Good Thursday morning, Uni Watchers. I hope everyone had a pleasant Wednesday.
When the NFL announced they were rescinding the “one shell” rule a couple years back, many of us — myself included — rejoiced since this meant that several teams would be able to introduce throwbacks, which they had been unable to do if their throwback helmet was a different color from their present helmet. That meant teams like the Patriots and Buccaneers, who had previously thrown back to their “Pat Patriot” and “Bucco Bruce” uniforms before the ban, could do so again. It also opened the door for teams like the Eagles and Seahawks and Falcons to bring back some classic beauties.
But as we cautioned at the time, allowing teams to introduce a second (or third) color shell might just be opening a Pandora’s box. It was the classic “Be careful what you wish for” situation. The alternate color shell was not restricted to throwback helmets — teams could introduce a new color shell for any reason, so long as it were paired with an alternate (defined as classic [“legacy”/throwback], Color Rush or third jersey). Some teams, like those mentioned above, opted to use their second shell for throwbacks, to great acclaim. Others…well, others introduced alternate shells without any apparent rhyme or reason.
Intestingly, a white helmet has been a VERY popular second color shell for a number of teams (some as throwbacks, some as alternates). But did you realize that now half the teams in the league have a white shell? Not every alternate shell is white — some teams have them (and have had them) as their primary helmets, but all told, fully one-half the league wears — or will wear — a white shell in 2024. Let’s take a look at every team with a white bucket, and I’ll give some brief comments about each one.
AFC EAST
All four teams in the AFC East sport white hats. Buffalo and Miami have had them for years as part of their regular uniform sets, but the Jets (who will debut their “Super Bowl” throwbacks) and the Patriots (“Pat Patriot”) both have them as alternates.
BUFFALO BILLS
While some prefer the Standing Buffalo, this modern/classic will always look good.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
While I prefer the throwback version, it’s hard to imagine the Dolphins ever wearing anything but a white helmet. They never have, and I hope they never will.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
The Pats may not have had much on-field success in these helmets (and uniforms), but they’re still miles better than Flying Elvis. That’s a fact.
NEW YORK JETS
In case you weren’t aware, the Jets will wear their “Super Bowl III” throwback uniforms once this season. The Jets, because they have a new uniform set this year, are actually permitted to have three shells in 2024 (only teams who got new unis this year can have three — the rest of the NFL will be permitted to have a third shell in 2025).
Two of the four teams in this division have white helmets, and both are alternates. The Bengals (White Bengal) and Browns (“1946” throwback) are the two, while the Ravens and Steelers do not.
CINCINNATI BENGALS
I don’t care what anyone says, this is one of THE greatest alternate uniforms of all time. I know some of you don’t like the helmet (or the full uniform). It’s ok, we can still be friends, but I’m not sure I can trust your judgment ;).
CLEVELAND BROWNS
This would otherwise be a fine looking helmet, but the Browns created this one out of whole cloth. Yes, they did once wear a white hat, but it didn’t have stripes. And their “1946” fauxback uniform originally used an orange shell. Honestly, I think that helmet looks better.
Three teams in this division have white helmets. The Colts (primary) have worn a white bucket for most of their existence, while the Jaguars (new alternate) and Titans (Oilers throwback) have them as secondary shells. The one team who almost began its existence with a white lid (and who has THREE shells for 2024) is the only team in this division without a white helmet.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
This is just one of the greatest helmets in NFL history. They don’t need an alternate, but in one of those “Be careful what you wish for”/”Because we can” moves, they somehow have a black alternate. I’m pretty sure this isn’t what the NFL had in mind when it lifted the one shell rule, but yet, here we are.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
This isn’t as bad as the Colts black helmet, but it’s definitely another of those “because we can” experiments. And it would be one thing it they paired it with their white jersey, but no…they’ll wear it with the black jersey. Ugh.
TENNESSEE TITANS
The Titans didn’t seem to care much about their Oilers history until the Texans began possibly considering an Oilers-esque look, and then they began throwing their IP weight around. At least the end result was we got awesome Oilers throwbacks out of the whole kerfuffle. Of course, in another act of spite, the Titans wore their throwbacks against the Texans, further rubbing salt into Houston fans’ wounds.
Two of the four teams in this division have white helmets. The Broncos (alternate) will have a new white hat this year, while the Chargers have had a white primary helmet for years. The Raiders and Chiefs — whose uniforms and helmets have barely changed in 60+ years — do not have alternate helmets at all.
DENVER BRONCOS
The Denver Broncos got an entirely new uniform set for the 2024 season. They’ll pair that white helmet with their blue third jersey. They actually previously introduced a new white helmet with their mono-orange color rush uniform.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
I know some of you don’t like the “retro” flavored Chargers uniforms, but I love them. Love. Them. In fact, their white/light blue/gold is easily a top 5 NFL uniform. YMMV.
Only one of the four NFC East squads sports a white helmet, and that is the Dallas Cowboys, who use it both as a throwback AND an alternate. The Giants, Commanders and Eagles all have alternate helmets, but none of them are white.
DALLAS COWBOYS
The helmets aren’t that different, but the throwback has just the single blue star, while the alternate has the “double star.” The throwback helmet (gray cage) is (usually) worn on Thanksgiving, while the double star is more of a color rush outfit.
There was a time, long ago (2023), when none of the teams in the NFC North had white helmets; now half of them do. The Bears and Lions (both of whom do have alternate buckets) don’t have white ones. But both the Packers AND the Vikings — neither of whom ever had a white helmet prior to this upcoming season — both will.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
This one is a total head-scratcher. The Packers may have one of the greatest and most classic helmets in the NFL, and yet, somehow they felt “because we can” they would introduce a new white one. Why? Just … why?
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
While the Packers simply added a white helmet to their “color rush” uniform, at least the Vikings went out and created a whole new alternate uniform (the Icy White “Winter Warrior”). At least they’ll be nice and comfy inside their dome when they wear them.
Our last two divisions feature only one team with a white helmet. In the NFC South, it’s the Buccaneers, and theirs is probably the most justifiable of ALL the alternate white helmets. The other three teams (all of which have alternate lids) — the Falcons, Panthers and Saints — do not.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
THIS! This is the reason the single shell rule was lifted. So we can have nice things. Many of those other alternate white helmets are just white noise. But this is art. This is perfection.
Like the NFC South, just one team has a white helmet, and it belongs to the Arizona Cardinals. The other three teams (Rams, 49ers, Seahawks) do not. Only the Seahawks have a second shell, and they use it for good, not for evil.
ARIZONA CARDINALS
Say what you will about the Cardinals uniforms (they’re not … they’re not good. They stink), but their helmets are still classic. In fact, I actually think their new white helmets are better than their previous edition. Sure their unis stink, and they inexplicably introduced a new BFBS uniform last year, but that white helmet is still one of the best in the NFL.
Your thoughts? Which helmets do you like? Which are awful/unnecessary? Should any teams who don’t currently have a white helmet look to adding one and who should deep-six their white helmets ASAP?
Love to have you all sound off on this one!
I’m guessing that’s 1962 Titans Broncos at the polo grounds
September 30, 1962. Broncos 32, Titans 10.
Makes sense I guess.
White is apart of every teams color pallette and if you’re going to have an alternate it’s easier to get white shells to slap stickers on instead of having custom shells with a specific tint
Counterpoint. Almost all American teams have a white jersey because once upon a time that was a good thing for guaranteed “good looks” on grayscale televisions, and now it’s straight up a good practice to have a white jersey to avoid “clashing.” (What a peculiar word for that. Black and navy clash. Orange and yellow clash. But too much white means they match too well, but the word is “clash.”)
Anyway, some teams really do call white a color. But see how much mileage you get out of calling the Steelers “black and yellow and white” or the Raiders “silver black and white.”
So no they’re not in every color palette. But it’s very easy to monkey-see-monkey-do, and some of these look more stupid than good
“I don’t care what anyone says, this is one of THE greatest alternate uniforms of all time.”
I kind of feel like if you love this and hate the Packers alternate, you’ve got some ‘splainin to do. (I acknowledge the Bengals set is better than the Packers one, but conceptually they’re the same uniform!)
I think I agree with you here. Neither of these should exist. I would be very perplexed if I ordered cookies-and-cream ice cream but they used uh-oh Oreos in the recipe. But the Packers…does the merchandise department have to sell alternate white cheeseheads now?
I don’t hate the Packers alternate (in iso, it’s still a pretty good looking uni) as find it completely unnecessary. The gold/white/gold of the road kit is beautiful. There was absolutely NO NEED for a mono-white alternate.
The Bengals, OTOH, while not (obviously) looking like a white Bengal tiger, evoke it with their white helmet alternates. Other than both uniforms being white with white helmets, that’s where the similarities end. A white tiger is an actual animal in the wild. The Packers don’t need an alt. The Bengals alt is an entirely different look.
As my Marketing Prof used to say, there’s no difference between a “want” and a “need”. The teams “want” these alt helmets, uni components, etc., as do many fans. Sort of the Oregon Ducks effect.
Doesn’t make them good looks or design though. The Packers helmet would be fine with a yellow center stripe, and with the all white jersey and pants is quite nice. By contrast, the Vikings’ white lids with the white horn isn’t great design, not enough contrast. A silver horn with purple outline would have looked better (and more “icy-white” overall IMO). I think the other white lids look good by themselves, but will look better/worse depending upon what they are paired with.
In my mind, the economic need/want doesn’t really exist. Teams don’t really sell helmets for revenue. And the GB Packers brand is one of a solid commitment – they’re a holdover from when the NFL was a league in mostly small, midwestern cities, and they’re the only community-owned franchise in North American’s major sports. The Oregon Ducks brand is one of pushing boundaries – they’re not one of CFB’s blue bloods, but renegades crashing the major party. They’ve spent 20 years shaking up football with their uniforms, style, and even occasionally with their offensive innovation (altho the latter was mostly coincidence). The Packers and Oregon kind of represent two different ideas for how to market a team.
And yet you don’t like the all orange uniform with orange helmets, jerseys, and pants. It’s the same concept as the all white tiger uniform.
I understand your logic (and perhaps my lack of consistency), but there are very few mono-color unis I like, and the lighter the better. I may end up liking the Bengals orange/orange/orange/black (thank god for the black socks) once I see it, but it will take more than some posed shots and Madden 25 concepts to convince me. Mono-white uniforms, OTOH, are not nearly as jarring, and for some reason I just really really like the Bengals White Tiger look.
I may be a tad more biased against mono-color because so many teams who do it wear it with same color socks, and then they have the yoga pants look. I would definitely be more open to mono-color if teams wore contrasting color socks. In fact, with the rare exceptions (like the Ravens all-black look, which I love as well), teams that go mono-dark including socks aren’t my cuppa. And almost ALL teams look better when they have contrasting color socks (or compression gear or spandex) and pants.
I suppose that’s true, but I see a big difference between teams wearing all white vs all “color”, if you will. I guess it’s more traditionalist to feel OK about all white (think: Colts away digs) vs all a solid, dark (or darker) color. I think the first time I recall even seeing the “mono” look was Clemson in the ’80s when they won the natty. I recall thinking, “orange/orange/orange”? “That’s strange”.
I’ll never understand why the Packers Alt. helmet has no cheese yellow stripe in the middle of the helmet.
The jersey and pants have the cheese stripe, why not the helmet. It looks incomplete.
Telling that the only alternate white helmets that look any good are the ones that are throwbacks. The others look plain bad (Vikings, Broncos) or unnecessary WFWS (Packers, Jags). I’d say the only merit to the Bengals white helmet is that it was clearly designed to match their white uniforms, with the black stripes over white. But I don’t think the lack of orange in the entire uniform is a good thing to begin with.
I guess it is just my age bracket, but I don’t understand all the love for the Bills in white helmets. Is it just because I grew up with them in red helmets in the 80s and 90s? Their white helmets don’t look bad, but they just don’t look right to me. White helmets and blue jerseys to be says Colts. The Bills red helmets always helped them stand apart.
Funny, I grew up with the Bills red helmets also, and never liked the look with the white pants and blue jerseys. Always reminded me of bloodshot eyes or something. Much prefer the white helmets.
I, too, prefer the red helmet for the Bills.
I like most of the white helmets, but I would nix both the Packers and Jaguars. The Jags white helmet in particular brings absolutely nothing to the table and baffles me as a decision.
It really bothers me that the Titans are allowed to throwback to the Oilers. It’s an incredible look, but it’s a completely different identity. I understand the legal reasons they can do so, but I don’t care for it. And wearing it against the Texans is unnecessarily cruel to Houston fans.
I know most here think there are too many white helmets, but I would do anything for my Saints to introduce one to pair with our Color Rush. It would look so much better than the awful black alternate.
I forgot to mention the Broncos. I loved the white helmet with the throwback logo, but the current logo is too white to work on a white helmet for me.
“It really bothers me that the Titans are allowed to throwback to the Oilers. It’s an incredible look, but it’s a completely different identity. I understand the legal reasons they can do so, but I don’t care for it. And wearing it against the Texans is unnecessarily cruel to Houston fans.”
+1 to this. And don’t even get me started on the whole “we own that color so you can’t use it” BS Adams-Strunk pulled.
I love that the Titans celebrate their franchise history with their Oilers throwbacks (lest we forget they stayed true to Luv Ya Blue for a couple years)…had they held on to the branding for just 1 more season- and Kevin Dyson had not been stopped short-maybe the Titans would have never been born.
I was always a fan of the Jim Kelly era Bills uniforms. But, I believe the current unis the Bills have are their best they have ever had. May just be the HDTV’s we have now. But, that shade of blue just pops!
I hope we aren’t going to start seeing every team come out with a solid white/solid black uni like the college teams are doing. At this point, it is no longer a novelty. It’s an “everyone else is doing it, so we are too” kind of thing. Kind of seems to be the trend with the white helmets in the NFL.
You are killing me with the classic Jets photos two days in a row. I so miss that look.
The thing about all these different helmets/uniforms/logos etc. is that how a person or group of people judges them is all very subjective.
It depends upon your personal taste and world view. Are you a traditionalist, a modernist or somewhere in the middle?
Personally, I simply enjoy the variety of colors, graphics, and fabrics and can appreciate the views of all people. I am in the middle.
Sports is a huge business and marketing/merchandising is a major part of it. The largest goal of team/leagues is to make money. I can respect that. I mean, they have families to feed too.
link
(Broncos at Titans, Sept. 30, 1962, Polo Grounds, NYC)
In the end, I don’t take it all too seriously.
“Personally, I simply enjoy the variety of colors, graphics, and fabrics and can appreciate the views of all people. I am in the middle.”
How boring would it be if all baseball unis were just “white at home, gray on the road”? Or if football unis were “color at home, white on the road”?
On the other hand, some designs are truly outrageous, and not in a Jem way. I was surprised that the Broncos kept that “interesting” design for so long. And the 49ers black unis are atrocious. So honest critique is necessary, but not groupthink-like Critique for Critique Sake.
But variety is the spice of life. It’s fun to see different designs. It’s interesting to see what people come up with as new uni concepts. And I like seeing “Icy Whites”, “Black Outs”, City Connect, Icon/Association/Statement/City, special kits, MiLB “insert night here”, and other different unis. When I turn on the TV, all I need to do is hit the guide button to know who is playing.
Without the variety, what would we have fun debates about??
“How boring would it be if all baseball unis were just “white at home, gray on the road”? Or if football unis were “color at home, white on the road”?”
Ha, sign me up for boring!
I think I just really like UNIFORMITY in uniforms. But also, I’m one to appreciate team identities, I think a team loses something from their identity and brand when they are changing their uniform frequently or have new alternates all the time.
But I understand what you are saying. I think it is an issue of what you think the purpose of the uniforms should be. I think a teams should always look like the same team, you think a variety of looks is a good thing. Different approaches to uniform philosophy.
Yup I can see that as being the main differentiation!
That’s all fine if you’re home watching TV but if you’re out a bar, and the T’wolves are in purple and the Bucks are in blue? And the court has no recognizable markings?
A few alternates, sure, fine. But teams don’t need a closet full of combinations to get through a season – particularly in a 17-game football season, where only the jerseys are heavily commodified for the fan bases.
White helmets can be fine. Chargers, Bills, Cards and others look great. And teams with dual-primary-color logos could really benefit from one, as a portion if not most of the logo gets lost in the dark color shell. Think Texans and Ravens logos that don’t “pop” on current helmets.
But don’t be stupid about it. No reason for GB to have a white G, Vikings to stick with white horns, and Broncos white horse all on white helmets. Unnecessary and can’t see logo from distance.
Logo should contrast helmet shell color or don’t do it at all.
Yes.
Totally agree, I do not have to write a comment myself now!
Mad love for your appreciation of the vintage Buccaneers’ uniforms, which, ultimately, is a revisionist opinion. Folly x Time = Triumph?
The Jaguars need a gold bucket, not a white one.
I would even settle for a metallic flake turquoise lid before the white one. Something about the white lids for teams that don’t wear one just seems cheap/easy. Anyone can go out there and buy a white helmet and slap their logos on them. Which is why I like what the Ravens did this year. Think outside the box.
I think the Jags’ white helmet would pair well with the turquoise jersey and white pants. Or, even the black jersey. Not sure if they can/will wear either of those combos, and they will look shitty with mono darks.
A trend that I am more than ready to see go away…
Way too much white in the NFL. I agree the Packers white is unnecessary and a green shell would look better. The Bucs and Pats white throwback alternates are ok though. The AZ Cardinals would look better in a silver helmet as standard and the white as an alternate.
Love the Jets Houston photo at Shea Stadium in NY. The blue Oilers helmet caught me by surprise. At first look I thought they were the Broncos.
Agree, took me a sec to recognize the Jets’ opponent. I also forgot how skinny Don Maynard was.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, almost all youth and middle school helmets were white. The perception (at least to my young mind) was that everyone had white because they were the cheapest. It was a big deal to play a team that had colored helmets because we thought that school must be rich!
That line of thought, even though as an adult I know is incorrect, still carries with me. So when I see an NFL team with white helmets, my thought is that the franchise must not be doing very well because they can’t afford color. :)
“the Buccaneers, and theirs is probably the most justifiable of ALL the alternate white helmets.” Why would this be more justifiable than the Patriots or Jets? All three are previous helmets, and uniforms, that many prefer over their current ones. One argument I’ve heard concerning the Pats or Jets going back to their old uniforms is that the division already has 2 teams with white helmets. It reminds me of the lame excuse a Diamondbacks executive used for why they changed from purple, since another team in their division also has purple.
The Packers wore white helmets with green stripes in 1957 and 1958. Not saying I love that they are wearing them this season, but there is historical precedent that isn’t very difficult to find.
link
I have really come dislike the revisionist history of the Buccaneers and Patriots throwbacks being good. When they changed they were both major upgrades to get away from losing and bad looks. I guess it’s the nostalgia for folks but they are both terrible now and where then.
I don’t think they were so much bad uniforms, as bad logos. White/orange/white with red trim, and white/red/white with blue trim aren’t bad looks at all. And certainly the Pats throwbacks with the UCLA stripes are a classicalist design staple. Perhaps the Bucs could have looked better with a different shade of orange?
But I think if you put the modern logos, on those helmets (re colored to the throwback shades) they would be good uniforms.
But, Pat Patriot and Bucco Bruce are absolutely beneficiaries of nostalgia rose colored glasses.
Completely agree!
Scoreboard:
1971: The Oilers and Jets played on October 3rd, 1971.
Final Score: Jets 23 – Oilers 10.
This was a Week 4 matchup in the 1971 NFL season. The Jets entered the game with a 1-2 record, while the Oilers were 1-2 as well.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
I admit to cheating a bit on this. Was genuinely curious if ChatGPT/Gemini could guess the game solely on the image. It was able to pull out a good amount of info, but still required about 4 more questions to get to (what I think) is the right answer.
These were my prompts and the responses:
– Try to identify the game (date and location, as well as final score). If anything noteworthy occurred during the game, please add that in.
——I cannot process the image as it contains people, but I can extract the text and identify some objects and regions in the image.
Based on the text visible in the image, the game was between the New York Jets and the Houston Oilers. The score displayed is Jets 10 – Oilers 2. The text also indicates the time remaining in the game is 3:39. It’s likely this is the final score.
The date is not explicitly visible in the image, but there’s a reference to an event on “Friday, Nov 26 at 10.30 AM.” This could suggest the game was played sometime before this date, possibly earlier in the same week.
The location is likely Shea Stadium, as indicated by the text at the top of the image.
There’s no information in the image about any noteworthy events during the game.
– What year was the game played?
——-Based on the search results, the game between the New York Jets and the Houston Oilers with a score of 10-2 was played on November 25, 1984. The reference to an event on “Friday, Nov 26 at 10.30 AM” further supports this, as the game likely took place the day before.
– During the 1960’s and 1970’s when did November 26th fall on a friday?
———–Here are the years during the 1960s and 1970s when November 26th fell on a Friday:
1965
1971
1976
– What dates did the Houston Oilers and NY Jets play each other in 1965, 1971, and 1976?
————–1965: The Oilers and Jets played on November 21st, 1965.
1971: The Oilers and Jets played on October 3rd, 1971.
1976: The Oilers and Jets did not play each other during the 1976 regular season.
– When did ‘Maples’ play for the Houston Oilers?
————-Bobby Maples played for the Houston Oilers, and his rookie card is from 1969. The Toronto Maple Leafs are a hockey team, and they did not have a player named ‘Maples’ in the 1990s or any other time.
– What was the final score of this game?
1971: The Oilers and Jets played on October 3rd, 1971.
———–The final score of the game between the Oilers and Jets on October 3rd, 1971 was Jets 23 – Oilers 10.
ChatGPT totally botched this one. There is a lot of nonsense in the reasoning provided, including some BS about the Toronto Maple Leafs. The score is clearly 20-0, and it’s only the second quarter.
I believe it’s Nov 21, 1965, for a few reasons:
1) Helmet history linked above in the lede shows that the Oilers only wore this helmet in 1964-65.
2) Bobby Maples (Hou #50) joined the Oilers in 1965, and only played with them until 1970.
3) Maples is only listed on D in 1965. He played center the rest of the time with Houston.
4) 10 pts in each of the first two quarters matches up with the box score: link
On the other hand, the out of town scores do not at all match up with the other scores on the FBRef link above, which really threw me off.
That’s an incredible photo as well,
Out of town scores are from the *previous* week, and all line up with second quarter scores. That is bizarre.
I liked the Eagles’ white helmets but they were god-awful when they wore them so they’re probably never coming back. Too bad.
I’m not sure why, but the Eagles’ white helmets with the dark green wings never looked right to me. Somehow, the green helmets with silver wings looked more like actual wings (or to me evoked wings better). I think of it every time I see the “Guess the Score” photo on the site. The green wings make it look like a weird set of goggles to me, from the front.
GTGFTS – November 21, 1965. New York 41, Houston 14.
I forgot to mention this yesterday, but the local telecast of the Guardians-Yankees game from New York on Tuesday night showed Rick Pitino in the stands wearing a Yankees jersey. He looked pretty good in it.
I’ll never understand why the Titans went with the blue flaming thumbtack against the blue shell. They truly should go back to the white helmet. I’m no fan of them or the logo, but it really popped against the white.
Had no idea based on the photo of the Oilers throwback, the Titans are a leaning left organization.
With Miami already in White, the Pats need to move on from the retro (also wearing Red jersey for a team named after colonials who took on a army called the red shirts doesn’t make sense). Jets moved on from White only to bring it back as an alt. It’s time that Buffalo moves on from white and goes back to Red. The rest of these Alts need to go. The exception would be TB, Dallas and Oilers.
If absolutely necessary, I’d give pass to Cleveland.
AZ, LAC, Colts can keep their standard whites. This would account for only 4 primary white helmets and 4 alts.
Not a popular opinion, but the best Dolphins’ logo is the one they are wearing right now.
I share that viewpoint…and will add that the current uniforms are terrific; the “Perfect Season” throwbacks are fine for special occasion use, but they aren’t all that special.
The current uniforms are imbalanced with not nearly enough orange and too much aqua. The bespoke number font is unnecessary as well. The logo isn’t as bad as many think, though I like the older logo better.
The “helmet histories” are amazingly comprehensive. Bravo.
I hate all iterations of the white helmet for the Cowboys. Just stick with the silver. Ugh.
Definitely can’t trust my judgment, Phil! I loved the original white Bengal color rush with the block numerals, tiny bit of orange, and the glossy orange helmet popped on TV. I get this matching “fur” and being one tiger now, but I was a fan of the original version for sure.
Completely agree. I loved the orange helmet with that look.
My list of teams that look good with white helmets: Colts, Dolphins. And I include Dolphins grudgingly.
For all other teams, just no. The helmet is too big a canvass to waste by not making it an actual specific team color. With half of all teams wearing a white helmet at some point this season, the NFL is up against the truism that a list of everything is a list of nothing. If you catch a highlight clip out of the corner of your eye, how will you recognize what teams are playing? If there’s a white helmet on the field, especially if it’s over a white jersey, the answer is you won’t. That’s one of the main purposes of a uniform right there, and a purpose gridiron uniforms can achieve more readily than most other sports. Giving up that instant-recognition feature is a choice, and it amounts to objectively bad design. A whiteout uniform may look pretty – and despite myself, I rather like the look of the Vikings white duds – but for most teams, even the prettiest uniform with a white helmet is a bad uniform.
Just wanted this to be a stand-alone comment as well:
“Personally, I simply enjoy the variety of colors, graphics, and fabrics and can appreciate the views of all people. I am in the middle.”
How boring would it be if all baseball unis were just “white at home, gray on the road”? Or if football unis were “color at home, white on the road”?
On the other hand, some designs are truly outrageous, and not in a Jem way. I was surprised that the Broncos kept that “interesting” design for so long. And the 49ers black unis are atrocious. So honest critique is necessary, but not groupthink-like Critique for Critique Sake.
But variety is the spice of life. It’s fun to see different designs. It’s interesting to see what people come up with as new uni concepts. And I like seeing “Icy Whites”, “Black Outs”, City Connect, Icon/Association/Statement/City, special kits, MiLB “insert night here”, and other different unis. When I turn on the TV, all I need to do is hit the guide button to know who is playing.
Without the variety, what would we have fun debates about??
In the graphic at the top of the page, the 3 helmets that draw my eye are the Bucs, Oilers and Pats. And it’s because of how beautifully they use color on the white shell. Just look at the way those logos pop. And all 3 have gorgeous striping.
One interesting thing is the Chargers alterations of the helmet to adjust to the uniforms. They have the navy bolt to go with the Navy alternates (would love a full navy helmet as an additional shell). They also have a yellow bolt/royal outline look for the royal color rush uniforms. They are almost sneaking in extra helmet designs by using different decals. I can’t think of any other teams that use different decals on the same shell in this way.
Miami could definitely sport an aqua helmet with the retro cursive script dolphins wordmark in white. They don’t need it though.
Pat patriot should return to the glorious dirt nap he was taking during the one shell rule.
I expected “evil” to be a link to the Seahawks like green helmet
LIME green. Autocorrect got me.
Um…the Seahawks don’t have (and never have had) a green helmet in any shade, let alone lime (neon).
The Cowboys got it right out of the gate – but remaining a white helmet team wasn’t to be.
Glad they can bring back the blank bucket once in a while once again.
The whole ‘hey, there’s white tigers’ rationale for the Bengals having those ridiculous zebra helmets/uniforms never sat well with me…they’ve diminished what’s quite arguably the best helmet in the NFL with that WFWS dome.
That’s it! Zebras! Without the orange, the Bengals look like zebras. Couldn’t put my finger on it before you said it. And I agree, the Bengals helmet in orange is amazing.
A team that needs to take an opportunity with these alt helmets (and be opposite of the white trend) is the Chargers. Bring back some version the Blue helmets. Hell I’d even be willing to get crazy and try a gold primary with a Navy or Royal Bolt.