13) Dolphins-Bills: MIA in white/white, BUF in blue/white. And I continue to wail over the loss of the Dolphins in aqua pants. Detracts from the very sharp Bills blue over white goodies.
12) Raiders-Steelers: OAK in white/silver, PIT in black/yellow. I know this is considered by many, if no most, of my peers as a classic uni matchup. But from a color aesthetic, it gives me not much joy. The Steelers iconic black tops and yellow bottoms, while beautiful in their own right, is brought down by the pallid white jersey and the sleek silver trousers of the Raiders.
11) Broncos-Colts: DEN in white/white, IND in blue/white. The battle of the horses is more of a trot than a full gallop. Unusual when I prefer the Colts uni to their opponent. But here, I do. Just enough Bronco orange trim to keep this one from being left in the stable.
10) Rams-Vikings: STL in white/white, MIN in purple/white. So the Rams decide to breakout the all white gear against the tried and true Viking purple over white. The result is disappointing. A little too much white for my might. Rams definitely should have suited up in the navy pants.
9) Falcons-49ers: ATL in white/white, SF in red/gold. Better than anticipated. While the Falcons all white look usually is a downer for me, paired with the neat-o Niner red on top of gold threads, it gives a nice coplimentary aura. Maybe it's the sharply contrasting Falcon black helmet that does the trick?
8) Browns-Bengals: CLE in white/white, CIN in black/black. First time for the Bengals in all black this season and the Browns go with the all white look. I think the time would have been right for the Browns to try an unused combo, white over orange. As such, it's OK, not offensive, but OK.
7) Jaguars-Jets: JAX in white/black, NYJ in green/white. Well, not as bad as I would have originally expected. The Jets resisted temptation and went with a more conservative approach against the Jags in the white over black. And for some reason, I am more drawn to the teal elements of Jax than normal.
6) Eagles-Cowboys: PHI in green/white, DAL in white/mint. One of the better NFC East matchups. The Eagles shade of green, which normally takes a hit, looks sweet against the Cowboys many hues of blue.
5) Redskins-Patriots: WSH in white/yellow, NE in navy/silver. Nice matchup. Enjoy the variety of colors on display. Burgundy, silver, yellow, navy is a nice enough palette to get through.
4) Bears-Chargers: CHI in white/navy, SD in navy/white. This one trips me up. At times, I think this is as good as it gets for the week. Then I take a second look and it seems to lack a lot and it feels like a bottom feeder. A lot of navy to be sure, a lot of opposites in terms of helmet, jersey and pant contrast. But at the end of the weekend, it's a little better than average. The trim colors (orange, powder blue, yellow) are the helpers here. They add a subtle, yet needed boost to this uni pairing.
3) Giants-Buccaneers: NYG in white/gray, TB in red/pewter. There's a certain zing to this matchup. The Giants tidy white over gray look, depending on the opponent, can look sharp as a tack or dull as a doorknob. The opponent's digs, the Bucs, wear the really nice red jersey with the pewter pants. The Bucs red jersey is sharp, despite being ridiculously busy. And with that, this one as I said, zings!
2) Packers-Panthers: GB in white/yellow, CAR in black/silver. A surprisingly good matchup. Not normally thrilled with the Panthers dark garb, but it pairs well with the Pack's white over yellow scheme.
1) Titans-Saints: TEN in white/navy, NO in black/gold. Somewhat surprised that the Saints haven't trotted out the all black ensemble yet. ANd that's a good thing here. It allows the Titans white over navy look to breathe a bit while the Saints gold pants shimmer nicely.
Reporting back for duty next week. See you then!
First - sympathies to those caught in the horror of the attacks in Paris.
ReplyDeleteNow: Week 9.
Unlike two weeks previous, where the hors d'oeuvres were so bad I practically left hungry, this time I need an antacid for gobbling most of it. Only three entrees/games were turned down.
STL-MIN: what will it take to convince the Rams' powers that be to bring gold pants back?
JAX-NYJ: for the first time this season Gang Green goes with their traditional home garb. But the Jags make it ineligible by going with black pants.
CLE-CIN: it was actually the Browns opponent that ruined the matchup, with the Bengals going all black. It's been a while since these two had a uni matchup done right in The Jungle.
That leaves 10 rankable games - a season high. It was tough ranking them, but I guess that's a good problem to have.
10. CHI-SD: I expected the Bolts to break out their powder blues but they didn't. I guess that's what we'll see a week from tomorrow when the Chiefs come calling in a game originally slated to open with the weekly Carrie Underwood serenade. These two teams had a decent matchup but not memorable.
9. PHI-DAL: always a good matchup when they meet in North Texas and wear their regular stuff. I just like 8 better this week.
8. DEN-IND: I prefer it when these two meet in Denver, but their matchups the last decade and a half in Naptown haven't disappointed.
7. ATL-SF: these two almost always create beautifully colorful uniform games. This Sunday was no exception. I happen to think that matchup would look better on a sunny day.
6. MIA-BUF: for the first time in 3 tries, the Dolphins go white on white with their current uni rendition in upstate NY. And the Bills go with their blue on white. The color contrasts better than I imagined. Again, it's the conspicuous aqua on Miami's gear.
5. OAK-PIT: the Raiders silver pants had a distinct shine last Sunday, enhancing a good classic matchup.
4. TEN-NO: most weeks this matchup would medal, but I liked 3 better. Had the Titans gone with light blue pants like they did the previous week in Houston, it would have easily been one of the top 2. It still looked really good, like their matchup in Week 6 of 1999, although that was the last season the Saints had the larger fleur de lis on their helmets.
3. WAS-NE: Washington's color scheme makes opponents' uniforms look better. This week is no exception.
2. GB-CAR: I'm with Tim in that this uni matchup is even better than I thought it would be. They've had this color combo before when meeting in Charlotte. This one just looked especially good.
1. NYG-TB: topping the list this week was a matchup that really disappointed me in January of 2008 during Wild Card Weekend, when Gruden's Bucs went WAH against the GYNTS. Each teams' unis brought out the best in the others.
Now my updated standings. After this week's games, only two teams have failed to notch even 1/2 point, and they happened to go head-to-head. The Giants, with back-to-back gold medals, leapfrog the Steelers into first place.
ReplyDeleteGiants: 12.5
Steelers: 11
Cowboys: 10.5
49ers: 9.5
Lions: 8
Saints: 7
Cardinals: 6.5
Eagles: 6.5
Falcons: 6
Chiefs: 5.5
Broncos: 5
Colts: 5
Packers: 5
Buccaneers: 3.5
Chargers: 3.5
Ravens: 3.5
Redskins: 3.5
Vikings: 3.5
Bears: 3
Panthers: 3
Patriots: 3
Dolphins: 2.5
Raiders: 2.5
Rams: 2
Seahawks: 2
Bills: 1.5
Texans: 1.5
Bengals: 1
Browns: .5
Titans: .5
Jaguars: 0
Jets: 0
And the medals go to...
ReplyDeleteBronze: Eagles-Cowboys
Just a classic look from both teams. Colors bounce off each other very well. Side note: I REALLY want the Eagles to go back to kelly green, but for this matchup I don't mind so much.
Silver: Titans-Saints
The Saints resist the all black ensemble for the second week in a row. And like last week, it is a wise choice. I think the Titans made the right move with the navy pants, but the Columbias would have worked just fine. Nice contrast with black/gold and two shades of azul.
Gold: Packers-Panthers
The last two times they played, it was the Packers' home garb versus the all white look for the Cats. Not a bad look but I prefer this combo, as I am very much averse to all white on most teams. While I like the Panthers' Carolina blue jerseys, I think the black shirts look better here.