NFL 2023 Changes

[HOOVER]

12 hours ago, DCarp1231 said:

 

On their own, I don't hate the pant at all.  Scroll up so that your screen only shows Juszczyk's lower half and not the jersey/helmet; these colors, when balanced, could make for a really nice identity.

In conjunction with the rest of the uniform?  Yeah, doesn't work at all.  Abysmal.

The jersey would have to have Mustard numbers and there'd need to be more Mustard on the helmet somehow.  I thought it could work with their Color Rush jersey but I think those numbers are more Metallic Gold than Mustard and there still wouldn't be enough to balance it.

[ManillaToad]

I think the gold pants look fine when it's one player, but once you get a shot of the entire team wearing them it looks so ridiculous

 

[The_Admiral]

Ravens should be all black at home, black/white/black/purple on the road (purple numbers on the white to match the socks). Come up with a new number set: consider a variation on the New Orleans Hornets' old Council numbers from 2007-2013.

 

The Ravens' culture has always supposed to be dark and menacing, so I never understood how they went years wearing white pants with striped white socks at home. The mustard pants were a terrible idea, too.

[MCM0313]

10 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Ravens should be all black at home, black/white/black/purple on the road (purple numbers on the white to match the socks). Come up with a new number set: consider a variation on the New Orleans Hornets' old Council numbers from 2007-2013.

 

The Ravens' culture has always supposed to be dark and menacing, so I never understood how they went years wearing white pants with striped white socks at home. The mustard pants were a terrible idea, too.

I actually think they should be black/white/purple/black on the road. Their purple pants are far better than the black ones. In fact, I would say they should either add stripes to the black pants, or ditch them and just go with black, purple, or white jerseys, purple or white pants, and black socks full-time. 

[BBTV]

Home should be black purple black purple. Maybe it’s because I vividly recall their first season, but that’s “their” look to me, and they should be a dark team (but bbbb is two bs too much). 

[The_Admiral]

43 minutes ago, BBTV said:

(but bbbb is two bs too much)

 

[MJD7]

4 hours ago, HOOVER said:

On their own, I don't hate the pant at all.  Scroll up so that your screen only shows Juszczyk's lower half and not the jersey/helmet; these colors, when balanced, could make for a really nice identity.

In conjunction with the rest of the uniform?  Yeah, doesn't work at all.  Abysmal.

The jersey would have to have Mustard numbers and there'd need to be more Mustard on the helmet somehow.  I thought it could work with their Color Rush jersey but I think those numbers are more Metallic Gold than Mustard and there still wouldn't be enough to balance it.

That shade looks similar/possibly identical to the Saints throwback shade, which they ought to be wearing full-time.

 

The Washington Huskies also had a darker gold under Nike that in my opinion worked pretty well:

 

But yeah, the mismatch with so little gold on the helmet & jersey didn’t work well for the Ravens.

[SportsFan12]

6 hours ago, ManillaToad said:

I think the gold pants look fine when it's one player, but once you get a shot of the entire team wearing them it looks so ridiculous

 

I think they look bad when it’s one player, but once you get a shot of the entire team, it’s also bad.

[HOOVER]

4 hours ago, MJD7 said:

That shade looks similar/possibly identical to the Saints throwback shade, which they ought to be wearing full-time.

 

The Washington Huskies also had a darker gold under Nike that in my opinion worked pretty well:

 

But yeah, the mismatch with so little gold on the helmet & jersey didn’t work well for the Ravens.

Yep - it can certainly work and is beautiful color paired with Purple & Black, it just couldn't be executed well with the existing Ravens helmet & jersey.

[LogoFan]

9 hours ago, ManillaToad said:

I think the gold pants look fine when it's one player, but once you get a shot of the entire team wearing them it looks so ridiculous

 

Agree.  They made a huge mistake by not going with a metallic gold for the pants.  I think a better shade would've made them nice instead of putrid.

[burgundy]

16 hours ago, HOOVER said:

On their own, I don't hate the pant at all.  Scroll up so that your screen only shows Juszczyk's lower half and not the jersey/helmet; these colors, when balanced, could make for a really nice identity.

In conjunction with the rest of the uniform?  Yeah, doesn't work at all.  Abysmal.

The jersey would have to have Mustard numbers and there'd need to be more Mustard on the helmet somehow.  I thought it could work with their Color Rush jersey but I think those numbers are more Metallic Gold than Mustard and there still wouldn't be enough to balance it.

 

I don't think the problem is necessarily a lack of mustard gold in the jersey and helmet. The problem is that the Helmet and socks are different from the jersey. You have purple, black, and gold all competing for attention, and it's a mess.

 

Take Washington's feather helmet uniforms for example. No mustard gold on the jersey, helmet, or socks, but it still works. The spear helmet uniforms improved the balance, but there still wasn't that much more mustard gold.

 

 

 

So that made me think the Ravens' mustard pants could work if the helmet and socks were purple: 

 

 

 

And a version with a purple metallic flake black helmet:

 

 

 

I'm still not sure if it's a good uniform, but it definitely looks better than what they rolled out.

 

[FFWally]

On 5/26/2023 at 3:11 AM, Ted Cunningham said:

I think I said this in the 2022 college thread at one point, but two major things throw me off about this helmet:

1. The non-shell vent cutouts look AWFUL on any helmet that isn't black (or maybe navy). They aren't holes in the shell; there's plastic in them! Why can't that plastic be colored the same as the shell? (Hint: It's got to be because Riddell is first a company trying to sell its product, and those vents are distinctive. Anything to make them stand out arguably helps their brand.)
2. The top bar(s) of the facemask being missing looks weird. Facemasks have had those since well before I was born, so I'm used to seeing them there. All of the sudden, there isn't one on this model. And that looks weird. Not to mention that, combined with the shape of the visor itself, makes this look like a motorcycle helmet.
   1. A subpoint to this is also that the facemask fastens on the sides behind (or inside?) the shell instead of on top. When I first saw these, I thought "Well, it will kind of be like 50s/60s helmets where the facemask only connected on the sides and didn't go around the top." But even then, the facemask fastened on the outside of the helmet. So there was simply more facemask to see. As a result, there was more contrast between shell and facemask. Now, the facemask is reduced to almost being an extension of the visor, in some ways, at least from a shape and real estate standpoint.
   2. A second subpoint about the facemask: black on black helmets, like the Steelers, look way less weird, especially from far away because it's harder to see the details, especially at any distance. However, lighter combinations (especially with dark visors like Elliot's) or higher-contrast combinations (especially if the facemask is darker than the shell) look weird, or at least very different than what I'm used to.

Summing up point no. 2 as a tl;dr: With the Axiom, the facemask is part of the helmet instead of being something that is affixed onto the helmet, and it's jarring to see a football helmet that departs from what has been a fairly linear evolution of helmet styles. (Not to mention it looks more like a motorcycle helmet now.)

So, a few things about the helmet.

 

1. I agree about Riddell doing contrast just to make their helmet more visible (not that this helmet needs anything to make it so) and to ell more helmets.

2. The face mask and visor make for a smoother surface that "can" help reduce concussions, while being better for visibility and protection.  

3. Getting rid of all the exterior metal takes away grab points not just for hands, but other helmets and shoulder pads. This mean that the helmet slide across things very catching on things. Much better for the neck and brain. 

4. Look at the Light helmet, the facemark is tubular titanium without bars welded on so its a smooth surface for that exact reason.

 

Just my 2c

 

[HOOVER]

11 hours ago, LogoFan said:

Agree.  They made a huge mistake by not going with a metallic gold for the pants.  I think a better shade would've made them nice instead of putrid.

Respectfully disagree.  There’s just not enough Gold in the helmet or pant to make keep it balanced, regardless of what Gold it is.

[HOOVER]

7 hours ago, burgundy said:

 

I don't think the problem is necessarily a lack of mustard gold in the jersey and helmet. The problem is that the Helmet and socks are different from the jersey. You have purple, black, and gold all competing for attention, and it's a mess.

 

Take Washington's feather helmet uniforms for example. No mustard gold on the jersey, helmet, or socks, but it still works. The spear helmet uniforms improved the balance, but there still wasn't that much more mustard gold.

 

 

 

So that made me think the Ravens' mustard pants could work if the helmet and socks were purple: 

 

 

 

And a version with a purple metallic flake black helmet:

 

 

 

I'm still not sure if it's a good uniform, but it definitely looks better than what they rolled out.

 

Yes, removing Black does make this more balanced.  Good exercise in theory.

 

With Black being an essential component of the Ravens identity, and its inclusion making it a separate color scheme from the Vikings, it doesn’t quite solve the issue of how to make those pants work with the Ravens existing helmet & jersey.  
 

I think if they wore the Color Rush jersey, with the  Gold numbers matching the pant, and then wore alternate helmet decals - a Gold outline on the logo, and Purple & Gold stripes - it could be enough to bring it together.  EDIT:  the logo already has a Metallic Gold outline.  Maybe for this Alt idea, it’s more Mustard.
 

Man, I’m not sure if we’re more crazy or more bored

 

Also, regarding the balance of those Washington uniforms:  I think that example works because the helmet & jersey are so plain.  No jersey stripes or logos, no helmet logos, one-color white numbers…there’s nothing to compete with the Good pants.  Simpler design like that makes it easier to have a contrasting color pant.  When compared to the Ravens, who have a lot more going on in their helmet & jersey, it just doesn’t jive.

[HOOVER]

You know, if they introduced an alternate helmet, the above concept would be a way they could revive those Gold pants.  Maybe put a Mustard facemask on this baby with a Black stripe down the middle…or something.

[j'villejags]

I still want these purple flake helmets for Baltimore to mimic the raven’s flash of purple in the sunlight.
 

 

 

Similarly, I think they could pull off the Oregon iridescent effect as well. Black numbers with a purple sheen.

 

[The_Admiral]

Could they carry the iridescence to at least the pants? I'm not sure it could just be the helmet, and it certainly can't include the socks. Even Liberace would have drawn the line at iridescent socks. But black with purple sheen could match between helmet and pants, I would think. Then you essentially have a Cowboys/Raiders/49ers situation where the alternating metallics stay in place between sets.

[MCM0313]

On 5/28/2023 at 12:49 PM, MJD7 said:

That shade looks similar/possibly identical to the Saints throwback shade, which they ought to be wearing full-time.

 

The Washington Huskies also had a darker gold under Nike that in my opinion worked pretty well:

 

But yeah, the mismatch with so little gold on the helmet & jersey didn’t work well for the Ravens.

Those UW pants aren’t quite dazzle, but they are shiny/reflective and maybe even a bit metallic. When is this picture from?

[MJD7]

1 hour ago, MCM0313 said:

Those UW pants aren’t quite dazzle, but they are shiny/reflective and maybe even a bit metallic. When is this picture from?

They were Nike's regular solid colored pants, it's probably just the lighting/editing of the photo. The Huskies revealed those uniforms in 2014.

[⋔ 4 ℞ ℞ $]

12 hours ago, HOOVER said:

You know, if they introduced an alternate helmet, the above concept would be a way they could revive those Gold pants.  Maybe put a Mustard facemask on this baby with a Black stripe down the middle…or something.

 

11 hours ago, j'villejags said:

I still want these purple flake helmets for Baltimore to mimic the raven’s flash of purple in the sunlight.
 

 

 

Similarly, I think they could pull off the Oregon iridescent effect as well. Black numbers with a purple sheen.

 

'BALternate' helmet for 'ColoRush' coordination — either Riddell fashion release from over the years works, such as 2017 'Blaze' (satin purple finish helmet shell + metallic gold face mask) or more recent 'Flash' (glossy purple finish helmet shell + metallic gold face mask). Personally, I probably prefer the satin, since it would seemingly better match modern-day, matte-style, Nike uniform (jerseys/pants) fabrics.

'Blaze' (Satin):

 

 

 

'Flash' (Gloss):