NFL 2022 Changes

[Lights Out]

11 hours ago, burgundy said:

 

 

Why The Titans Uniforms Are A Dumpster Fire [Abridged]

 

- Their shoulders are giant swords.

- The alternate logo that the shoulder swords are based on is no longer anywhere to be found on the uniforms.

- The swords add two shades of gray to an already crowded color palette on the jersey.

- There's more gray on the primary jerseys than Columbia blue.

- The Columbia blue pit stains look like an afterthought.

- The numbers are the bastard lovechild of the Bucs' alarm clock numbers and West Virginia's pickaxe numbers.

- The already overly-outlined logo was made worse by putting it on a blue helmet, requiring yet another outline.

- The only use of red on the jersey is to highlight the NIKE logo.

- Their.

- Shoulders.

- Are.

- Giant.

- Swords.

 

 

See, I don't mind the sword stripes. If anything, the sword motif is underutilized. There's no logical reason why it couldn't have been reflected on the helmets and pants as well, which would have made the uniform feel more cohesive, as opposed to the random triangles and wedges they went with. You do make good points about the overall color balance and most of all those horrible pit stains that are awkwardly crammed into the uniform just so the Columbia blue isn't missing in action. What's mind-boggling about the pit stains in particular is that they could have achieved the same thing in a more natural way with contrasting collars and outlines.

 

I made this concept a few years ago when they first unveiled their current uniforms, and I still stand by it as an example of how they could have been done better with just a few more minutes of thought put into their overall design.

 

[burgundy]

8 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

 

See, I don't mind the sword stripes. If anything, the sword motif is underutilized. There's no logical reason why it couldn't have been reflected on the helmets and pants as well, which would have made the uniform feel more cohesive, as opposed to the random triangles and wedges they went with. You do make good points about the overall color balance and most of all those horrible pit stains that are awkwardly crammed into the uniform just so the Columbia blue isn't missing in action.

 

I made this concept a few years ago when they first unveiled their current uniforms, and I still stand by it as an example of how they could have been done better with just a few more minutes of thought put into their overall design.

 

 

That's definitely better than what they have, since it's actually cohesive and has better color balance. I still don't like using the two-tone "realistic" sword though. It's just too busy. Make the sword shapes solid Navy or Columbia, then you're on to something. You get the idea of the sword without being cartoonish and gaudy.

 

[Lights Out]

I prefer the two-tone design for the swords. It reminds me of this classic look in college football:

 

[burgundy]

52 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

I prefer the two-tone design for the swords. It reminds me of this classic look in college football:

 

I've always really liked this look too. I think it works better than the Titans for a few reasons:

- The grays aren't competing for attention with another light color like Columbia blue.

- It uses the sword bevel within a traditional stripe framework. It's creative without being wacky. The gladius/xiphos shape with beveling just makes it too cartoony for me. Maybe a straighter blade shape would look better, but I'm not sure.

 

 

 

On the other end of things, Rutgers has had some nice attempts at using a sword shape without actually being a sword:

 

 

 

I prefer when teams take inspiration from an object, but don't cross into straight up imitating it.

 

[4_tattoos]

2 hours ago, Lights Out said:

I prefer the two-tone design for the swords. It reminds me of this classic look in college football:

First time I've ever heard anybody refer to Troy's uniforms as being a classic lol

[gosioux76]

13 hours ago, burgundy said:

- Their.

- Shoulders.

- Are.

- Giant.

- Swords.

 

 

Yeah, I also don't really think the swords are as terrible as this suggests. Sure, it's a design novelty, but so was the Rams use of horns and the Bengals use of tiger stripes on their respective jersey shoulders. The Titans approach definitely could use some refinement, but I wouldn't think it warrants calling out as some seemingly ridiculous concept. 

[WBeltz]

18 minutes ago, burgundy said:

I've always really liked this look too. I think it works better than the Titans for a few reasons:

- The grays aren't competing for attention with another light color like Columbia blue.

- It uses the sword bevel within a traditional stripe framework. It's creative without being wacky. The gladius/xiphos shape with beveling just makes it too cartoony for me. Maybe a straighter blade shape would look better, but I'm not sure.

 

 

 

On the other end of things, Rutgers has had some nice attempts at using a sword shape without actually being a sword:

 

 

 

I prefer when teams take inspiration from an object, but don't cross into straight up imitating it.

 

Personally. If the Titans wanted to use grey/silver/sword colors, I would not have minded them pulling a Nike era Rutgers and having the brushed chrome helmet if they wanted to do silver/grey. Would it look great? Probably not but the story they try to tell with the uniform would make more sense than the random use of grey swords in the jersey and pants

[Gobbi]

What makes zero sense to me is that the two-tone grey sword theme is consistent throughout each jersey and pant option... only to be swapped out for grey and white on the helmet stripe "sword"

[MJD7]

22 hours ago, gosioux76 said:

 

I think that's fair. Sometimes it seems a uniform gets labeled as a disaster when, in reality, it just fell significantly short of expectations.

 

I think there was a fair amount of hope that the Titans would come up with something that built upon or surpassed the somewhat solid foundation of their prior set. Instead, what they came up with — while short of terrible — didn't measure up to those expectations.

I agree that this seems to be the key of why the Titans redesign was so disappointing. Objectively speaking, I don’t think it’s a terrible uniform either, at worst it’s pretty boring with so much navy and gray. I don’t mind the number font, though, and even the sword motif isn’t anywhere near Bucs alarm-clock-numbers or Jags two-tone-helmet bad.

 

However, It’s pretty impossible to separate the redesign from the knowledge that the Titans could have owned columbia blue. It’s one of my personal favorite colors, and one the Titans could have really made their own. It’s part of why the Chargers redesign was so beloved, that they finally embraced the powder blue (and gold) that made them unique, simplifying down to the core of their brand.

 

Instead, the Titans elevated a boring double-silver that was nowhere to be seen in the previous color palette to essentially secondary colors, and columbia blue is barely visible on either of the primary jerseys. As I said at the start, it’s just disappointing, more than anything.

50 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

 

Yeah, I also don't really think the swords are as terrible as this suggests. Sure, it's a design novelty, but so was the Rams use of horns and the Bengals use of tiger stripes on their respective jersey shoulders. The Titans approach definitely could use some refinement, but I wouldn't think it warrants calling out as some seemingly ridiculous concept. 

I think the reason that the Rams (used to) work along with the Bengals where the Titans don’t is that the Rams and Bengals more directly and obviously represent their mascot, where “Titans” is more of an abstract concept that is difficult to design for, and one that doesn’t seem to be directly tied to swords in the public conscience. For Rutgers it makes more sense, since knights are more directly tied to swords.

 

If the Titans leaned more into a Greek pattern motif, a la Michigan State, I would have probably enjoyed that. That’s part of why I like the number font, since it resembles Greek stenciling. Similarly, if the primary logo truly was originally inspired by Prometheus (the Titan who gave humans fire), that could have been interesting to delve further into as well.

 

In essence, I think there were a lot of directions they could have gone that more clearly referenced the Greek Titans, but instead they embraced “swords,” which is a pretty uninspired choice, to me. 

[gosioux76]

16 minutes ago, MJD7 said:

I think the reason that the Rams (used to) work along with the Bengals where the Titans don’t is that the Rams and Bengals more directly and obviously represent their mascot, where “Titans” is more of an abstract concept that is difficult to design for, and one that doesn’t seem to be directly tied to swords in the public conscience. For Rutgers it makes more sense, since knights are more directly tied to swords.

 

If the Titans leaned more into a Greek pattern motif, a la Michigan State, I would have probably enjoyed that. That’s part of why I like the number font, since it resembles Greek stenciling. Similarly, if the primary logo truly was originally inspired by Prometheus (the Titan who gave humans fire), that could have been interesting to delve further into as well.

 

In essence, I think there were a lot of directions they could have gone that more clearly referenced the Greek Titans, but instead they embraced “swords,” which is a pretty uninspired choice, to me. 

 

These are all really great points, however, I don't think their embrace of the sword is all that misplaced. I mean, their secondary logo since they rebranded as the Titans in '99 has featured a "T" turned into a sword. At the very least, they deserve some credit for building off the brand they'd already created rather than taking the brand in a whole different direction.

 

That said, I'm starting to think that doing just that — going in a whole different direction — probably should have been their strategy from the jump. 

 

Just look at the frustration about not going all-in on Columbia blue. As much as you and others would have liked it, there are good reasons why the Titans would want to avoid it. It seems reasonable that they would want a brand that stands on its own, rather than serve as a reminder of the Oilers, which is how it would be viewed. 

 

At some point, you'd have to think the idea of starting fresh would be appealing. Then again, it doesn't seem like its fanbase seems all that disappointed, which makes most of this -- like any discussion we have here -- academic.  

[dont care]

4 hours ago, Lights Out said:

 

See, I don't mind the sword stripes. If anything, the sword motif is underutilized. There's no logical reason why it couldn't have been reflected on the helmets and pants as well, which would have made the uniform feel more cohesive, as opposed to the random triangles and wedges they went with. You do make good points about the overall color balance and most of all those horrible pit stains that are awkwardly crammed into the uniform just so the Columbia blue isn't missing in action. What's mind-boggling about the pit stains in particular is that they could have achieved the same thing in a more natural way with contrasting collars and outlines.

 

I made this concept a few years ago when they first unveiled their current uniforms, and I still stand by it as an example of how they could have been done better with just a few more minutes of thought put into their overall design.

 

They do use swords on the helmets and pants, they just decided to use 3 different swords for what ever reason. I guess the Titans are the equivalent to “Mall Ninjas” with 2 swords strapped to their back and a third on their belt, because you never know when you’ll encounter 3 enemies at once. But anyways the helmet has a skinny rapier sword. The shoulders have the wide broad sword or a really angular version of a gladius. The pants I guess are suppose to look like the sword is sheathed but I’ve never seen a sword hanging halfway down a dudes thigh and had like 4 inches exposed. That’s the dumbest one by far and should have just gone the Rutgers route.

[MJD7]

29 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

These are all really great points, however, I don't think their embrace of the sword is all that misplaced. I mean, their secondary logo since they rebranded as the Titans in '99 has featured a "T" turned into a sword. At the very least, they deserve some credit for building off the brand they'd already created rather than taking the brand in a whole different direction.

This is fair. My issue is more with the use of the sword inspiration from the beginning, I guess, and then the extension of it with the new redesign only exacerbated it.

30 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

That said, I'm starting to think that doing just that — going in a whole different direction — probably should have been their strategy from the jump. 

 

Just look at the frustration about not going all-in on Columbia blue. As much as you and others would have liked it, there are good reasons why the Titans would want to avoid it. It seems reasonable that they would want a brand that stands on its own, rather than serve as a reminder of the Oilers, which is how it would be viewed.

This is a fair point, too. Not to rehash the Oilers discussion, but my personal solution would be to make the Titans navy & athletic gold (harkening back to the New York Titans, recovering a color scheme that the Rams & Chargers both discarded, and connecting to the Nashville Predators). Meanwhile, Houston could have the Oilers back, and go back to light blue & red.

[MCM0313]

6 hours ago, gosioux76 said:

 

I don't know about that. It's hard to articulate what it is about those helmets, but they just appear -- what's the right word -- shabby? There's just a dullness to them that I find unappealing. They remind me of when I first played football in the late '80s. Our school gave the junior high back then these white helmets that had the dull sheen of an overused cue ball. They were unattractive, but functional. 

 

The Titans helmets feel like a mismatch. You have a uniform that attempts modern and ornate design elements and a helmet that suggests a simple, workman-like simplicity. They don't belong together. 

Maybe a gloss finish should be used? They currently use a satin finish, right?

[tBBP]

I want everyone to repeat after me:

 

HOUSTON...IS...NOT...GETTING...THE..OILERS...BACK. 

 

It's been 25 years...they been gone. They ain't going back...let it go.

 

3 hours ago, 4_tattoos said:

First time I've ever heard anybody refer to Troy's uniforms as being a classic lol

 

Same here. (Then again the place is still Troy State to me, so whatevs.)

 

3 hours ago, BltzW said:

Personally. If the Titans wanted to use grey/silver/sword colors, I would not have minded them pulling a Nike era Rutgers and having the brushed chrome helmet if they wanted to do silver/grey. Would it look great? Probably not but the story they try to tell with the uniform would make more sense than the random use of grey swords in the jersey and pants

 

I've shared it in these parts before, but they very nearly did. We came really close to having the Snatit decked out in Chrome silver helmets with red flames (from their current logo, just recolored) shooting back from their facemasks. Safe to say we all dodged several bullets with that one.

 

3 hours ago, Gobbi said:

What makes zero sense to me is that the two-tone grey sword theme is consistent throughout each jersey and pant option... only to be swapped out for grey and white on the helmet stripe "sword"

 

As much as I'd like to put that one on the Swoosh, I can't--that one's on the NFL itself. The league maintains creative control over the team logos and helmets. Speaking of, according to the league's creative director, they were going for something "tough" and "clean" with the helmet, which is how we wound up with the navy shells. Not known for sure is whether or not Ms. Adams Strunk herself disliked the former white helmets or whether the league/Nike put her up to it--either way, she signed off on both that and the whole sword motif thing.

 

Next year is year five of this current design...I can only hope they began working on a refinement for this sometime before last season began.

[Bathysphere]

18 hours ago, burgundy said:

 

 

Why The Titans Uniforms Are A Dumpster Fire [Abridged]

 

- Their shoulders are giant swords.

 

Kind of out of my mind that grown adult men need any more than this.

[MJD7]

1 hour ago, tBBP said:

I want everyone to repeat after me:

 

HOUSTON...IS...NOT...GETTING...THE..OILERS...BACK. 

 

It's been 25 years...they been gone. They ain't going back...let it go.

I never said that Houston would or even should (in any sort of objective sense) get the Oilers back. I was simply suggesting what I would do from purely an aesthetic standpoint. 

 

It really was not that deep. 

[MrAstrodome]

2 hours ago, tBBP said:

I want everyone to repeat after me:

 

HOUSTON...IS...NOT...GETTING...THE..OILERS...BACK. 

 

It's been 25 years...they been gone. They ain't going back...let it go.

 

 

Same here. (Then again the place is still Troy State to me, so whatevs.)

 

 

I've shared it in these parts before, but they very nearly did. We came really close to having the Snatit decked out in Chrome silver helmets with red flames (from their current logo, just recolored) shooting back from their facemasks. Safe to say we all dodged several bullets with that one.

 

 

As much as I'd like to put that one on the Swoosh, I can't--that one's on the NFL itself. The league maintains creative control over the team logos and helmets. Speaking of, according to the league's creative director, they were going for something "tough" and "clean" with the helmet, which is how we wound up with the navy shells. Not known for sure is whether or not Ms. Adams Strunk herself disliked the former white helmets or whether the league/Nike put her up to it--either way, she signed off on both that and the whole sword motif thing.

 

Next year is year five of this current design...I can only hope they began working on a refinement for this sometime before last season began.

 

34 minutes ago, MJD7 said:

I never said that Houston would or even should (in any sort of objective sense) get the Oilers back. I was simply suggesting what I would do from purely an aesthetic standpoint. 

 

It really was not that deep. 

 

We already know we wont get them back. The only alternative is a either Columbia blue alt jersey (and they would have to release tertiary logo to allow use of that color or get a exception like the Niners) or a full recolor with that scheme. 

 

And even then, there are some people that want nothing to do with the Titans or even Oiler history. Not to mention, an entire generation of fans that have the Oilers as myth and not living memory. 

[oldschoolvikings]

I honestly don't know what some of you are seeing.  To me, the Titans have the worst uniform in the NFL. As bad as the Cardinals, the Rams, the Falcons, and the Seahawks are, I have no issue saying the Titans are easily worse than any of  them. 

 

It's terrible on its own merits, (that middle school number font, that aready-bad logo made worse with the multiple outlines, the dumbest pants design since the Browns wrote their names there, and yes... swords on their shoulders) but then they insist on wearing the very worst possible combinations. 

 

It sucks.

[Cujo]

Still in desperate need of change

 

[BBTV]

I've warmed to the Titans navy helmet.  That's it.  The rest is unadulterated trash.  My usual test is "would Reggie White or John Elway look silly in that uniform and be embarrassed to put it on?" and the answer for the Titans is unequivocally yes.