Finally, The NFL Let Teams Be Cool
As one of the few people who actually really liked the color rush experimental uniforms Nike put out for games a few years back, they, unfortunately, were still very much hamstrung by a particular problem. They couldn’t change the helmets. Many of the designs worked around this with quality color scheming but several more felt held back by the inability to fully commit.
The reason given by the NFL was always vaguely related to “player safety”. Helmets are custom fitted to players so they couldn’t give them alternate versions because it would make the helmets not as form-fitting, I guess. Basically arguing that the ass groove on your couch from years of sitting in the same spot makes you safer there than if they gave you a new couch without the ass groove for this week’s nighttime binge of The Boys. There might be some truth to that science, but it always sounded kinda like bullshit.
But they finally lifted that ban. The NFL can now get funky with alternate helmets, and I am ALL FOR IT. Wearing a cool alternate helmet once or twice per year is rad as hell. I love the people who complain about this the same way they complained about alternate uniforms taking away the aesthetic and classic look of so many teams on Sunday or whatever. It’s a game, maybe 2. Have you ever posted a picture on Instagram and fuck around with the filters just to see what other kinds of style you could use? It’s just that. I obviously wouldn’t want an overload of alternates though. That’s happened to Oregon and also to the NBA, causing a complete lack of consistency over the course of a season when you can tune in to a Lakers/Nuggets game and for some reason the Lakers are in Blue and Nuggets in yellow because they got weird alternates on. I don’t want new uniforms every week. But once, maybe twice a year for novelty? I’m all for it. Using them for Thursday nights was a perfect gimmick.
Of course, it also helps the new alternate helmets introduced this year are almost all BANGERS. The White Bengal helmet has been clamored for by many of us for years now, since they introduced the white color rush style. The Panthers introduced their first new helmet look in their history: the Black helmet. Frankly, this was long overdue, the silver helmet looked stupid and outdated and I hope the black alt becomes the new permanent helmet. The Texans went hard red for an alternate, which I think has a limited usage with their typical color schemes but still looks cool. The Saints also went for a playful black alternate, which is honestly a downgrade from the gold helmets but the gold helmets are one of the very best-looking helmets in the entire league, so it’s still not so bad. The Falcons are giving us the red throwbacks again, which go so fucking hard. The Patriots are also giving us their Pat Patriot white helmet, which also owns. Also appearing on the docket within the next two years without any picture releases yet are Eagles Kelly Greens (Yay!), Creamsicle Bucco Bruces (Yay!) and the Seahawks SadHawk silver helmet (Yay!). I am thrilled about all of this.
I should rank the helmets and uniforms someday soon as an offseason post.
EDIT: The Giants just revealed they will be doing the 80’s throwback look this year. I’m gonna be honest, it’s not a bad look, but I hate that the helmet and jersey are different shades of blue. I’d prefer they both be the darker navy blue so the uniform doesn’t just look like the current Bills.
“Basically arguing that the ass groove on your couch from years of sitting in the same spot makes you safer there than if they gave you a new couch without the ass groove for this week’s nighttime binge of The Boys.”
aka the best streaming show out.
The silver panthers normal silver helmet looks fine. It being outdated is such a twitter take.
I don’t think I’ve minded any helmet other than that Jags abomination
I think it is fair to point out that it contains a lot of helmet and logo design elements that were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s that aren’t popular now (incomplete stripes, beveled logo, dark colored and “angry” mascot), but I would agree that it looks fine. In fact, I would argue it is one of the best examples of a helmet that debuted in its era.
It also helps it avoid looking “dated” that there are a bunch of 1990s/early 2000s era and style helmet designs still being used in the NFL: Broncos, Buccaneers, Patriots, Titans, Falcons, Ravens, and to a lesser extent, the Eagles and Cardinals.
I’m normally against the 90s XTREME trends of black overload, shadow logos, and shades of teal, but there’s always exceptions and that Panthers helmet is one of them. The neon Carolina blue pops nicely against the black helmet, so it doesn’t look boring, like all-black usually does, and they have a legit local connection to the blue color so it doesn’t feel forced either. It’s interesting without screaming for attention. I like it.
I hear what you’re saying, and I understand why you feel like that. Subjectively, I fall on the other side of the coin. While the blue stripes do look nice, the Panther itself is way too thin to hold up its part of the bargain, and in the photos I can barely even make out what it is. The right side photo in particular is really bad:
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/latest-news/cnx6yr/picture263606478/alternates/FREE_1140/panthers%20black%20helmet.png
I would have played around with swapping the colors, and having it be primarily neon blue. That would have been unique, a little more refreshing, and while it might not be screaming for attention, it’s definitely shouting in a fairly loud voice, “I’m edgy! Look at me!” The Bengals helmet, though, is definitely a chef’s kiss.
Yeah, I’m not crazy about the black. I wish the team had leaned into the color rush uniforms more, and did the inverse of the alt helmet. Neon?/Electric Blue base with black mask and solid black logo. Or hell, they could have done a white base with white mask and solid black logo as well. Either would have been fine, and not the literal same alternative helmet color as the other teams in the division.
I used to make the Bengals helmet white all the time in Backyard Football, so it will be cool to see it in real life.
The Texans helmet will surely be used exclusively with the “battle red” uniforms, which is one of the few things the team has done in the last decade that has been well-received… In the absence of those alternate uniforms, I would have hoped for a plain white helmet, as the team used in promotions the year before the team actually took the field. Better yet, a helmet featuring the “Houston NFL 2002” logo used when the expansion team was first announced: https://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/571/Houston_Texans/1999/Special_Event_Logo
This was a perfect day to post this, because did you see what the Giants just revealed?
can’t stand the patriots in the slightest…but SO excited they brought the throwback helmets back…probably one of my favorite helmets
I love when these guys are brought back because we get our beloved Sexy Rexy briefly back too
Dave, I too was one who loved the Color Rush idea on Thursday nights. Especially since it was confined to that and didn’t get out of hand. I always play on Madden/NFL 2k5/Blitz with multiple alternate uniforms!
#BlueArizonaCardinals
I’m excited to see the classic Giants uniform. Now we just need someone built like LT in it to give QBs nightmares. I’m also excited to see Sexy Rexy here again
Is it just me, or do they look off? Not sure if it’s because they shrunk the size of shoulder pads over the years, if they changed some colors, or if my memory of it is based on a grainy out of focus TV image, and seeing all the threads in high def is doing it. But looking at Saquon and Daniel Jones in them, I’m waffling between “Ehhh” and “Euuuugh.”
As I have Sabrina Online in my web comic repertoire, all I can see is the Bengals going full Zig Zag (ironically that’s set in Ohio as well). And an…interesting cheerleader she’d make too.
I hope this goes the way the NBA has with their City getups – just not quite as nuts as a new one every year; couple of games a season maybe. Extend it to the uniforms – I think Miami could pull off a light grey look…
It always makes me happy whenever Sexy Rexy casually reappears in a comic
Will it ever not be Niketober? These poor guys are stuck in the monthly equivalent of Groundhog Day.
You should do a review/ranking of each team’s helmet design!
While I do appreciate the look of the Patriots throwback, it just brings me back to my youth and to a not-so-great time in Patriots history. Back to when the Pats were flailing to maintain mediocrity. The look triggers memories of the playoff drought, hope dashed, and the let down of being a Boston sports fan in the ole days.
For a little history in timing, the Patriots switched to “Flying Elvis” in 1993. At that time, the Patriots hadn’t been in the play-offs for 8 years, they were fighting to keep the team in New England (owner wanted to move them to STL), they’d only been to 1 superbowl (loss), and had one of the crappiest professional sports stadiums possible. It rivaled a modern high school stadium. In 92 Kraft saved the Patriots from moving, in 93 they changed the logo, in 94 Kraft bought the team. They also had their first decent year in a long time. In 96, they made it to the superbowl. They felt like a new team.
So, personally, keep the old Patriots logo for memorabilia and museuems. I don’t want to go back. Those were dark days. Don’t get me wrong, I loved them then and now…. but those were dark days.
As a fan of the Saints, another team which went through decades of futility before a recent run of success, I kinda get it, but on the other hand, you gotta remember your roots. I certainly don’t *want* to go back to the days of the Aints, but I don’t want to forget that those times ever existed, either. It’s still a part of our history, and remembering it is good for staying humble and not taking the successes for granted, IMO.
You never know, it might become another throwback jersey of invulnerability for them. I can’t recall them ever losing a game in the modern era while waring red.