Falcons New Uniforms For The ATL

Last night to my surprise I got a peek at what the Falcons new unis were, due to a couple of leaked photos. This morning I awake to another surprise as the Falcons just went ahead and showcased them, as the surprise was already ruined. Unlike the Buccaneers unis yesterday, where I was all in and the first word I said was "perfect", the first word I said today was "hmm..".

Now let be preface this by saying that I hated the Falcons unis since they switched to the unis they have been wearing since 2003. I always hated the piping, on any uni. I just can't stand it. I think it looks terrible. So whatever the Falcons did, as long as they removed the piping, it was going to be an upgrade for me. And to my liking, they did just that. So let's go over all the other parts that I do like and then go into the more questionable decisions after.

The matte black finish on the helmets was the first thing I noticed and I love it. I think it works really well with this team and it gives them a fresh look without changing the color of their helmet. The numbers on the jersey are also a nice touch. I like the hook on the top of the 2 as it has that falcon/bird/claw type of feel to it. I also like the small bit of drop shadow they added. Drop shadows can be a tricky thing. But I think the Falcons got it right here.

They have dropped the red jerseys as their primary and seem to have leaned hard back into the black and white scheme. Their main unis are all black, all white, white/black, and black/white. On top of that they also still have their '90s throwbacks in the rotation keeping with the black and white scheme. Everything I have just mentioned is really SOLID moves. I like everything they did in that regard. But there are a few things that have me scratching my head. Just a little bit.

Looking at the helmet last night, with the grey facemask (it was hard to see in the blurry leaked image. It is actually "silver"), I thought it looked really good. And it does. The helmet alone is fantastic. However, with that silver facemask and the new silver outline on the helmet logo, it really doesn't go with anything else on the uni. They have no silver at all anywhere in the scheme. At least none that I can seem to find. I know teams do that, like the Colts having a grey facemask when their scheme is blue and white. But it just seems like an odd decision here to me. Why not just stay with the black facemask? It would have fit right in. That being said, it doesn't look horrible at all. It looks nice, it was just something I took a second to think upon.

The next thing that had me put off a tiny bit was the side stripes. I don't like stripes that go from the pants to under the arm on the jersey. It just isn't a good look for me. That being said, they are thin and both ends come to a point. So it isn't a bad look. But I feel like they could have utilized the red in a different way on the uni. Leaving the sides alone I feel would have been the better choice. But the fact that both the white and black uni parts share that same side stripe means that they can mix and match with ease. Without it looking off. It matches perfectly. That doesn't go for the white and red look though. The white jersey has the red stripe and the red pants have a black stripe. That type of thing annoys me because it is something that you had to think about and I don't know how having a stipe not match from the jersey to pants was a decision you liked. No other jersey in their rotation has a black stripe, so why do the red pants have it? You could have just left the pants all red and it would have fit in with everything. The red jersey stripes would go right into red pants. So I don't know what the thought process was on that.

Now we mosey on over to the risk-taking gradient uni. The uni goes from a red top and fades to black at about the bottom of the jersey numbers and stays black the rest of the way. To be honest, I personally like it but it had to be something that they knew could be rejected by the fans. Not that it's hard to do nowadays with the lame overused "it looks like a high school team/arena league team" lines that these people seem to always need to throw out there. Today they are praising the Bucs for their unis after trashing them yesterday because they have found something else to trash. Next will be the Rams on their list of "let's all make fun of the new thing". But let's not get dragged into that again. My point being, even though I do like them, it was definitely a risk that had me thinking for a moment if it was the right choice.

Finally, the one thing that I actually don't like about these unis. The "ATL" wordmark. I actually like the choice of using "ATL" over Atlanta or Falcons. The problem I have with it is simply the SIZE of it. I honestly think it is way too big. Make it about half that size and I think it's perfect. But they went more towards the way of the Browns with their "CLEVELAND" wordmark stretching across the whole front of the jersey. It just makes it a bit of an eyesore. That is the only thing that I really wish they had done differently. Maybe it will grow on me down the line.

No mistaking it though, even with that oversized "ATL" on the front of their jerseys, this is 100% an upgrade from what they have been wearing for almost 2 decades. It was time for a change and for the most part they got it right. I also wonder why they chose not to have any kind of design/stripes on the socks. But the plain socks are fine. I am not saying these are perfect, but it is a good looking set of unis. And to be honest, they will look even better on the field.

- Scott Summers

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