Week 5 2014 Weekly Uniform Rankings

By Tim Brulia

As the weeks of the season begin to gather speed, we shall do likewise with this past week's uniform game rankings.

Note that we have entered "Breast Cancer Awareness Month." We at the GUD wholeheartedly support the cause, but the uniform rankings reflect only the team colors and not the pink accessories. We trust you understand.

15) Rams-Eagles: STL in navy/navy, PHI in white/white. OK, we need to get the Eagles green in here ASAP! It would have helped a lot in this matchup, either as a jersey color or as the pants color. Instead, we have to deal with the starkness of all navy against all white. At least the Birds' helmets maintain a green look.

14) Jets-Chargers: NYJ in white/white, SD in navy/white. Muph. I like the Chargers navy over white combo. Of course, not nearly like I like powder over white, but still...And then when the Jets come into town with the white all over look and I lose my appetite.

13) Ravens-Colts: BAL in white/black, IND in blue/white. Good for the Ravens to choose black pants instead of white, it does bolster this matchup some. Colts blue jerseys blend well against that Raven black and purple.

12) Steelers-Jaguars: PIT in black/yellow, JAX in white/black. Why so low? I really can't explain. A lot of black to be sure, yellow and gold, too. Maybe...not enough teal? The teal does stand out, but not enough as it's just a trim color, but I think it would have worked as a jersey color for the Jags and it would have made the Steelers yellow pop more in white than in black. Alas, we'll never know.

11) Seahawks-Redskins: SEA in white/white, WSH in burgundy/yellow. Rather odd for a team with a choice of three pant colors for a prime time game goes with all white? Against a smartly clad Redskins squad in burgundy over yellow. Yes, disappointing, but the trim colors of navy & neon green helps to keep this matchup from the basement.

10) Falcons-Giants: ATL in white/white, NYG in blue/gray. Suppose, just suppose, the Falcons had a set of red pants and decided to don them here? WOW. But reality can be harsh. Still, reds as a trim to Falcon black and Giant blue and gray is really not that bad. Not that good, either.

9) Cardinals-Broncos: ARZ in white/white, DEN in orange/white. Really, two combos that are pretty decent on their own, but put together, they create for me a large meh. Thinking red pants for the Cardinals would have helped some, but they won't be seen likely till mid-November. Are the Broncos' orange wearing thin with me? Hope not.

8) Bengals-Patriots: CIN in white/white, NE in navy/silver. The Bengals all whites are surprisingly nice with the orange helmets and the orange socks. Orange and black tiger stripes do wonders for an all white ensemble. Couple this with a pleasant navy over silver Patriots look and this matchup looks better than expected.

7) Bears-Panthers: CHI in navy/white, CAR in white/white. This is actually not as bad as originally thought. There's navy and black with shades of orange, carolina blue and silver mixed in. Not a broad spectrum of colors, but they work here.

6) Vikings-Packers: MIN in white/purple, GB in green/yellow. With yet another Thursday Night Blowout, this uni matchup cuts through that mess into something close. The Vikes wear purple pants and that is a visual blessing. Yellow, blended with Packer green and Viking purple means success, uni-wise.

5) Texans-Cowboys: HOU in navy/white, DAL in white/mint. All Texas. All right. This is a match up meant to be. Cowboys in the uni that is meant to be against the Texans in their Sunday best. Hard to beat.

4) Buccaneers-Saints: TB in red/pewter, NO in white/black. All that jazz on the Bucs and all that black, white and gold on the Saints, and I admit to this matchup tickling me giddy. Red, orange, pewter, black, gold. Really a dandy pairing from these eyes.

3) Chiefs-49ers: KC in white/red, SF in red/gold. A load of apple red here, but it is awesome, It is legend that the founder of the Chiefs, Lamar Hunt, said that the inspiration of the Chiefs arrowhead logo was the Niners' red SF oval. It is a good possibility when you them head-to-head here. KC's red/white/red/white bounces beautifully against SF's gold/red/gold/red combo. Bang on!

2) Browns-Titans: CLE in brown/white, TEN in white/navy. Titans, still in white at home, get with the program and wear the navy trousers like they're supposed to. And, coupled with the Browns in brown, it puts a pop into this matchup. Kudos.

1) Bills-Lions: BUF in white/blue, DET in honolulu blue/silver. Bills pick out a good week to break out the blue pants. Looks great against another sweet uni in the Lions and those honolulu blues. Silver and red add a nice compliment to the matchup. Rust belt cities in fun belt unis!

In closing, I did find this week's uni matchup the season's best so far. Really some good combos!

Looking forward to Week 6's roundup. See you then!

Week 4 2014 Weekly Uniform Rankings

by Tim Brulia


As we close out the first month of NFL Football for 2014, here we have the latest rankings.

13) Titans-Colts: TEN in white/white, IND in blue/white. So much white, I'm blind. Only the sliver of red on the helmet and sleeve logos save this matchup from a bear like hibernation.

12) Bills-Texans: BUF in white/white, HOU in navy/white. Ugh, these teams that insist on a vanilla look (Bills, Jets, Dolphins, I'm looking at you) are simply missing the boat. This game would have been so electric had the Bills put on their blue trousers, but nay, they go with the blandest look possible. Texans smart navy over white suit suffers as a result.

11) Falcons-Vikings: ATL in white/white, MIN in purple/white. Rather mundane. Not dull, with some color variation (purple, red, black, yellow), but not a thrilling matchup, either.

10) Lions-Jets: DET in white/silver, NYJ in green/white. Jets at home spares us the agony of all white. With the Lions in white, trimmed in honolulu, silver and black, it's not that great, but it's not a crashing bore, either.

9) Eagles-49ers: PHI in white/white, SF in red/gold. The lack of the Eagles' green pants affects this matchup in a big way. With them, this is certainly in the top three for Week 4. Without them, nope. The Niners do salvage this one a bit with the glorious red over gold combo.

8) Panthers-Ravens: CAR in white/white, BAL in black/black. Despite a sunny September afternoon, the Ravens go all black, which I believe is unprecedented for a day game. Panthers, no slouch in the whites with the pale blue socks, make this a rather intriguing matchup.

7) Jaguars-Chargers: JAX in black/white, SD in white/navy. I like the opposite-opposite of the jersey/pants matchup here. Couple with the gold-black lid of the Jags and the white top of the Bolts, and I get a surge of comfort, if not excitement.

6) Packers-Bears: GB in white/yellow, CHI in navy/white (throwback). When the Bears visit the Pack in Lambeau, it's a chart topper. In reverse, this is still great, just not as. Bears in the 1940's throwbacks, which hearken back to jerseys without TV numbers, no number outlines and no helmet logos. Pack in the nice enough whites, just not as nice greens.

5) Giants-Redskins: NYG in white/gray, WSH in burgundy/yellow. NFC East games, all of them, are rivalry games. All the teams go back at least 54 years. So while the matchups may be predictable, the colors are still relevant. As is this game. Giants blue helmets, red trim, gray pants, pairs off well with the 'Skins burgundy/yellow ensemble.

4) Saints-Cowboys: NO in black/black, DAL in white/mint. Yup, Saints make a good move going all black as opposed to the washed out gold pants. Takes away the metal/mint taste had those gold pants been worn. Gives a really good contrast in Jerry's World.

3) Buccaneers-Steelers: TB in white/pewter, PIT in black/yellow. Those out there Bucs unis and the traditional Steelers togs...one thing gives this one a major boost and it's a little thing, the Buccaneers bright red socks. That's it! A stroke of intelligence! Not necessarily genius, just smarts.

2) Patriots-Chiefs: NE in white/navy, KC in red/red. The Chiefs in red/red/red/red made me start humming the 80's tune "Red Red Wine" from UB40. Never before have the Chiefs gone all out cherry. But the one flaw? The red socks. It's red overload. White socks and this game is top dawg. The Pats? A solid compliment with their normal white over navy with the silver helmet.

1) Dolphins-Raiders: MIA in white/aqua, OAK in black/silver. "There's something an Aqua Velva man." So went an ages old men's after shave jingle. And when the 'Fins wear aqua whatever, it punctuates who they are way more than some dull all white look. Coupled with the black over silver Raiders combo, boom. It's - as the Brits say - Smashing!!

Next week, the Week 5 rankings. Be here. Aloha.

Week 3, 2014 Weekly Uniform Rankings

By Tim Brulia


The season is in full swing and so are we.

16) Raiders-Patriots: OAK in white/silver, NE in navy/silver. Not a fan. Loads of silver, navy and black and a whiff of red. Just puts me to sleep.

15) Texans-Giants: HOU in white/navy, NYG in blue/gray. Oh what those red Texans socks wouldn't do to spark this matchup aplenty. Not to be. It isn't bad, enough red on the Texans and Giants to help some, but really, not enough. Lower half of the pile.

14) Titans-Bengals: TEN in white/white, CIN in black/white. Urk! Titans trot out the all-whites for the first time since Week 9 of 2006 (discounting a 2009 AFL Legacy throwback). Of their nine different combos, this is my 9th favorite. The Bengals play off of this correctly with the white pants. All-white versus all-black would have been too sharp a contrast for me.

13) Chiefs-Dolphins: I guess many of us were misled that when the Dolphins called for an "aqua out" from their fans, we were going to see a full on aqua combo by the South Florida squad. Not so. The usual banal all white was worn, but the Chiefs in their bright red jerseys, helped this slightly.

12) Chargers-Bills: Old AFL antagonists square off here. About a decade ago, would have loved the navy helmeted Chargers going against the red lidded Bills. But it's 2014, and both have returned to the white headed palette. So, the gear has to stand out. And it does, sorta. But the blues dominate a little much. Not quite enough yellow or red.

11) Colts-Jaguars: IND in blue/white, JAX in white/white. Black pants on the Jags might elevate this one, but not quite enough. Colts in the blues, however, are nice enough to keep this one from the bottom drawer.

10) Redskins-Eagles: WSH in burgundy/yellow, PHI in white/white. I guess the Eagles green pants - like the green jerseys - are in need of color repairs as well. Thus, we have again a dull all-white look for Philly. The Redskins sweet burgundy over yellow thus carries the load. And, it's a bit of overload.

9) Broncos-Seahawks: If ever there was a chance that we'd see the Seahawks in WAH, this would be the one. The Super Bowl XLVIII rematch where the Seahawks, wearing white over navy, won the coveted Lombardi trophy. But perhaps, the Seahawks, obviously aware that they are the lone team that has never worn white at home, weren't about to give up that unique claim. And so, navy dominates, with the grays, neon greens and oranges reduced to trim status.

8) Buccaneers-Falcons: TB in white/white, ATL in red/white. 00's style meets 10's style. I like the colors, red, black, orange, pewter. Modern, and maybe a little out there when paired together, but it seems to work for me.

7) Ravens-Browns: BAL in purple/white, CLE in white/white. In recent years, Browns can't seem to make up their minds on whether to wear white jerseys at home all the time, some of the time or none of the time. So with this being at least a some of the time years, I'd have sorta like to see the brown pants, particularly for this matchup. But alas, no. The orange lid does pop a bit against the Ravens purple, black and white, though.

6) 49ers-Cardinals: SF in white/gold, ARZ in black/white (alternate). Usually I'd drop the Big Red's blacks like a ton of bricks, but the black actually plays off rather sweetly against the gold and red trimmed Niners. Red is an accentuating color in this matchup as opposed to dominant. So, it moves up the scale, rather than down.

5) Vikings-Saints: MIN in purple/white, NO in white/black. I like this one and it's probably because the Saints chose to go with the black pants. Makes for a little more color, so to speak. Purple, yellow, gold and black. Not the most variety of color, but it does stand out a bit from the crowd.

4) Packers-Lions: GB in white/yellow, DET in honolulu blue/silver. Gotta give the NFC North its props. Traditional but quite colorful. Even though this is a rather mundane matchup. Yellow, silver, green, and that unique shade of blue adds up quite well.

3) Cowboys-Rams: DAL in navy/silver, STL in white/white. Cowboys in dark jerseys for two straight weeks! A part of me wishes the Rams would have worn their dark pants, but aesthetically, they made the right choice by going full on white. This showcases the Cowboys in their darks while maintaining a sleek look that emphasizes the Rams helmets. Nice one.

2) Steelers-Panthers: PIT in white/yellow, CAR in carolina blue/silver (alternate). A great time to whip out the pale blues for the Panthers. This is the combo that many of us wish would be the primary and not the alternate. It's paired against the Steelers triple color combo of black helmet, white jersey and yellow pants. A smooth ride.

1) Bears-Jets: CHI in white/navy, NYJ in green/white. As you know, I berate the Jets in all white. Yuck. But when they break out the green jerseys, and wear the outfit against the Bears, and everything contrasts (navy helmet/white helmet, white jersey/green jersey, navy pants/white pants, white socks, green socks), it's a winner.

Thus closes out a rather sub-par uni matchup week. Hopefully, a little more excitement will come our way next week. See ya then!

Week 2, 2014 Weekly Uniform rankings

By Tim Brulia


Back atcha.

16) Rams-Buccaneers: STL in navy/navy, TB in white/white. The all navys versus the all whites. Drat. I for one, think this would have a week winner if say the Rams go white over navy and the Bucs do a red/pewter look. But because it's early in the season, Bucs do the WAH and we are all the poorer.

15) Dolphins-Bills: MIA in aqua/white, BUF in white/white (throwback). Any excuse for the Fins to wear aqua is a good excuse. In my childhood days, I really didn't like the aqua. Decades later, I have grown quite fond of the color. Bills would normally score some points with me in the throwbacks, but alas, it's the all whites at home no less. Too much white for my eyes.

14) Eagles-Colts: PHI in white/white, IND in blue/white. The Eagles, perhaps influenced by their green issues with their jerseys, are keeping green out of the picture for the time being. And that's unfortunate, because green pants would have certainly helped this matchup loads. The Colts certainly in their better combo of blue over white.

13) Jets-Packers: NYJ in white/white, GB in green/yellow. The beauty and brilliance of the Packers home uniforms. The utter banality of the Jets white/white/white/white dress up. Either the green pants and/or the green socks from the Jets would have given this matchup hope. Nope.

12) Saints-Browns: NO in black/gold, CLE in white/white. While there's a nice set of unusual colors coming together (gold, brown, black and orange), and they are all presented in the best possible way, I am just not feeling it, Mr. Crabs.

11) Texans-Raiders: HOU in white/navy, OAK in black/silver. Until 2008, the Texans routinely wore red socks with their white over navy combo. A detail not lost me whatsoever. That little detail used to spark that uni aplenty. Now, it just dulls me. Sorry, the silver and black does not salvage this matchup.

10) Steelers-Ravens: PIT in white/yellow, BAL in purple/white. I guess it's a little early in the season for the Ravens to go all dark, but the prime time game at least gets them to don purple. There's a fair amount of black, but the purples and yellow with a breath of gold give this matchup a moderate color palette.

9) Lions-Panthers: DET in honolulu blue/silver, CAR in white/white. Rather odd to see a bluer shade of pale dominate, but that's not really so bad. Silver and black to accentuate.

8) Cardinals-Giants: ARZ in white/white, NYG in blue/gray. A little early for red pants, I suppose, but I'm liking this gathering of blues, reds and grays. Plenty of Cardinal white, but the red trim and Giants blue and gray cancel out the white fatigues.

7) Falcons-Bengals: ATL in red/white, CIN in white/white. As a carryover from previous seasons, as much as I find the all white Falcons meh, I do indeed like their red jerseys. Bengals in early season WAH mode, find the right mix of black and orange trim. Rarely seen matchup, but nicely played.

6) Cowboys-Titans: DAL in navy/silver, TEN in white/navy. How 'bout them Cowboys in their too rare dark topped combo?! And the Titans in their white jerseys with those navy bottoms? This is a goody from where I sit!

5) Jaguars-Redskins: JAX in white/white, WSH in burgundy/yellow. A 180° turn for the Jags from last week's all black look, But it's working here. The mish-mash of teal, gold, black, yellow and burgundy sinks in well with this reporter.

4) Chiefs-Broncos: KC in white/red, DEN in orange/white. The only other normal matchup that I can think of off-hand that I like more than this one is CHI at GB. There is just something about this baby that makes me so glad I'm a uni-nerd. Colors and uniforms that are done 100% right.

3) Patriots-Vikings: NE in white/navy, MIN in purple/white. The Vikings are spending a full home season outdoors for first time since 1981. And, if anything, it will make those purple jerseys seem brighter in natural daylight. Nice load of colors for me, purple, navy, silver, red and yellow. Likey.

2) Seahawks-Chargers: SEA in navy/gray, SD in white/white. OK, I admit to being a sucker for what may be normally dull, but when the rarity of the situation breaks out, even it IS dull, I get excited. Such is the case with this game. Seahawks in a truly rockin' combo going against the Chargers in all white. Meh + Meh = Whoa? Yeah. In this case, Yeah.

1) Bears-49ers: CHI in white/navy, SF in red/gold. This all comes together in nearly perfect harmony. Navy as the heavens intended, orange a perfect compliment, brilliant scarlet with perhaps a slight overtaste of gold. Brought together against a brand new stadium on lush green grass and my football brain is sated to a T.

Well, 2 down, 15 to go (add 4 more weeks for Playoffs).

Yours in unis,
Timmy B

When Bill met Tim...a GUD story

By Tim Brulia and Bill Schaefer


On Monday, September 7, 2009, 8:46 PM, Tim Brulia sent this email (edited) to Bill Schaefer:

"Bill,

Ken Crippen (then-president of the Professional Football Researchers Association) sent me your info on what you have done.

Please contact me IMMEDIATELY when you read this either by email or by cell phone...Would like to discuss and see some of your work. I do like what I've seen of your Bears in the 1930's!!

Looking forward to connecting with you!

Tim aka Timmy B"

The next day (September 8, 2009, 3:35 PM), Bill replied (edited) as follows:

"Hi Tim.

Just got your email after I got home from school - back in session for a third week already. As you can tell, I kept busy this summer. Like I told Ken, I have done everything that was written up (NFL) from '33-'58 including the defuncts. I am currently in the middle of the AAFC with about 4 teams to go.  I have no problem getting my work included... I have borrowed some images from a few sights in order to complete the '33-'58.  I also redid many of the images from  "Past and Present" to include records, patches, and playoff performances as I was using them for screensavers.

Let me know what you need from me.

Bill Schaefer"

And thus were sown the seeds of the origin of what would become the Gridiron Uniform Database. Perhaps it is a bit pretentious to toast the anniversary of this connection that led to what we believe is the go-to site for the full history of Professional Football uniforms since 1920, but we'd like to share with you our take and the pre-GUD origins of research and correspondence between us.

From Tim's end:
I had been hoping that after Uni Watch printed my research on uniforms from 1933 through 1958 in February of 2009, I would be able to find someone who could render the descriptions into graphics, and then someone who could create a website to share our findings with the world. Several came forward, but the one who was willing to take on the challenge and...me...for the long run was Bill. 

We started by going through each season from 1933 to 1958 to dissect each and every uniform; striping, color, hue, trim, sleeve length, everything but the fabric of the uniform (wait, yes, even that!). Then, in part II of the research, we went team by team to bring our research current from 1959 to 2009, which melded into 2010. Part III was a complete re-check for everything. This was done before we even thought of the search for someone (eventually, Rob Holecko) who could cram all of this into a website that eventually became the GUD. 

Today, as we have just begun the 2014 season, Bill and I continue to perfect as much of the site as possible. No matter how major or how minor, we research every claim that either one of us may find, our talented webmaster Rob may find, our ace assistant Larry Schmitt may find, or any of our faithful followers may find. Before it makes its way to the GUD, Bill and I must be in agreement that changes or additions are to be made. We feel that after viewing countless photographs of football uniforms, we can make pretty good assessments of what makes it to the GUD. 

Speaking for myself, Bill is absolutely the right man to be our graphic engineer. I doubt that anyone else would have put up with me and my finickiness for the nearly two years of pre-GUD research. His graphic skills have increased a thousand fold since 2009, likewise his knowledge of football uniforms and yes, I believe he has become every bit the stickler for detail as I am, and perhaps more. Bill, thanks so much for answering the call. Without you, and eventually Rob, we'd all still be at ground zero in the realm of pro football uniform research.  

You're a good man, Bill Schaefer (and Rob, of course, but that's for another story)!


From Bill's end:

I don't know if I have much more to add to what Tim has already summarized or that we have already included in our "About" section. I guess the thing that gets me is the irony of everything that led to the creation of the GUD.

If my Dad hadn't had season tickets to the Steelers since 1977.

If he hadn't gotten me a team helmet magnet each game we went to that started my interest in football and the uniforms.

If the school I began working at in 2002 hadn't put a computer (my first) in my classroom.

If I hadn't have discovered Craig Wheeler's FUPP website.

If I hadn't started using those images as screensavers.

If Craig hadn't stopped updating the site in 2003 forcing me to make my own updates to his images.

If I hadn't stumbled upon the original artwork of an unknown artist who had created the basics of what would be our 2D template.

If I hadn't discovered my latent artistic abilities I never knew I had. (Maybe I'm really a Jedi knight, too, and just don't know it!)

If I hadn't first reached out to Ken Crippen who put me in touch with Tim.

If we'd never found Rob to do the rest of the dirty work for us.

If my wife had said at some point "For crying out loud, uniforms again?"

...(wait, that DOES happen at least once a week. Bless her heart.)

Finally, I guess the thing to marvel at the most is that all of this has been accomplished without Tim or I ever standing in the same room.

Here's to Tim and Rob. Five years of 'just getting it right.' 

Week 1, 2014 Weekly Uniform Rankings

By Tim Brulia

OK, time for your favorite thing, Timmy B's weekly NFL rankings. As always, my opinions are strictly my own and do not necessarily represent those of my fellow GUDdiees, Bill or Rob. These opinions are basically done on the fly and I may think differently a day or two later. As in the past, the traditions don't matter near as much to me as the colors, the more colors, the more likely I bump the rank of the matchup. Please don't look for consistency, because you won't find it here. The rankings are meant fully for fun and really, if you take offense, seek shelter immediately!!

Here we go:

16) Raiders-Jets: OAK in black/silver, NYJ in white/white. Sorry, me no like. Raiders do salvage this from the heap with the silver and black, but the Jets head to ankle in white is a look I am not fond of at all. No green pants, no green socks, just a white overload. Bah, humbug.

15) Patriots-Dolphins: NE in navy/silver. MIA in white/white. Ummm, not a fan, The Dolphins in all white is not all right. Pats outfit is fine, with the navy, silver and a hint of red. Miami in loads of white, some aqua and a breath of orange, nah.

14) Jaguars-Eagles: JAX in black/black, PHI in white/white. By now you may have heard that the Eagles won't have their green jerseys ready util well into the season due to the difficulty in getting the shade of green right by the Eagles and the NFL. So, the Eagles go all white. The Jaguars, surprisingly, by-pass the white pants for an all ebony look. I can't get my arms around the starkness of the unis.

13) Bills-Bears: BUF in white/white, CHI in navy/white. Several years ago, the Bears started off their home games with white, a pleasant change from the norm. The Bills have a gorgeous set of blue pants that can and should be worn with the white jerseys. Alas, no such luck here. Too much white here and thus the lower level for this matchup.

12) Chargers-Cardinals: SD in white/navy, ARZ in red/white. Open question: Most of us yearn for the powder blue jerseys for the Bolts. What about powder pants?? Anyway, this all-white helmet affair offers red, navy, yellow and bits of powder blue and black. Rather average to me.

11) Colts-Broncos: IND in white/white, DEN in orange/white. While many dig the Colts minimal look, I am not aligned in the dig category. I'd love a blue pair of pants to add pizzazz to this stark, bur quite traditional look. The Broncos, still look wonderful in the orange jerseys, trimmed in blue and white. They, the Broncos, save this matchup.

10) Vikings-Rams: MIN in white/purple, STL in navy/navy. Always take a shine to the Vikes purple trousers. Not quite so much for the all navy Rams look, Desperately need a return of the gold bottoms for the Rams. An overload of dark stuff here.

9) 49ers-Cowboys: SF in red/gold, DAL in white/mint. ....annnnnnd yet another season of the JonesBoys in their 50 shades of blue. The Niners in the dependable red and gold look featuring the hacked up sleeve stripes. It adds up to a nice matchup but not much more than that.

8) Bengals-Ravens: CIN in black/white, BAL in white/white. It's early, so the Ravens take a turn in white at home (WAH). And another game where if one or the other team (but not both) whipped out their black pants, it would have scored a few brownie (blackie?) points with me. No dice. And a below the bar matchup.

7) Titans-Chiefs: TEN in white/navy, KC in red/white. One year ago, for their home opener, the Chiefs stunned the uni world with a red-red stunner that dropped my jaw in delight. This week, the Chiefs stay rock rigid with the traditional red over white. Couple with the efficient white over navy of the Titans, that's not a bad thing. I'm fond of this matchup.

6) Packers-Seahawks: GB in white/yellow, SEA in navy/navy. The season's lid lifter features two strong identities. 20th century against 21st century. The yellows and greens bounce off well against the navy and wolf gray, but not so much against the lime greens.

5) Browns-Steelers: CLE in white/brown, PIT in black/yellow. Traditional rivals, for the most part, in traditional garb. But the Browns did grace our presence with the straight brown pants. The brown pants do offend most, but not me. Just wish the pants had some stripes gracing the sides. A nice batch of colors.

4) Giants-Lions: NYG in white/gray, DET in honolulu blue/silver. Nothing major, but I do find this matchup rather appealing for some reason. Both teams busted out patches; Giants for their 90th season and Lions with a William Clay Ford memorial. Maybe the red, the blue and the glorious honolulu makes this a pleasant matchup.

3) Saints-Falcons: NO in white/gold, ATL in red/white. Kissing cousins from the south, black is a common denominator for these two, but apart from from the Falcons helmet, the darkness is kept to a minimum. No black jerseys, no black pants, just a lot of red and gold, with black just there to compliment. As a result, this works nicely.

2) Panthers-Buccaneers: CAR in light blue/silver (alternate), TB in white/pewter. This one rocks. The Bucs, the lone changer of uniforms for 2014, with the grossly oversized helmet logos and the alarm clock number font, meet the Panthers in their classy carolina blue alternates with the silver bottoms. While the Bucs have a very busy look, it is distinctive and I admit to enjoying it. The Panthers in a jersey that I dearly wish would be the first choice and I heartily thumbs up this one.

1) Redskins-Texans: WSH in burgundy/yellow, HOU in white/white. Texans usually start their home schedule in all white and such was the case in 2014. The Redskins respond with the cracking but terribly inconsistent striped burgundy-yellow combo. From a color perspective, with navy, red, yellow and burgundy, this is a sweet looker.

That's a wrap for Kickoff Week, 2014. Be here next week!

The GUD Makes Our 2014 Season Predictions

by Rob Holecko, Bill Schaefer and Tim Brulia

Rob starts off:

Hello everybody out there in football land.  Our long national nightmare known as the off-season is just about over, and I have decided to start a new tradition here at the Gridiron Uniform Database and that is to make predictions for the following season and throw down the gauntlet to my fellow GUD bloggers to do the same.  I will pick the eight division winners and two wild card teams as well as the playoff results and the Super Bowl matchup and  eventual champion of Super Bowl "ex-licks"

Last year, I can say that I did, in fact, pick Seattle to defeat Denver in the Super Bowl before the season started.  I say this without bragging, however - they were the odds-on favorites and I wasn't exactly going out on a limb, seemingly everyone had the same pick.  This time things seems to be a little more wide open.

Eveybody seems to like the Bucs and the Browns to be better..  People seem to like Green Bay and Philadelphia to also be strong, and of course, Seattle and Denver are still among the best in the league.

Here's my picks:

AFC East Champion:  New England Patriots. (12-4) Not exactly a surprise here, the best team in a weak division is back for another run.

AFC North Champion:  Cincinnati Bengals. (10-6) This is a tough pick, Cleveland will be better, I think Pittsburgh and Baltimore aren't as good as they once were, so the Bengals should take this division.  But the real question for the Bengals, can they win a playoff game.

AFC South Champion:  Indianapolis Colts. (11-5)  Not an upset pick her, Luck & Co. are only getting better with another year of experience.  Tennessee and Houston are still rebuilding, but Jacksonville will be much better once Bortles takes over at QB.

AFC West Champion: Denver Broncos.  (14-2) Peyton Manning and crew have a definite chip on their shoulders after getting routed in the Super Bowl - they want to come back and get it done this time.

AFC First Wild Card: San Diego Chargers (10-6) Philip Rivers has another soid year with not much to show for it.

AFC Second Wild Card:  Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7)  Bortles becomes a true star when he gets his chance leading the Jags to a surprising playoff appearance.

NFC East Champion:  Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)  Any easy pick in a weak division, but the Eagles I'll pick to have the best record in the NFC.

NFC North Champion:  Green Bay Packers. (12-4)  A home playoff game at Lambeau Field should be an automatic ticket to at least the NFC Championship game.

NFC South Champion:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (11-5)  How can I go against the trendy pick of the year, when it's my Bucs?  Lovie Smith and company party like it's 1979 and 1997 as the Bucs' third era of greatness begins.

NFC West Champion:  Seattle Seahawks. (10-6)  It's not all rainbows and skittles for the defending champs, as they hit a few road blocks and have to go on the road in the playoffs where the 12th Man can't help them.

NFC First Wild Card: New Orleans Saints. (10-6)  Drew Brees and company also are back for another run.

NFC Second Wild Card: Arizona Cardinals. (10-6)  This time they don't fall a game short of the playoffs in a NFC West that has seen everybody takes a step or two back.

Teams I have just missing out:

Cleveland...it's was either them or Jacksonville with the surprise 2nd Wild Card in the AFC and I went Bortles over Manziel, but could have gone the other way as well.

Chicago... I think they will be good, too, but another 10-6 and just miss the playoffs in Trestman's second year.

Carolina... I really don't think they will fall back much in the NFC South, but with the Saints & Bucs having good years, just not enough wins there for the Panthers to get in.

...and San Francisco will have a tough year with a lot of off the field problems, Kansas City, Baltimore and Dallas will disappoint, I think the NY Jets might surprise a few people and Atlanta and the NY Giants will be just bad.

Playoff predicitions:  (Hmmm.. AFC results look very familiar)

Wild Card Games:

(6) Jacksonville at (3) Indianapolis.... Indianapolis 38, Jacksonville 20
(5) San Diego at (4) Cincinnati... San Diego 21, Cincinnati 18

(6) Arizona at (3) Tampa Bay... Tampa Bay 24, Arizona 14
(5) New Orleans at (4) Seattle... Seattle 38, New Orleans 35

Divisional Playoffs:

(5) San Diego at (1) Denver... Denver 38, San Diego 24
(3) Indianapolis at (2) New England.. New England 45, Indianapolis 23

(4) Seattle at (1) Philadelphia... Philadelphia 31, Seattle 24
(3) Tampa Bay at (2) Green Bay.... Green Bay 20, Tampa Bay 8

Championship Games:

Denver 35, New England 31
Philadelphia 38, Green Bay 28

Super Bowl XLIX:

Denver 33, Philadelphia 25

Peyton Manning gets his redemption after the Super Bowl XLVIII blowout at the hands of the Seahawks.

We'll stick these in the time machine and re-visit them in February and see how we did.

Now here's Bill with his picks....

AFC Division winners: New England, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Denver.

AFC Wildcards: San Diego, Pittsburgh

AFC Championship Game: Cincinnati defeats Denver

NFC Division winners: Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle

NFC Wildcards: Green Bay, Carolina

NFC Championship Game: Chicago defeats New Orleans

Super Bowl: Chicago defeats Cincinnati in OT, 34-31

...and here's Tim's picks:

4 Eagles

Giants

Redskins 

Cowboys

South:

1 Saints

6 Buccaneers

Panthers

Falcons

North:

2 Packers

Lions

Vikings

Bears

West:

3 Seahawks

5 Cardinals

49ers

Rams

AFC:

East:

3 Patriots

6 Bills

Dolphins

Jets

South:

2 Colts

Texans

Jaguars

Titans

North:

1 Bengals

Steelers

Ravens

Browns

West:

4 Broncos

5 Chiefs

Chargers

Raiders

Wild Card:

NFC:

Seahawks over Buccaneers

Eagles over Cardinals

AFC:

Patriots over Bills

Chiefs over Broncos

Divisional:

NFC:

Eagles over Saints 

Packers over Seahawks

AFC:

Chiefs over Bengals

Colts over Patriots

Championships:

Packers over Eagles

Colts over Chiefs

Super Bowl XLIX:
Packers over Colts (nail biter)

Butt, (speaking of) stripes...

by Tim Brulia


Back in the days of old in the National Football League, the template of a football uniform was rather simple. A plain leather helmet that resembled more a World War I flight cap (without the goggles) than a football helmet, woollen football jerseys, droll canvas pants and wool socks.

As we focus on the pants, and pant materials became a little lighter and more form fitting, one unique aspect came to the fore.  Namely the contrasting appearance of elastic, running down the rear from the waist, down either, um, butt cheek, down the rear thigh, down to the calf to the edge of the pant leg.

For lack of a more sophisticated term, we at the GUD call them "butt stripes."  As far as we can tell, these stripes first appear as black, and in some cases, seem to contour to players' posteriors accordingly. Meaning that some of the heftier players may have had wider butt stripes than the more thinly built players.  We surmise that the butt stripes actually may have had a function; a more custom and comfortable fit for players. The previous canvas pants were definitely bulky and most were fitted with exposed hip pads.  Likely, these pants would add weight with sweat, and likely mud and other elements of nature found on the hard-scrabbled fields.  When the butt striped pants rose in popularity, with newer materials, the stripes were made of elastic materials that moved with the player and was less likely to be troubled with the aforementioned issues that plagued the canvas pants.  Not every team adopted the butt-stripe approach, but the Giants, Bears, Pirates, Dodgers, Cardinals were among those that did.

1934 Pittsburgh Pirates

Soon after their appearance, several teams began to take advantage of the stripes and utilized them as a design element.  In 1935, the Dodgers came out with white butt stripes on their green pants, and the Bears sported orange butt stripes on navy pants.  The following season,

1936 New York Giants

1936, the Giants added stripes within the butt stripes with a white/red/white combo, creating one of the flashiest looks for the butt stripes in NFL history.  The Pirates/Steelers in 1939 adopted a butt stripe look that incorporated an elastic waistband with the butt stripes, a somewhat unique look.  By 1943, the Dodgers were the NFL team holding on to the look as further advancements in materials made the butt stripes rather obsolete in form as well as fashion.  In 1944, the new Boston Yanks were the last team in the NFL adorned with butt stripes.








 Two years later, butt stripes made an encore performance in the All-America Football Conference with the Buffalo Bisons sporting blue stripes on silver pants and silver butt stripes on blue pants.

1946 Buffalo Bisons vs. Cleveland Browns

After 1946, the rear elastic stripes were gone for good, never to return.  Not even on throwbacks.

Recently, the GUD made adjustments to the teams that wore the rear stripes to better portray the look of these beauties.  In most cases the stripes started in an off-set position just below the belt line. Previously, we had erroneously depicted the start of the stripes at the pant edge.

















We hope you enjoyed this look back in time as the GUD looks ahead to the 2014 season.

New For 2014

by Bill Schaefer


It's getting to be that time of year again. At this point we have only one team that is reporting that they will be sporting a new look for the 2014 season - the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now, obviously, all of these combinations are not likely to get worn this seasons, however, with 2 jerseys, 2 colors of pants, and 3 different colors of socks, each is possible. There has been a rumor that there will be a yet-to-be-revealed orange alternate jersey modeled after these but the rumor has not been confirmed. We'll have to wait and see.

*UPDATE* - Just announced, the Buccaneers will wear a patch honoring former owner Malcolm Glazer who passed away this past May. The patch should first appear Friday August 8 for the Bucs' first preseason game against Jacksonville.

Three teams will be sporting anniversary patches - Carolina, Jacksonville, and the New York Giants. Carolina's 20th anniversary patch resembles the one worn for their 10th anniversary back in 2004.

                           

Jacksonville is reportedly utilizing two separate 20th anniversary logos. One will be used for all banners, media, etc. while the second, without the Jaguar logo, will appear on the team's jerseys. The reasoning appears to be that since the Jaguar logo already appears on the permanent jersey patch on the left collarbone area, putting a second on the right collarbone might be overdoing it. A simple solution might be to replace the permanent patch with the anniversary patch for this season but that might have been too logical.

The New York Football Giants will be celebrating their 90th anniversary with this 'understated' patch.
(UPDATE - It appears that the NY Giants have decided to wait until the beginning of the regular season to add their patch as they were noticeably absent for the Hall of Fame Game Sunday night. - BS)

                    

During this offseason, the NFL has mourned the loss of two owners and a Hall of Fame coach. Detroit Lions' owner William Clay Ford passed away in early March. The Lions will wear this patch beginning in Week 1 of the regular season.

Later that same month, the Buffalo Bills' owner and original member of "The Foolish Club," Ralph Wilson passed away, as well. The Bills will wear a jersey patch in his memory.

In June, former Browns guard/linebacker and Pittsburgh Steelers' Hall of Fame Head Coach, Chuck Noll also passed away. A helmet decal has been revealed for this year as the Steelers' way of honoring the memory of, as legendary announcer Myron Cope referred to him, "Emperor Chaz."

Prior to Noll's passing, the Steelers had revealed that they would be honoring the 40th anniversary of their 1st Super Bowl Championship by wearing a patch for the November 30 contest when they would host the New Orleans Saints - appropriate since that game was played in New Orleans at the now-demolished Tulane Stadium.

The season is upon us and our wait is almost over!