New England Patriots -updated primary-

[rentz]

Now, I said I was going to do one of the cat teams (Lions, Panthers, Jaguars, Bengals) for Part V, but I was having pretty serious designer's block when it came to those... but then inspiration struck for the freakin' New England Patriots.

I'd like to preface right now that I entirely realize this is a somewhat outlandish concept, and there is no probability that the Patriots will adopt something similar to this ever... if you are going to critique, critique it's aesthetic value, not the fact that it's a wholly unrealistic concept. I know. That's what makes it awesome, in my opinion

The most significant part of this change is the helmet. It is a bit out there... I was trying to think of how the Patriots could recenter their identity as, well, patriotic. I don't think flying Elvis does the job. So, he is nowhere to be found in this concept. My original helmet idea was the 13 colonial stars in a circle, which is an iconic symbol of New England and patriotism in general. I was also going to have red and white striping, like the flag. But then I had the inspiration to take ALL the stripes of the flag, not just 3, and integrate them into the striping... however if I condensed 13 stripes to a standard helmet stripe, it would be practically pinstripes. But then, as I saw an image of the Michigan Wolverines in my Athlon magazine, inspiration gave me the idea to include all the stripes which wrap around the helmet and then condense into a helmet stripe... it's difficult to convey with words, so I'll just show it to you:

It is indeed out there , but it would be entirely unique. That is a theme of this series--to give a team a look that only they could have. If you changed the colors of their current uniform, it could be basically any other team.

I went (relatively speaking) a bit more conservative on the uniforms though I tried to carry over the stars and stripes theme. I dropped the silver from the set, to emphasize the red white and blue. The stripes are simple red- and- white shoulder stripes. The cuffs and collars have stars on them (you can't tell from the concept, but there would be 13 on each). The number font is the same, as it is unique. The pants are just a simple striping pattern that includes the stars, so it's sort of like a mini flag.

So, that's the Patriots. All C+C is welcome.

Other Redesigns in this series:

Miami Dolphins: Logos Uniforms

Buffalo Bills: Logos Uniforms

Pittsburgh Steelers: Logos Uniforms

Denver Broncos: Logos Uniforms

[jlentz823]

awesome

[rdsx246]

I like this concept a lot, however, I do think that the striping on the helmet is a little too busy and makes the front look a bit cramped.

[schtee]

Woah, that's awesome. Great job, the stripes flowing forward in the side profile seal the deal.

What about further attaching the concept to the team by putting a "P" or "N.E." inside the star-circle.

[MiK]

its cool and all but the thought of the patriots* being "america's team" as their uniforms suggest makes me shutter.

if the USA had a national american-football team, this would be killer. nice work.

yes that is a * as in 18-0*.

[chestnutz]

Can't say I'm a fan. The one thing I really like is the pants design, but the helmet just doesn't really make sense to me. I like the idea, just the execution is off. It seems like random stripes flowing every which way, I guess I just would have to see it in person. Also, what would be the primary logo?

[elliott]

Pretty cool, but where is the primary logo? We don't want another Browns. The helmet might actually look better without the circle of stars. Personally, i would rather see navy instead of royal here.

The helmet design is very creative and nice. The major thing that bothers me, though, is the stripe difference between the shoulders and the helmet. I just can't get past that. Still, it's a good concept, nice work.

[CDixonDesign]

Actually, I love it. It's very.....it's kind to hard to put into words really....but it's very authentic feeling. It represents everything behind the team moniker, without the personalization to any one city or location. That's why I think I like it so much....

And ofcourse, you are going to run into a million people who dont like it, because of it's almost abstract design, (think Trailblazers, ha) but in my opinion, I love it!

Now, que the American Gladiators theme song, and we've got win win! I keed I keed.....

[fkaKrock5cent]

I like this a lot but just not for the Pat's since they have such a strong identity already.

But putting that aside this is one of the most innovative things to hit the boards and I love it. The helmet is awesome and I like how you incorporated that into the pants. The cuffs and collar look great , the stars are a nice touch. Again, with all of this other stuff going on it makes the pat's wordmark on the font look out of place which isn't good.

Overall good job, this kit just doesn't fit the Patriots in my head

[hettinger_rl]

I really like this concept overall. The one thing i noticed though is that the stripes on the white pants and jersey look like they're floating on the white rather than a separate stripe. Maybe make the center stripe blue to even things out.

[Brave-Bird 08]

hmmmm...one of the most intruiging posts on these boards in a while for sure!!

the helmet just does not work for me. cool looking stuff, but...eh, I would have a heart attack if they hit a field

The jerseys are interesting. They look good. I do not know again about the fieldworthiness of stars being a major part of a teams uniform not called the Cowboys.

So, basically, very cool looking stuff...but not field worthy.

I instantly thought of that crazy Dolphins helmet concept when I saw this

[rentz]

Thanks for all the concepts guys! I knew the helmet would be controversial, but it's nice to see at least some of you like it. However, the point of this series isn't to realistically tweak the jerseys... if that was the case I would have simply gotten rid of the side panel and given them silver pants on the road. I try to think of the uniform as a canvas in which I can create something entirely unique to a team.

In regards to a primary... I'm working on that right now. It should be up soon. I wanted to get rid of Elvis because he is probably among the most hated logos in Sports, between the championships and spygate and whatnot.

The stripes on white don't have blue because I was trying to keep standardized red and white stripes, like the flag. For a reasonable comparison, look at the Colts (and just now I realize it probably was a bad move giving the Patriots a similar look to the Colts). I'll try adding the blue stripe though.

I'll work on some updates guys, thanks again for the C+C.

[BBTV]

1. Really needs a primary logo. Not necessarily a "mascot-based" logo, but maybe some kind of "N.E.", or something. Either place it in the stars, or incorporate a star into it, and lose the stars.

2. The stars should be white against a blue backdrop at all times. This means that you need to make some mods to your white pants, since it's a little inconsistent with the rest of the uniform set, and the U.S. flag in general, to use navy stars.

3. Don't forget the NFL Equipment logo. Need to make room for that.

4. Maybe tone down the stars some... I'm sure Tom Brady doesn't want to feel like Super Dave Osborne when he's getting dressed for the game.

[rentz]

Does anyone have a decent version of the NE alternate logo they have? I've seen it in a few concepts, but it's not on the main site.

[capn89]

That's pretty wild, but it looks nice. Wouldn't mind actually seeing them on the field for a special occasion.

[BBTV]

If Hacksaw Jim Duggan owned an NFL team, those would be the uniforms.

[9erssteve]

Okay you're right it's over the top and will never happen but at the same time you still need to keep it fairly accurate. The Patriots are (for the sake of this concept) America's team, so why then are the stars on a blue background in a circle? Which the last time I checked was the flag for the European Union?

Sure it'll never happen but you have to be careful with so many flag that you dont end up representing a different nation. Bad placement and horizontal stripes can appear vertical and suddenly your nationalities are messed up. Here you've got a European flag representing an American team.

Not totally against the idea of the concept, you're right it'll never fly in the NFL but it could work well on say a minor league/XFL team or even for a team in a movie.

9erssteve

[GregP1719]

its cool and all but the thought of the patriots* being "america's team" as their uniforms suggest makes me shutter.

if the USA had a national american-football team, this would be killer. nice work.

yes that is a * as in 18-0*.

U mean 18-1 thanks to the Greatest team the New York Giants

I like this concept, even though it is way out there.

[rentz]

While the European Union uses a flag with stars arranged in a circle (albeit with 12 stars, not 13) and that's probably the most well known example of this type of design today, this design is based on the early colonial flags, with the 13 colonies represented with 13 stars in a circle, the iconic "Betsy Ross" flag. If you are familiar with the 76ers old- and new, I guess- logo, it has the same star design. Because I was going for a colonial, American Revolution vibe, I kept this star pattern rather than the 50 star pattern.

Edit: Here's a new logo... I don't think it's strong enough to be a primary, and I'm working on that, but I think it works as a secondary. The stripes are supposed to be the E in NE.

[The Impaler]

I appreciate the creativity in doing something completely different with this design. With that being said, something seems off with the perspective on the helmet and I can't put my finger on it. I think it has something to do with the stripes kind of flowing towards the viewer, but then the stars in the blue field just feel static and kind of from a head on perspective.

I like the uni's but think the stars on the jersey may be a bit of overkill. Think the pants look good but as was mentioned earlier I think the white pants need a blue stripe in the middle for consistency.

I am not feeling the logo, the E part needs some work, just seems a little too abstract right now. Also the N just doesn't seem right in the way it flows, I don't like how it is much smaller on the right side. I can see what you were trying to do in making look like a flag but think it still needs some work.