infrared41's Best and Worst - 2019 NFL Week One

[infrared41]

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. It's another season of the best and worst in weekly NFL uniform match ups. Before we get started, let me explain right off the bat that, in my humble opinion,  "a good color match up" does not always make for a good uniform match up. I decide the lists solely on which games I think looked the best and which games looked the worst. I have no "rules" or "formula" that I use to rank the games. It's all simply a matter of what I liked the best or disliked the most. There will be times where something like sunshine will make a difference, but it's not a hard and fast rule. As always, your opinion (including the idea that nice colors make for a good match up) may differ from mine and that's perfectly fine. All I ask is that we keep the conversation civil. And with that, let's pull back the curtain and start the show.

 

 

BEST

 

1. Packers - Bears: Two of the very best uniforms in the NFL. What more can you ask for. Already in the running for game of the year. 

 

 

 

2. Washington - Philadelphia: Another great looking game. My guess is right about the time I go all-in of this Eagles look, they'll switch back to the Kelly Green. That's fine. But until then, I like the Eagles home uniform more every season. 

 

 

 

3. Giants - Cowboys: Two more of the best looks in the league. I didn't think I'd like the Giants going to the white pants, but I gotta admit it looks really good. 

 

 

 

4. Chiefs - Jaguars: I might catch some heat for this one. I like the Jags new look. If they had worn socks with some black on them, this game may have moved up a spot or two. A little too much white, but I dig the simplicity. Here's hoping the Chiefs never decide they need to "update." 

 

 

 

5. Rams - Panthers: Glad to see the NFL letting the Rams wear the throwbacks as often as possible. Carolina's look is starting to get a little dated. To fix the problem, simply un-taper all the tapered stuff and turn that uniform into a straight up traditional look. 

 

 

 

Not the worst looking games I've ever seen.

 

1. Steelers - Patriots: Any other week, this one probably finds a spot towards the bottom of the best list, but not this week. The Pats were wearing the best version of their uniform by committee. The Steelers road set is top 10, maybe top 5. 

 

 

2. Colts - Chargers: I liked the Bolts going all white and using the throwback facemask. It wasn't enough to make those absurd shoulder stripes look any better, but it didn't look half bad. The Colts always look great.

 

 

 

3. Finally, for whomever it is that always says "how about some love for the Dolphins", here you go. I thought this game looked OK. The Dolphins in all white is probably the best version of that silly current uniform. Kudos to the Ravens for sticking to the purple over white. 

 

 

 

Worst:

 

1. Bengals - Seahawks: So much potential on both sides. So little of it realized. 

 

 

 

2. Titans - Browns: Full transparency - I like the Browns CR jersey. It's the only thing that kept this disaster from the top spot on the worst list. Here are two teams that had great uniforms and they both decided to ruin those great uniforms. On the Titans, I'll quote my BASS co-host @Still MIGHTY "Our shoulders are swords." And that, folks, says about all that need be said about this Titans look.

 

 

 

That's it for this week. Thanks for dropping by. We'll do it all again next week. 

 

[_DietDrPepper_]

I’d switch the Ravens and Redskins games, the dolphins looked really good especially paired with the ravens purple alts, this game might’ve even been the second best outside of Green Bay-Chicago. The redskins game however wasn’t that good, the skins looked good per usual, but that eagles uniform is just not good, never was

[infrared41]

1 hour ago, BellaSpurs said:

I’d switch the Ravens and Redskins games, the dolphins looked really good especially paired with the ravens purple alts, this game might’ve even been the second best outside of Green Bay-Chicago. The redskins game however wasn’t that good, the skins looked good per usual, but that eagles uniform is just not good, never was

 

Pretty sure the Ravens purple jersey is their primary. The black jersey is the alternate. Oh, and obviously, with the exception of Packers - Bears, I disagree with every point you made. 

[SFGiants58]

I'm surprised Saints-Texas wasn't at the bottom of your list. That was two teams who have much better combos wearing some of their worst options.

[sinistas]

I don't watch much football any more, so color (har har) me surprised to see so many teams doing the all-white thing. So bland.

[-Akronite-]

Hard disagree on Seahawks-Bengals. It's a great matchup in terms of color and you have the Bengals best uniform (can't have white side panels when the uniform is white pointingathead.jpeg) against one of the rare instances where a team pulls off a monochromatic look (debatable but it's grown on me for sure). It's a contender for the top spot IMO.

 

Titans are a bit of a mess and the Browns really just need to go back before the redesign.

 

Steelers/Patriots have a solid matchup in terms of color but the Pats uniforms are very poorly designed.

[infrared41]

1 hour ago, -Akronite- said:

It's a great matchup in terms of color

 

The 5th post in week one. That might be a record.   I'll say it again, my lists are based on good looking uniforms. Period. "Great color match ups" don't make ugly assed uniforms suddenly look good...in my opinion. Both the Bengals and the Seahawks are perfect examples of what trendy looks like well after the trend has ended. In other words, they both look ridiculous. Again, in my opinion. But to each his own. That's why we're here. 

 

Top spot? Seriously? 

[infrared41]

3 hours ago, sinistas said:

I don't watch much football any more, so color (har har) me surprised to see so many teams doing the all-white thing. So bland.

 

Thanks for the input. I don't know what it had to do with the lists, but welcome aboard. 

[leopard88]

13 hours ago, infrared41 said:

 

Pretty sure the Ravens purple jersey is their primary. The black jersey is the alternate.

 

That is correct, sir.

 

18 hours ago, infrared41 said:

Carolina's look is starting to get a little dated. To fix the problem, simply un-taper all the tapered stuff and turn that uniform into a straight up traditional look. 

 

They already did this . . . at least somewhat.  The pants stripes now taper without ending in points and the shoulder stripes look more like traditional shoulder loops on the new jersey template.  Now they just need to do away with the horrible helmet stripes.

 

Oh, yeah . . . welcome back.

[KittSmith_95]

Have to agree with you here for the best of the week, happy Ravens/Phins got a shout-out (IMO, the Contrasting Colour Game Of The Week or CCGOTW) & the one disagreement I have is the Jags/Chiefs.... and here's the game I'd have replaced it with: 



 

[infrared41]

5 minutes ago, KittSmith_95 said:

Have to agree with you here for the best of the week, happy Ravens/Phins got a shout-out (IMO, the Contrasting Colour Game Of The Week or CCGOTW) & the one disagreement I have is the Jags/Chiefs.... and here's the game I'd have replaced it with: 



 

 

The silly striping ruins the Jets new uniform. Other than that, I like it. I'm just so over tapered stripes and pointy stripes and...you get the idea. It's a stripe, not a triangle. 

[AHcreative]

I agree with @KittSmith_95 on the opinion of the Chiefs/Jaguars game. The Chiefs red on white uniform is among the top in the NFL for sure, while I believe the Jags all-white to be one of, if not the, worst. Honestly, I don't care for any of the Jags' uniform combinations, but to each their own. I also agree that the Bills/Jets game should've cracked the Top 5. In the past decade the Jets and Bills have by been among the best updates of any NFL identity (the Vikings did a pretty damn good job as well). 

 

Other than that, I agree with the others in the top 5. If I were to make a list, I would switch around a couple of games but the Packers/Bears would definitely be #1. Oh, and those two at the bottom deserve to be there.

 

Great list. I look forward to Week 2 and beyond. 

[-Akronite-]

4 hours ago, infrared41 said:

 

The 5th post in week one. That might be a record.   I'll say it again, my lists are based on good looking uniforms. Period. "Great color match ups" don't make ugly assed uniforms suddenly look good...in my opinion. Both the Bengals and the Seahawks are perfect examples of what trendy looks like well after the trend has ended. In other words, they both look ridiculous. Again, in my opinion. But to each his own. That's why we're here. 

 

Top spot? Seriously? 

 

Oh I know you don't take the color matchup into account, we've been over it. I just think you're wrong .

 

And yes they are contenders IMO because:

1) I am among the few who loves the Bengals look (other than the side panels).

2) I think the Seahawks are a tweak or two away from having a perfect ID (I like the modern look and it works very well for them/Seattle).

3) Both teams are wearing their best set or close to it.

4) I DO take color into account and that gives them a boost.

 

Going on JUST the goodness of the uniforms themselves, I'd say the Jags, Pats, and Cowboys got too much praise, but ultimately it's all just good fun and I like seeing your thoughts on the week.

 

FTR, I'm not saying that these teams (CIN/SEA) couldn't ALSO look good in more traditional sets, but no need IMO.

[infrared41]

1 hour ago, -Akronite- said:

 

Oh I know you don't take the color matchup into account, we've been over it. I just think you're wrong .

 

And yes they are contenders IMO because:

1) I am among the few who loves the Bengals look (other than the side panels).

2) I think the Seahawks are a tweak or two away from having a perfect ID (I like the modern look and it works very well for them/Seattle).

3) Both teams are wearing their best set or close to it.

4) I DO take color into account and that gives them a boost.

 

Going on JUST the goodness of the uniforms themselves, I'd say the Jags, Pats, and Cowboys got too much praise, but ultimately it's all just good fun and I like seeing your thoughts on the week.

 

FTR, I'm not saying that these teams (CIN/SEA) couldn't ALSO look good in more traditional sets, but no need IMO.

 

Fair enough. 

[Ark]

Rams vs. Panthers is by far the best of Week 1. It was stunning on TV

 

 

[AnPheitseog]

Honestly? I like where you placed the Bills jets, off both lists.

[Still MIGHTY]

I'd bump up Rams-Panthers over Chiefs-Jags, and maybe even Cowboys-Giants. Those Jaguars unis get zero points when they don't include any teal. Like, teal is your thing. Use it, maybe. And I've never been that in love with the Cowboys unis. They're fine.

 

I already told you my thoughts on-air (Basically a Sports Show, available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spreaker, YouTube, etc.) about Bengals-Seahawks. I agree its pretty damn bad. Seattle with their commitment to monochrome, but for me its the clash of the patterns. The side-panel tiger stripes on the Bengals and the neon green feathers? clefts? of the Seahawks. Just yuck.

 

And also as I said to you and as @SFGiants58 mentioned, I've gotta say I'm disappointed Saints-Texans didn't make the worst list. That all-black Saints combo is just the absolute worst, especially when we know they have those gold pants available and just don't use them. The Superdome can be dark and dreary enough already, why do you add the the black on black on black leotard into the mix? It's just so bad. Pair that against a meh Texans look, and it just all goes down. Saints-Texans would look much better in Houston. 

[MJD7]

Glad to see this is back, this is one of the things I look forward to with the start of a new NFL season. Though I agree with the opinions above about Rams-Panthers being higher (it was a great game to watch on TV, for me at least) and Saints-Texans being on the worst list just for it’s blandness, it’s still nice to see the differing opinions we have. Looking forward to Week 2’s list.

[infrared41]

2 hours ago, MJD7 said:

Glad to see this is back, this is one of the things I look forward to with the start of a new NFL season. 

 

Thanks!