Reviewing Nike’s “Rivalries Uniforms” - AFC East (Part II)

We continue with our coverage of the “Rivalries” uniforms here, with Part II of the AFC East. In this article we’ll break down the new uniforms for the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. If you missed Part I, click here.

New England Patriots

“Nor’Easter”

The Patriots’ new uniforms will have white helmets and pants, and a “storm blue” base color for the jersey. Socks will be storm blue as well.

Per the team…

Designed as part of the NFL’s new “Rivalries” program and created with the power and unpredictability of a New England storm in mind, the Nor’easter uniform blends the region’s natural elements, rich maritime history, and football tradition into a bold, future-forward design.

So, Buffalo has their cold and snow, and New England has Nor’Easters. And now those weather events serve as the basis for this “program.” But let’s cut through the storytelling (and there is a LOT here) and first go over the uniforms, then we’ll see what the Pats have in store with this new uni.

HELMET

The helmet is fairly straightforward with this outfit. It’s a white helmet, without any kind of striping, and the “Flying Elvis” logo is decaled onto the side. The logo is blue and silver.

JERSEY

The jersey is what New England/Nike are calling “storm blue” and is supposedly heathered (or weathered) in appearance. On the shoulders, there are two sets of silver/navy/silver stripes that are angled and come to a point in front. Considering how the major uni makers can’t make true shoulder loops anymore, I actually don’t hate this as an alternative, though I’d prefer if they’d just make loops again. The silver stripes are not solid, but have a “netting pattern” (supposedly to represent fishermen’s nets or some shit like that).

Jersey numbers are white, outlined and blockshadowed in navy. Each digit has perforations in a mesh-like pattern, which is an allusion to their subtle jersey shading from the Flying Elvis V 2.0 unis.

Both sleeve caps have an interlocking “NE” logo, which is white and outlined/blockshadowed like the numbers. There is slight shading on the “NE” to give the appearance of depth.

Each jersey has six red stars forming a ring around the neck. Supposedly these are to represent the six states that make up New England.

PANTS

The white pants don’t have a stripe, per se, but an representation of (I believe) the Gillette Stadium tower. If it’s not, then it’s pretty coincidental. It also is a lesson on why straight stripes are almost always the only stripes to put on pants.

__________

Did I mention there was a bit of storytelling on this one? Here’s more:

__________

This was a uniform that definitely had (and may still have) promise, but in their efforts to be too clever by half, the whole thing feels way over-designed. I like the white helmets/pants contrasting nicely with the blue jersey/socks, but it feels like they’ve tried to cram too much onto the template. I actually like the “NE” logo, but beveling and blockshadowing it lessens the impact. The shoulder stripes actually seem to work on this chassis, but then they had to go and add netting to it. Putting perforations on the numbers to mimic the early-’90s Flying Elvis probably seemed like a great idea. Putting it into practice is a bit less so. It’s relatively harmless, since the perforations won’t be visible at any kind of distance, but again…it’s a detail that isn’t needed. Even putting all the ridiculous storytelling aside, taken strictly as a uniform it isn’t awful — but by removing a few bumper stickers, it could be much better.

You can see lots more photos here.

__________

New York Jets

“Gotham City Football Club”

Wait. Don’t the Jets already have a BFBS alternate? Well, what’s one more? Actually, these are “Black, Light Iron Ore and Dark Stucco” which are clearly things I associate with New York City, I mean Gotham City. If they’re going to lay into the Batman theme, then they should just go for it. Instead, we have these.

Per the team…

It quickly became evident that Gotham City Football was an obvious direction for us to take with the Rivalry uniform. The story influenced our colorways – our green being treated with a filter that reflects the hazy, steamy, smoky city streets.

OK then. Let’s look at the individual details.

HELMET

The helmet is straightforward — solid black with a black cage. It has a matte finish (like several of the new Rivalries helmets). “JETS” in what I guess is “Light Iron Ore” (I’m calling it “silver”) is on the side of the helmet, in the same style as they wear currently on their regular helmets.

The helmet does feature a stripe, which is barely visible. But it’s there and it contains a diamondplate-esque pattern (compare the first and second photos). This diamondplate pattern will repeat itself on other parts of the uniform.

The rear bumper reads “Gotham City Football.”

JERSEY

The jerseys (like all the other elements) are black. There are two sets of shoulder stripes — two black stripes (which are barely visible) bisected by a silver stripe. There is an oval (football shaped) patch on the left chest with an image of a sleek jet, and the patch itself has the diamondplate pattern. Shoulder caps are also given the pattern.

You can see the patterns better in this photo without the green lighting:

The numbers are in what look like a Gothic style, which look similar to those worn by Northwestern. I’m not sure if the designers conflated “Gotham” and “Gothic” and decided that would be the number style, but the font feels out of place for this uniform.

The jersey back features a silver NOB and number, which is in the same gothic style as the front.

PANTS

The team didn’t really show off too many full views of the uniform, but the pants are black, with a black/silver/black stripe (same as on the shoulders) running down the side.

There is — naturally — a bunch of storytelling with this one.

The team added, “The nod to the iconic NYC manhole pattern on the shoulder and in the background to the plane is uniquely our own and strong imagery that defines the toughness and work ethic of the people who call this great city home.”

So yes…that diamondplate pattern is an ode to NYC’s “iconic” manhole cover patterns.

You can see many more photos here.

Of all the designs for the AFC East, I think I like this one the least (but none of them are particularly good, even taken strictly as uniforms). I know the Jets, their fans and their owner — Woody Johnson — have a thing for black, but they already have an alternate black uniform. And as a New Yorker (albeit one who lives just outside the NYC limits), the storytelling to try to justify “iconic” NYC things is almost insulting. I didn’t like the diamondplate when Oregon did it, and I’m not especially a fan of it here. Also, I hate the font choice. And making this in just various shades of black almost feels like the Jets told Nike, “Just make it black. Anything else you do is up to you, but we want another all-black uniform.” Ask and ye shall receive.

Interestingly, by virtue of redesigning last season (new primaries, new alternate black, new throwback) the Jets found themselves at what I had thought would be the “maximum” number of permissible helmets — three. This will be their fourth different helmet. The team even joked a bit about their recent locker expansion: “Adding our fifth uniform and fourth helmet in 16 months is something we are extremely proud of as an organization. We intend to have uniforms that resonate with our players and fans and demonstrate a deep emotional connection to what it means to be a New York Jet.”

I feel for you, Jets fans, I really do.

• • • • •

And there you have it. The second two of the eight Rivalries uniforms, and the last of the AFC East. I’ll have the remaining uniforms for the NFC East following this.

I know a lot of you had your say in yesterday’s comments announcing the new uniforms. But now that you’ve seen the deets and had a chance to focus, has your opinion of either uniform changed? What do you think about the Pats and Jets’ unis?

Fire away.

Click here to read article