What's The Deal??

The Bengals are terrible, but couldn't they at least look halfway decent doing it. They switched uniforms a few years ago, and I was in favor of it at the time. Now, I am convinced that they have the ugliest uniforms in the league, especially when they wear those God-awful orange jerseys. What's worse is that several other teams have changed their look recently, and I have failed to see what for. Here is a look at some of the old and new looks:

Cincinnati Bengals (THEN)


VS. (NOW)


I think the old uniforms got a bad rap because of how bad the team was during the 90's. Looking back on them, they were simple and crisp. The new uniforms have way too much going on. For example, what the hell is up with the white stripe running down the side of the black and orange jerseys? Way too many stripes, and way too much orange, in my opinion. Orange is a hard color to work with, and it is best used as a secondary color in uniform combinations. I think the Bengals helmets are unique, and I would not change them, but with the helmets being so busy, the rest of the uniform needs to just compliment the helmets, much the way they old unis did.

Arizona Cardinals (THEN)


VS. (NOW)


OK, so there is not a lot of difference here, but the red is a slightly darker shade, and what is up with the stripes down the sides of the jerseys? The old uniforms had a really sharp Cardinal red color that went really well with the white pants (or vice versa). Now the white jerseys have the red on the shoulder pads and down the side. This is a classic example of a team trying to do too much. Simple is almost always better. They had a nice look before, there was no reason to change it.

Buffalo Bills (THEN)


VS. (NOW)


This change might make the least sense of all. The Bills used to have one of the best, most classic color schemes around, red, white, and blue. Again, they were simple, and they looked sharp. For whatever reason, the Bills decided to change their shade of blue to a darker blue, and they joined the crowd by adding stripes down the sides of their jerseys and solid color to the shoulder pads of their white jerseys. Their monochrome look, as seen above, is terrible, and the new blue does not even match the blue of the bison on their helmet. I will give them some credit, the throwbacks they wear twice a season are sharp, too bad they can't wear them all the time.

Minnesota Vikings (THEN)


VS. (NOW)


Again, I just ask why? The Vikings darkened their shade of purple and added stripes and lines all over the place. They used to have that royal purple with a little yellow mixed in. Now, they have a dark purple with some yellow and some white stripes here and there. Whatever happened to the solid color jersey? You know, the type of jersey that is one solid color with maybe some stripes on the sleeves, and maybe the numbers on the shoulder pads. These new uniforms just have way too much going on in them for my liking.

Atlanta Falcons (THEN)


VS. (NOW)


The first bad move the Falcons made was changing their logo. They had a classic looking Falcon that did not need to be changed. Instead of leaving a classic logo alone, they decided to add some red to it, and make it more streamlined in an apparent attempt to make it look meaner. The uniforms also used to have a classic feel. The black and red went well together. Now, red, white, and black are all mixed together. There are different stripes and color blocks all over the uniforms, and it is yet another example of there being too much going on.

I will admit that my favorite NFL uniforms are the ones the are simple. Teams like the Bears, Colts, and Steelers all get bonus points in my book because they have a look that they stay true to. There is no need to change something just for the sake of changing it. In the end, it is usually about money, and new uniforms are a way to get fans to go out and buy more merchandise. It is too bad, however, that some classic looks are gone all for the sake of marketing.