on the helmet includes slanted elements, which are inspired by military rank insignia. The numbers are also featured on the back of the helmet.

The black helmets feature the DC flag on the back of the helmet is what was inspired by the "follow-me" stripe on military helmets that was meant to help a group of forces know where their leader was on the battlefield.

https://www.commanders.com/news/4-things-to-know-about-the-washington-commanders-new-uniforms

Also:

Quote

Additionally, the numbers for the away jerseys now include a gradient design, which is the first of its kind in the league.

Of course the NFL, Dan Snyder, and Ron Rivera would go full-Homelander with this identity

9 minutes ago, Digby said:

I like the sash as a link between pre- and post-Beckham LAG brands, and as a hedge against too much Real Madrid cosplay, but using their colors correctly is also generally enough for the Galaxy to look like themselves.

My problem with the sash in general is that very few of the sashes actually look good, especially in the modern club format where it is interrupted by the sponsor box (international teams avoid this problem).  They don't put the sash in team colors,  make the sash overpowering by making it too busy, or the sash throws off the color balance by eliminating the majority of yellow from the identity.

And on the rare occasions that the sash actually looks good, it's let down by modern templates that don't allow the sash to reach the top of the shoulder: 

To me, this is the quintessential Galaxy kit and I like their identity a lot more when they channel Real Madrid than River Plate. 

If they want to do the sash, it needs to be on a yellow kit and not a white one.

2 hours ago, DCarp1231 said:

IMHO, no matter what changes are made to the set, they’ve never had a bad look and have proven how to properly incorporate three different shades of a color into their uniform.

This declaration loses a bit of shine when those three shades are always swapped in and out and never appear together.

@hormone

There’s a 2:1 sabre-to-bison ratio.

30 minutes ago, TaylorMade said:

washingtonadmirals.com now redirects to Virginia Athletics. Pretty much confirms that Admirals is not the new name.

If anything, that looks like trying to put the cat back in the bag more than a false lead.

1 hour ago, FinsUp1214 said:

I’m a little suspicious about it being Admirals because of the reasoning they gave for not using “Red Wolves”; if a name like “Red Wolves” gave them that much legal trouble, I’d have to imagine “Admirals” would too (Milwaukee, Norfolk, etc). I could be totally wrong and they actually did make that work, but who knows.

The NFL probably have some spare trademarks laying around that make using Admirals easier:

Without knowing what specific trademarks the Milwaukee/Norfolk Admirals hold,  I have to imagine it's easier from a trademark perspective to get around them when those teams play a different sport and in a different market (oppose to something like Vegas ran into with the Black Knights trademark owned by the Army).

"Admirals Hockey/Baseball" is never going to be confused for the Washington football team and vice versa, while "Red Wolves Football" or "Black Knights Hockey" could have easily been confused people between WFT and Arkansas State or Army and Vegas. 

If it is indeed Admirals, it’s a fine name. 

The Kansas City and Royals scripts may be my favorite in all of baseball... removing two of them  for a basic arched block is an enormous  downgrade in my book.

The position of the eyes on the new UCF logo are WAY TOO HIGH relative to the perspective (head slightly looking down).... 

I guess the eyes would make sense if the knight wasn't looking down, but then the facemask wouldn't be covering the nose and that would somehow be even dumber. 

EDIT -- couldn't help myself: