Then and Now

[TheOldRoman]

Excellent jerseys by both teams. Both are superior to what they currently wear.

[CrookedThumb]

Tampa Bay 1979>2009

[illwauk]

I sure hope nobody romanticizes those first Bengals uniforms.

The same year they ditched Paul Brown's "Cleveland 2.0" duds (pun intended) was the same year they made it to the Super Bowl for the first time. I don't think you have to worry about that.

And seriously... had Paul Brown really lost it that bad by 1968 that he thought people in Cincinnati wanted their team to look like the other Ohio team that would eventually be their biggest rival?

[Jezus_Ghoti]

Some downgrades to enjoy:

[BlueSky]

This is fun...

Let's start this set with two comparisons in the "crying shame" category.

1967 > 2009

1965 > 2009

1969 > 2009

1965 > 2009

[tBBP]

As one of the three Jaguars fans in this community, I guess I'll do them.

From the very beginning...

To the inagural season:

I'm sure we all remember this dubious moment in Jaguars uniform history:

Which led to this...

(What's interesting here is that these were taken from the same preseason game.

And then, of course, there's this:

[BlueSky]

I guess it's an age thing how a lot of these are just back to the 1970's...I'm posting 'em the way I remember the teams looking. Yeah, I'm old...

1967 > 2009

1969 > 2009

1967 > 2009

1969 > 2009

Jurgensen obviously hit the buffet as often as possible... 1968 > 2009

[BlueSky]

Some bonus coverage...

Rare photo of the Saints' white-on-whites. The receiver in the background seems to think he's open.

Very rare photo of QB Edd Hargett. He was the go-to guy when Kilmer wasn't getting it done. In all my years of following the Saints this is the only photo I've ever seen of Hargett in a game. Is it just me or do the right guard and tackle look like their helmet FDLs are different? Obviously the tackle's is out of focus but it still looks different somehow. Maybe it's just the glare.

Finally found a color pic of the Vikes' purple pants:

Didn't realize the sleeve stripes were just reversed on the home and away jerseys back then, before the LSU-style roads came along.

From 1961...if the Steelers' John Henry Johnson's mask was any closer he could grip it in his teeth like a horse's bit.

Here he is in '63. I didn't realize the black helmets came in that early.

My fave Oilers set:

[BlueSky]

We now return you to our regularly scheduled comparisons.

The Chiefs join the Browns in the category of "why bother comparing"... 1969 > 2009

Interesting...Tarkenton's pants are clearly white and those look a LOT better than the gray. 1969 > 2009

I know that's not the old set they used to design the latest roads but it was the best old Giants roads pic they had.

1967 > 2009

[raysox]

Dang, the only one of you that's liked a newer uniform better than an older one was the Bengals.

Some of my thoughts. Current Dolphins, 49ers, Steelers, Eagles, and Jets are better than the olds. Broncos in the orange jerseys are better than the old set. Then the Chargers, I cannot stand the old shade of yellow, and the currents look really good IMO.

[elsephen]

Most the new are better than the old. The old have no style. They're just templates. Stripes here. 2 colors. Yay. Done. Enjoy your uniform that looks like everyone else's but with your very own colors!

This board seems to love ANYTHING old and bland though. Which is really odd on a design based board.

[Lights Out]

Not only that, but I've seen plenty of instances on where, when a uniform design is actually creative and not going for the stale, bland "classic" uniform effect, it is decried as "too Arena." I didn't know Arena was a dirty word!

[infrared41]

You know which Cowboys set I liked? The "modern" version of the throwbacks they currently wear.

They would wear this set full time if it were up to me.

I've never understood the love for these goofy things.

Me either...at first. But I have to admit that they have grown on me and now I really like them

[infrared41]

Dang, the only one of you that's liked a newer uniform better than an older one was the Bengals.

Some of my thoughts. Current Dolphins, 49ers, Steelers, Eagles, and Jets are better than the olds. Broncos in the orange jerseys are better than the old set. Then the Chargers, I cannot stand the old shade of yellow, and the currents look really good IMO.

Well that's about to change. I may be the only person here who feels this way but...I really liked the old Bengals pre-stripes uniforms. I've always thought the tiger stripes were cheesy as hell. I'm not saying their old look was great but it looked more NFL than their current look does by a long shot.

And while we're at it, The Browns look much better now than they used to. All they need to do is to return the white facemasks and tighten up the problems Ice Cap addressed in the other thread. With The Eagles, while I don't like their current shade of green or their number font, overall they just look a whole lot better now. Same with The Steelers. Other than that awful number font, they look much better now.

[IceCap]

I actually like the Lions' current look. The number font needs to be scrapped in favour of standard block, but really, it's a nice look. It's my all-time favourite Lions set.

The Broncos, when they wear their alternate orange jersey, look superior to what they used to have. It's simple, unique, and modern. Modern can be bad (current Bengals, Bills), but the Broncos do it right.

I vastly prefer the current Buccaneers look to the old creamsicles.

The Oilers to Titans change is a vertical change rather then an improvement or downgrade. On the whole, I like the Titans' uniforms. Like the Broncos they do modern right.

The new Jaguars set is garbage. They had the right idea, but the execution just isn't there.

Yes, the Texans' road look was better with the red socks, but the Texans have such a great identity package they good in almost any combo (save the red on red on red, that needs to go).

The Bills' old uniforms you posted are better then their current clownsuites. Still, the ones you went with aren't my favourite Bills set. My choice would be the 1976-83 set.

The current Eagles look is ok. Overall it's an improvement. The number font doesn't do it for me, but all in all it's an ok look.

Overall, any previous Falcons set is better then the current Falcons set. I will say, however, that I prefer the new logo. Pick one of the previous sets, and use the current logo and you have a winner.

The Dolphins current look is, in my opinion, the perfect update of the old look. The old look, classic as it may have been, was getting stale, and in no way would the old logo work today. The updated logo is faithful to the original design, yet gets a facelift in all the right places. The same can be said for the uniforms, actually.

Like the Bills, any previous Chargers set is better then the current. Again though, you went with the wrong one, in my opinion. The two best Chargers looks were the throwbacks they went with last season for the AFL 50th celebration, or the last set. The last set, in retrospect, was near flawless.

The Redskins' current look is alright. It's not bad, it's not outstanding. It's perfectly fine. That being said, the Spear throwback look is superior.

The Giants were perfect in the years immediately following the return to the current look. They've gone down a notch since removing the blue from the road whites and adding a second sense of grey pants. Still, I like the grey pants. It helps distinguish the Giants and Bills.

I'm not sure how you can say the previous Chiefs set was better then the current set. It's the same uniform.

[CJworks]

Is it just me or does that pewter look unusually gray?

[infrared41]

The Broncos, when they wear their alternate orange jersey, look superior to what they used to have. It's simple, unique, and modern. Modern can be bad (current Bengals, Bills), but the Broncos do it right.

Disagree. I think they need a mix of the old and new. Keep the current colors and logo but dump the "modern" stripes. For example, keep the blue helmet but put more traditional stripes or a single stripe on it. I think that would improve it a great deal. They had such a great idea with the color combo but they totally blew it with the "modern" striping.

I vastly prefer the current Buccaneers look to the old creamsicles.

Same here. I love the old creamsicles but only as an occasional alt. They just don't compare with the current look.

The Oilers to Titans change is a vertical change rather then an improvement or downgrade. On the whole, I like the Titans' uniforms.

More or less... Someone found a shot of The Titans in the dark blue jerseys with white pants and it looked killer. If they went with that full time they'd have one of the best uniforms in the league. The Oilers always looked great.

The new Jaguars set is garbage. They had the right idea, but the execution just isn't there.

No argument here.

Yes, the Texans' road look was better with the red socks, but the Texans have such a great identity package they good in almost any combo (save the red on red on red, that needs to go).

I may be in the minority here but I think the Texans took a great logo and color combo and totally underachieved with the uniform. It's just boring.

The Bills' old uniforms you posted are better then their current clownsuites. Still, the ones you went with aren't my favourite Bills set. My choice would be the 1976-83 set.

The Bills current throwback look is absolute perfection. That said, I really liked the Joe Ferguson era set the best. If that was the '76-83 look then I totally agree.

Overall, any previous Falcons set is better then the current Falcons set. I will say, however, that I prefer the new logo. Pick one of the previous sets, and use the current logo and you have a winner.

Except the black helmet Glanville era uniforms. I like the old logo better but then again, I've never seen it on a good looking uniform or helmet. Their current look is ridiculous.

Like the Bills, any previous Chargers set is better then the current. Again though, you went with the wrong one, in my opinion. The two best Chargers looks were the throwbacks they went with last season for the AFL 50th celebration, or the last set. The last set, in retrospect, was near flawless.

I may be in the minority again but I really liked the Coryell era look. I think if you took that design with the current dark blue it would look really good. The Chargers are another team who took a good idea and totally blew it with their latest update. They ruined a perfectly good uniform.

The Redskins' current look is alright. It's not bad, it's not outstanding. It's perfectly fine. That being said, the Spear throwback look is superior.

The spear throwback they did a few years back may have been the best NFL uniform ever. Their current look is pretty solid.

[The_Admiral]

Most the new are better than the old. The old have no style. They're just templates. Stripes here. 2 colors. Yay. Done. Enjoy your uniform that looks like everyone else's but with your very own colors!

Ironic when you consider that most modern college football uniforms actually do follow a template.

Big Blue, wearing blue. What a concept.

[Spearhead]

This board seems to love ANYTHING old and bland

"Bland" is a subjective call, but I won?t apologize for preferring the older styles.

And, yes, "arena" is bad, it denotes cut-rate which the Arena Leagues were.

[andrewharrington]

Most the new are better than the old. The old have no style. They're just templates. Stripes here. 2 colors. Yay. Done. Enjoy your uniform that looks like everyone else's but with your very own colors!

This board seems to love ANYTHING old and bland though. Which is really odd on a design based board.

They have style all right. It's simply a different kind of style than the newer uniforms. A style you don't like, obviously.

Well, groundbreaking doesn't always equal attractive, and vice versa, something that looks good doesn't have to be groundbreaking. Sometimes, the simplest garments can take your breath away. Take the tuxedo, for example. Hasn't changed much, but is still the epitome of elegance and sartorial excellence for a man.