Every Team's Best Look Ever - NFL Edition

[jigokusabre]

[ARTnSocal]

Your photo reminded me of just how bad the Rams have ruined their helmet logo. Look at the front of the ram logo on the top image and compare it to the early 70s one below. It's totally lost it's angular look which made them so great back in the day. It's pretty much a straight line now.

One could see how the ram horns curled just from viewing the front of the helmet and the authenticity of the angular look also in the front. They've totally ruined it over the years.

Art - I agree with you but I don't see quite how they will ever recreate that look on modern helmets. Gabriel was wearing Riddell's classic flaired-side RK helmet and the horns are somewhat more visible due to the side curvature of the helmet shell than they would be even on the smooth-sided TK shell that was available back then (and still used on the Riddell VSR-4). Some of todays helmets have really odd sides (primarily Revo Speeds and those 360 models); others have really odd center portions (again these Riddells plus the Schutt ION 4D and their new Vengence helmet). Also - all modern helmets have a nose bumper these days; to get the really nice horn shape they would have to go back to having the nose bumper overlap the horns.

.

John, you make a very good point, I totally remember many of those old helmets with the side curvatures ... it's really hard to tell in the photo images whether or not Gabriel was wearing that particular helmet. With that aside, the Ram horns were still by far a much better shape back in that era, whether one could see the curling of the ram horns from the front view or not. The front-centre still needs to have that 'V' shape (like the above image) to have that genuine ram horn look ..

When looking at Post # 71 on the previous page, the Ram horns on Marshall Faulk were actually okay after the Rams had their color change back in 2000, even with those nose bumpers ... Since that time they've ruined them, not only the angular look in the front is gone, but the horns are also much thinner. Also why everything has to have an outline or shadowing on everything I don't get. There's no reason to put the white outline on the gold ram horns which aren't nearly as thick as they'd long been. They've since made them thinner, a very dumb idea which adds to the very cheap look of today's helmet design..

Someone had mentioned that they didn't use a decal back then, but that they were painted on. Dunno if that's true, but with today's technology I refuse to believe they can't come up with a way that would bring back the return of that angular look, even in spite of the nose bumpers. The Redskins 2012 simulated leather throwback helmet and some of the helmets that Oregon has worn totally proves it can be done.

[John in KY]

John, you make a very good point, I totally remember many of those old helmets with the side curvatures ... it's really hard to tell in the photo images whether or not Gabriel was wearing that particular helmet. With that aside, the Ram horns were still by far a much better shape back in that era, whether one could see the curling of the ram horns from the front view or not. The front-centre still needs to have that 'V' shape (like the above image) to have that genuine ram horn look ..

When looking at Post # 71 on the previous page, the Ram horns on Marshall Faulk were actually okay after the Rams had their color change back in 2000, even with those nose bumpers ... Since that time they've ruined them, not only the angular look in the front is gone, but the horns are also much thinner. Also why everything has to have an outline or shadowing on everything I don't get. There's no reason to put the white outline on the gold ram horns which aren't nearly as thick as they'd long been. They've since made them thinner, a very dumb idea which adds to the very cheap look of today's helmet design..

Someone had mentioned that they didn't use a decal back then, but that they were painted on. Dunno if that's true, but with today's technology I refuse to believe they can't come up with a way that would bring back the return of that angular look, even in spite of the nose bumpers. The Redskins 2012 simulated leather throwback helmet and some of the helmets that Oregon has worn totally proves it can be done.

The Rams did really jack around the horn decals a couple of years ago - they are much thinner and wider spaced than they used to be compared to even the early/mid 2000s.

I don't know if you ever go over to the Helmet Hut site but they have a 2011 interview with former Rams equipment manager Todd Hewitt, who I believe was canned by Georgia's children just before the 2011 regular season. Todd Hewitt took over as equipment manager when his father retired. According to the interview they switched to decals around 1974; the last painted helmets were those they got in 1973 - the first year they brought back the yellow.

Pretty interesting read: http://www.helmethut.com/Talkhelmet/TalkHewitt.html

Also Helmet Hut has Roman Gabriel's last two Rams helmets - the one he wore from '67 through '69 was definitely an RK, and the one he wore after that also looks like an RK but the photos aren't as clear. They also have a 1973 team-issued but not worn Riddell TK helmet - you can see it was a white shell that was painted yellow then painted blue to get the ram horns (the blue/white era would have been a helmet painted white then painted blue as Riddell used an off-color plastic until about 1970 for the shells - even the white helmets were painted white back then).

Here's a link to their Rams helmet page: http://www.helmethut.com/ramsindex1c.html

[Sport]

.Also why everything has to have an outline or shadowing on everything I don't get. There's no reason to put the white outline on the gold ram horns which aren't nearly as thick as they'd long been. They've since made them thinner, a very dumb idea which adds to the very cheap look of today's helmet design..

What white outline?

at least they corrected the horns from this

that always bugged me as a kid. I was happy they fixed it when they switched from yellow to gold.

[AHcreative]

I wasn't able to reply to this on the first go-around, but I did see it and I thought it was a really interesting topic. I've compiled what I think to be each team's best look, taking into account everything: logo, era, and even home/road uniforms. I believe some team's look better on the road (most look better at home though, as you'll see from what I've put together.

Here's the AFC:

AFC EAST

AFC NORTH

AFC SOUTH

AFC WEST

And the NFC:

NFC EAST

NFC NORTH

NFC SOUTH

NFC WEST

[BucWarrior]

Why is everyone posting the wrong jersey for the Pats? This is there best look:

And I always loved this look for the Skins but I wish they'd use this with the burgundy they use now:

At least everyone is posting the right jersey for Seattle............

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

[ARTnSocal]

Why is everyone posting the wrong jersey for the Pats? This is there best look:

And I always loved this look for the Skins but I wish they'd use this with the burgundy they use now:

Agree with you on New England's, except I preferred the gray mask on their 60s throwbacks. Either way it's a great look with the striping on the shoulders.

The Redskins throwback based upon their '65-'71 era worn in 2002 for their 70th anniversary is one of my all-time favorites but I don't agree with you about changing the color on it to their present day burgundy. That shade of claret on that throwback gave them their own unique identity and is a major part of what makes them so great.

It would be crazy to change the color of them if they became their permanent throwback or if they brought them back as primary. It's too good and a very rare color rather than their current generic burgundy. Similar to how the Seahawks dropped using their prior blue which was superb in my eyes compared to that generic navy that they now use, navy is a dime a dozen.

As the Redskins throwback goes, I liked it when Arsenal wore that same claret color in their final season at Highbury back in 2005-2006 ...

What white outline?

I saw a photo of the Rams on here and it looked like it had a white outline. It could have been a glare, but either way I must have been mistaken.

As a toddler the first NFL team I ever saw at a Bills game after the merger was against the Rams in 1970 and I thought they had the coolest looking helmets with those angular Ram horns. I didn't realizethey were painted on until I learned it years later on this very board. I think they should go back to painting them on. With today's technology used on some of Oregon's helmets I would think that should be a piece of cake.

[BucWarrior]

Why is everyone posting the wrong jersey for the Pats? This is there best look:

And I always loved this look for the Skins but I wish they'd use this with the burgundy they use now:

Agree with you on New England's, except I preferred the gray mask on their 60s throwbacks. Either way it's a great look with the striping on the shoulders.

The Redskins throwback based upon their '65-'71 era worn in 2002 for their 70th anniversary is one of my all-time favorites but I don't agree with you about changing the color on it to their present day burgundy. That shade of claret on that throwback gave them their own unique identity and it would be crazy to change the color of it if that became their permanent throwback or if they brought it back as primary. It's a great and very rare color rather than their common burgundy. Similar to how the Seahawks dropped using their prior blue for generic navy which is a dime a dozen.

I liked it alot when Arsenal wore that color in their final season at Highbury back in 2005-2006 ...

What white outline?

I saw a photo of the Rams on here and it looked like it had a white outline. It could have been a glare, but either way I must have been mistaken.

As a toddler the first NFL team I ever saw at a Bills game after the merger was against the Rams in 1970 and I thought they had the coolest looking helmets with those angular Ram horns. I didn't realized they were painted on until I learned it years later on this very board. I think they should go back to painting them on. With today's technology used on some of Oregon's helmets I would think that should be a piece of cake.

I prefer a blue facemask, but that's okay. And Arsenal looked sick that year, which is why I wonder what it would look like on the Skins.

[ARTnSocal]

Getting back to teams best looks, I finally found a photo of how the Bills socks should look when wearing blue pants.

The Buffalo 1976 away uniform ...

In 2012 if they made them solid white socks with stripes in the centre that match the current jersey stripes along with how the logo was enlarged and tweaked for the roundness of the helmet in 1982 would be the best away look hands down.

How hard can that be?

2012 socks for blue away pants .... all wrong!!

[IceCap]

Why is everyone posting the wrong jersey for the Pats? This is there best look:

Meh, that uniform has a couple knocks against it. From a purely design standpoint Pat the Patriot is a terrible logo. If he ever came back in any full time capacity he'd need an update, like what the Dolphins and Cardinals did to their logos. As is Pat's a poorly drawn cartoon character.

Secondly, the uniform just looks generic. I'm a fan of classic looks, but these JUST cross the line into generic/boring territory. They look like the uniforms you'd see created for a movie or tv show that featured a football team. The Washington team from the film The Replacements looked a lot like these, for example. Maybe my feeling of "generic not classic" comes from the fact that the Patriots never won anything in these uniforms.

They had one Super Bowl appearance in this look, and they amounted to little more then a road bump for the '85 Bears on the way to their coronation. These uniforms represent an era when the team was a joke. It's not a legacy worth remembering, in my opinion. Like the current logo or not, it represents a Patriots dynasty. These just represent the team who's owner had to live in the press box.

There's one other reason why I don't like this look. Long time members are probably tired of me talking about it, so I'll put it in spoilers. If you want to read it, go ahead. If you're tired of me yammering about it, just skip it

The Patriots are named after American soldiers from the American Revolution. Generally speaking American forces wore blue in that war (just look at what Pat's wearing). Their opponents, the British Army, wore red. Dressing a team named the Patriots, who wear a Revolutionary War soldier on their helmets, in red makes as much sense as dressing the Columbus Blue Jackets in grey.

[BucWarrior]

Why is everyone posting the wrong jersey for the Pats? This is there best look:

Meh, that uniform has a couple knocks against it. From a purely design standpoint Pat the Patriot is a terrible logo. If he ever came back in any full time capacity he'd need an update, like what the Dolphins and Cardinals did to their logos. As is Pat's a poorly drawn cartoon character.

Secondly, the uniform just looks generic. I'm a fan of classic looks, but these JUST cross the line into generic/boring territory. They look like the uniforms you'd see created for a movie or tv show that featured a football team. The Washington team from the film The Replacements looked a lot like these, for example. Maybe my feeling of "generic not classic" comes from the fact that the Patriots never won anything in these uniforms.

They had one Super Bowl appearance in this look, and they amounted to little more then a road bump for the '85 Bears on the way to their coronation. These uniforms represent an era when the team was a joke. It's not a legacy worth remembering, in my opinion. Like the current logo or not, it represents a Patriots dynasty. These just represent the team who's owner had to live in the press box.

There's one other reason why I don't like this look. Long time members are probably tired of me talking about it, so I'll put it in spoilers. If you want to read it, go ahead. If you're tired of me yammering about it, just skip it

The Patriots are named after American soldiers from the American Revolution. Generally speaking American forces wore blue in that war (just look at what Pat's wearing). Their opponents, the British Army, wore red. Dressing a team named the Patriots, who wear a Revolutionary War soldier on their helmets, in red makes as much sense as dressing the Columbus Blue Jackets in grey.

Saw the spoiler. I agree with you on the whole navy agianst red argument. I also love the Pat's new numbers, and yes, Pat Patriot needs an update. Take this template, make it navy, add some silver trim and a navy facemask, use the numbers they have now, update Pat and you have one of the best looks you've ever seen.

[Lights Out]

Mark me down as another disliker of the Pat Patriot uniforms. The Pats HAD a great classic look in 1993 though, and then dumped it after a year.

For me though, I don't think the Pat Patriot uniforms look generic, I think they look too collegiate. Darken the blue a little bit and Ole Miss could wear those for example.

[ARTnSocal]

My Dad long ago also made that same remark as to why a team known as the Patriots were wearing jersey colors of the British who were referred to as the 'Red Coats' based on their military uniform (or horse blanket) ..

At least Pat Patriot in the logo was wearing the correct jacket color

[ARTnSocal]

Mark me down as another disliker of the Pat Patriot uniforms. The Pats HAD a great classic look in 1993 though, and then dumped it after a year.

For me though, I don't think the Pat Patriot uniforms look generic, I think they look too collegiate. Darken the blue a little bit and Ole Miss could wear those for example.

I liked that uniform too ... but found it odd that the TV numbers were white when the jersey numbers were red. Should have made them red too. They probably should have gone with the red face-mask too which they corrected later.