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Chargers, Commanders Have Custom Cap Covers

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Happy Sunday Morning, and welcome to Training Camp. Or as the NFL would say, welcome to Back Together Weekend. It’s time once again to strap on the pads and helmets…and don’t forget your Guardian Caps. As Paul told us back in April, the padded covers that are mandatory in practice (except for quarterbacks, kickers and punters) are now approved for use in regular games. He also shared a photo of two Georgia Bulldogs players wearing custom-made cap covers that resembled the helmet. Now, we have two examples of custom-made NFL covers seen during the first week of camp.

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Here’s a closeup of the Chargers photo with both the regular and covered helmets:

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Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer was at camp and took this photo.

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I have to say, as much as I love a glossy helmet, these covers look more than good enough for me. And I think they look pretty good on the Commanders as well.

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If everyone wore them, you wouldn’t have to worry about fitting the logo in between all the cut-out parts of the newfangled helmets. For safety’s sake, go for it…then make those helmet numbers and logos bigger!

In other training camp news, it’s good to see the Bengals’ Joe Burrow healthy, back on the field, and…punting?

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Looks as if he didn’t nail the coffin corner there. Keep trying, in case you’re ever in a quick-kick situation.

Another number 9, one who’s more used to putting his foot to the football, also was hard at work.

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With sleeve numbers and some other tweaks, that could be a mighty fine road jersey for the Steelers. Reminds me a bit of their ’63-’65 unis.

Speaking of kickers, bad news from Lions camp. There was a good battle between incumbent Michael Badgley and Jake Bates, who made multiple 60-yarders with the UFL’s Michigan Panthers. Unfortunately, that battle is over as Badgley tore his hamstring. When I heard the news I got out one of my best thrift store finds ever and kicked a field goal for him. I probably should have stretched first, especially since I haven’t kicked in two months. Not to worry, though…it went well.

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One more preseason note: Thursday is the annual Hall of Fame Game about a half hour down I-77 from the Uni Watch Rust Belt offices. Unlike some of you, I can’t wait to see those new Texans unis in action! Also, today marks 50 years and one day since the NFL moved the goalposts to the back of the end zone.

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LOVE those end zones. And while I’ve been to Tom Benson Stadium and enjoyed it, I do miss Fawcett sometimes.

Now, onto some regular season action from the league that kept the goalposts where they belong: Last night in the CFL, the Toronto Argonauts added a memorial “PM” sticker to their helmets.

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According to our North of the Border correspondent Wade Heidt, the team is honoring Peter Martin, who played linebacker for Toronto, then became a Hall of Fame broadcaster for the team. Fittingly, the Argos won, and they did it on…you guessed it…another walk-off field goal!

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Maybe Argentina Should Get Champion To Make Their Unis To Even Things Out

The world is getting reacquainted with a rather unfortunate surname. In Argentina, Olympic volleyball star Agustín Loser‘s last name is pronounced “Lo-sair.” On the international scene, though, the bronze medal winner from the Tokyo games looks at first glance to be a real non-winner.

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After checking his Instagram and X feeds, it seems that sometimes he’ll wear “Loser Bruno” on the back of his jersey. He did so yesterday, as Argentina began the group stage against the United States.

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It didn’t make a difference, as the USA won in straight sets. Better luck next time.

 

 

 

What Jim Did Last Week

On Tuesday, reader Marc Swanson reposted a tweet from Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Chrissy Hynde, who grew up in my hometown.

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Just from looking at everything in the photo, I thought to myself, that has to be one of two areas: either two blocks from Dad’s house, or about a mile away in the other direction. So I got in the car and drove to my first guess. Nope. Then I resumed my search in the other area. After just a few blocks, bingo!

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Even though I don’t live there anymore I still know my town.

 

 

 

And That'll Do It For Today

I’ll be out of town next weekend, but one way or another I’ll have content. I’m preparing two articles, and I should be able to take The Wife’s laptop with me, just in case something really big happens. Hopefully not. Anyway, take care, and I’ll see you next weekend.

 

 

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Comments (36)

    The helmet covers aren’t as bad as I feared. It would eliminate the one-shell rule in practical terms since you could wrap one helmet with whatever you wanted, since that was always an argument against multiple helmets.
    It is going to be tougher for the Chargers, since they’re putting individual numbers on the helmets. The Commanders and other teams can just order in bulk.
    These are all things I never expected to be talking about but here we are.
    Good sleuthing on the Chrissy Hume picture. Bryce Harper helping with a promposal this spring happened in my childhood hometown and I think I have the house figured out.

    The Browns still go through the motions of ‘earning’ their stripes, right?
    So they’d need plain orange for preseason and then center stripe versions, and then also white throwback models…2 too many helmets, 3 too many covers if you ask me (though no one did).
    Don’t want to see bulked-up Bengals buckets either.

    Steelers still have to earn their helmet numbers (see the tweet), but the Browns stopped “earning their stripes” when Hue Jackson was fired.

    I will stop watching football the moment these grotesque helmet covers appear in a real game.

    Get ready to stop watching. Like Phil, I was pleasantly surprised at how good they looked, especially at distance – the difference wasn’t that stark. Gives them more options for design and you know, safer. I’m all for it

    It’s coming — and sooner rather than later, I would imagine. I’m sure there are players that went kicking & screaming into the Guardian Caps for practice. But I can’t imagine it will be long before more than one player realizes he wants his brain in good enough shape to enjoy retirement.

    I know this is a site about uniform aesthetics, but these players are literally killing themselves for our entertainment. Anything that reduces concussions and brain damage down has to be the priority – not whether Tony things they look grotesque or not.

    Feels to me this season so far there are a higher number of walk-off field goal games in the CFL compared to usual.

    I wonder if the TN Titans would look as good as the Argo’s do if they did something similar with their uniforms?

    The Titans would be wiser to return to their Oilers look from last season on a full time basis than to wear a helmet/uni combo like that.
    I prefer the white bucket but I know some long for a return to a Columbia (or is it H-Town?…no, it’s not) helmet.
    Either way – stay away from the silver.

    I’m not saying I’ll stop watching, and I’ve gotten used to things I never thought I would, but there has to be something better than this. Maybe football just isn’t meant to be played.

    It will be nice to see full logos on a helmet once again, but the shape of the outline of a players head in these look very odd. I’m suprised that the covers that Mark Kelso and Steve Wallace wore in the 90’s that still looked like the actual plastic helmets.

    Saw it here a long time ago…the Great Gazoo coming to a NFL game near you!

    Why don’t they just increase the size of the helmets (which is what they already look like) and put all of that extra padding on the inside? Even though they are slightly safer, they look ridiculous. What I am curious about is how do they hold up during weather? When these caps and covers get wet how heavy are they going to be?

    The Jimmer’s kicking style reminds me a lot of the second to last straight on kicker in the NFL, a kicker from an era many years ago, the Vikings Rick Danmeier.

    I have a copy of the book he co-authored with Dave Jennings and Matt Bahr!
    link
    I checked that book out of the library way too many times. Finally ordered it online.

    I knew your form looked familiar! The Philadelphia Bell had three place kickers that I remember, he could have cut more, too bad you weren’t in your 20’s in 1974, Ron Waller would have given you a tryout! My father was the placeholder for an early Bell scrimmage. He held his right leg out stiff like Sonny Jurgensen did, one guy pounced on his leg and another guy hit him in the head. He walked over to Waller and said I quit, get yourself another holder.

    Jurgensen
    link
    wasn’t the only one for Washington…
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    At least Theismann kept his leg in a bit. Probably saved him a decade until LT broke it for him.

    The farms of Ohio
    Had been replaced by shopping malls
    And Muzak filled the air
    From Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls
    Said, ay, oh, way to go, Ohio

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