Giants

Follow me on Twitter (@dancfuller). I usually post updates and light-hitting uniform commentary during NFL games.

That was an ugly game. And it was an ugly game. Even using the “wrap the score back to zero at 28 points” method, that makes it Falcons 7 – Eagles 3. Yep, 0 and 2. The system isn’t doing so well this year. 

In terms of uniforms throughout the world of (American) sports, logos for the Marlins and Blue Jays leaked this week. These appear to be lifted from the official 2012 MLB Style Guide, so expect to see the rest of this (including uniforms) trickle out over the next month or so as the pages from the Style Guide find their way onto the Internet. I’ll need to see how the Marlins logo works in terms of a uniform to have a full opinion, but it's a risky design, and that's not a bad thing. Unlike many recent logo/uniform re-designs, it doesn't use Navy Blue, Red, or (hopefully) Black. On the other hand, the Blue Jays basically combined their original logo with its late 90s tweaking into an odd middle ground. Warning: don’t think of the maple leaf as an earring. Once you see it, you can’t un-see it. We’ll see where these designs are going as more of the 2012 Style Guide shows up online. 

In the NFL, there were no big (or little) uniform stories last week, so I’ll use this space to remind everyone of the fact the Eagles announced they’re only wearing White or Green jerseys this year. There won’t be throwbacks, and the generally well-liked Black alternates won’t be seen at all. It’s just bad business. Watch Sunday’s TV broadcast and simply look at all the Kelly Green, Black, and (yes) even Yellow and Blue monstrosities. Fans buy this stuff right up (even if an embarrassingly large percentage of it is counterfeit). 

Rounding up last week, the Jets wore their Titans throwbacks, the Chiefs brought out their rare (depending on the season) Red pants against the Lions, and the Colts and Browns had a very old school uniform match-up. Of course, the best match-up overall might have been Raiders vs. Bills. Those new Bills uniforms are rather spectacular, and I don’t have the highest hopes for the Eagles when they’re in Buffalo later this season. 

Notably this week, the Eagles will wear their Green over White combination for the first time this season. The Giants have a simple uniform system, so there are no unknowns going into this week’s game. Ever since the Giants deleted the Red alternate jerseys after the 2007 season, there have been rumors of throwbacks to the early 90s uniform (warning: that graphic was sourced from Wikipedia), but we're into Week 3, and there's been no announcement, so don't expect to see anything this year, either. Here's my photo gallery of the various, current Giants uniforms, which includes a number of shots of the retired Red alternates, combined with both the home and away pants. 

An intradivision opponent, the Eagles played the Giants twice last season, so I’ll pull some content from last year’s write-ups

 

The UniDiction 

Either 2, 3, 6, or 7 points awarded for each category (safety, field goal, touchdown, touchdown+point after) 

Helmet 

Eagles: 7 — This is one of the best helmets in the league. "Functional" details are much better than simply dumping a logo on the sides of a helmet. 

Giants: 3 — It somehow looks “old” but not “classic.” When “old” and “classic” aren’t associated together, we’re left with “dated,” or depending on the era being remembered, “boring.” Nice use of color (low degree of difficulty, though – red, white, blue, grey), but it just dumps a logo on the right and left of the helmet. 

Jersey 

Eagles: 6 — Finally. After 4 pre-season games and  two regular season games, the Midnight Green jerseys make their comeback. It’s a unique, bold color, detailed strokes and drop shadows on the numbers, and nice use of logos on the sleeves and collar. I’m actually docking it a point this week because Kyle pointed out that the jersey “screamed 1990s,” and I really couldn’t think of a counter-argument other than “at least they’re not the Panthers’ uniforms!” 

Giants: 3 — There are a few issues with their White jersey.  And each one of these issues is Red.  The jersey is plain, but it works.  The Northwestern strips on the sleeves add just enough detail to keep them from looking like a White t-shirt with numbers on the front and back.  Sure, Red is one of their official colors, but it simply doesn't look… correct.  Here's a picture which has been digitally altered by the Uniwatch people to replace the Red with Blue.  Ahh, that's better. But not real. 

Pants + Socks 

Eagles: 6 — The White pants provide nice contrast with the solid green of the jersey, and instead of plain white, the thick Black and Green stripes (with the pencil thin grey stripe) on the side of the pants gives them a slightly modern touch.  I'm thinking the socks should be Green instead of Black, but the contrast against the White pants is enough for me. 

Giants: 3 — Interestingly, both pants the Giants wear are Grey with a combination of Blue and Red stripes.  Their home pants get thick stripes of Blue-Red-Blue which are flush to each other, and the away pants get thinner stripes of Red-Blue-Red with the Grey base material peeking through.  Socks are Blue at home and the incongruous Red on the road.  So, we'll see the thin Red-Blue-Red stripes and Red socks tonight.  Both pants designs are, at worst, harmless, with my preference being the thicker, connected stripes of the home pants.  Those Red socks make me think of the Red details on the White jersey.  They should be Blue. And really? Grey pants? Tradition be damned, Silver (even a darker shade of silver so they're not Cowboys pants) is one thing, but non-reflective, non-metallic Grey? Really? Just because something is new (in this case: newer than the 1950s) doesn't mean it's bad. Matte colors make sense on last year's Packers throwbacks. That's about it. 

Intangibles 

Eagles: 7 — Finally, the Eagles are in their signature uniform combination. 

Giants: 3 — The fact that the Giants' nickname is "Big Blue" means that Red should be a highlight color (think of how Blue is one of colors of the Phillies; it's used sparingly for strokes or the dot on the brown of the normal hat, prime real estate on the alternate hats not withstanding) 

Final Score 

Eagles 26 

Giants 12