A lot of stories coming out of last week’s season opener against the Packers. Injuries, a quarterback conundrum (don’t call it a controversy!), and what turned out to be a pretty good uniform match-up. The 1960 throwbacks, which I publicly gave a “meh” opinion, actually worked quite well on the field. And oh yeah…my first UniDiction: Packers 26, Eagles 18. Actual score: Packers 27, Eagles 20. I’m going to count this as a win for my “system.”
The Lions have only worn white at home twice in their (documented?) history, so it’s safe to assume they’ll be wearing their Blue over Silver uniform, not White over Silver, which puts the Eagles in the White over Midnight Green combination. Wikipedia says The Lions have a throwback uniform in their repertoire, but looking through pictures of each game last season, they haven’t been worn since the the 2009 uniform/logo update, and let’s be honest, if they’re worn this year, they’ll save them for the Packers or Bears.
There are no “uniform stories” this week (do brain injuries count as “uniform stories” because a helmet is involved? hmm…no. no they do not), so let’s get right to the for the full breakdown after the jump.
The UniDiction
Either 2, 3, 6, or 7 points awarded for each category (safety, field goal, touchdown, touchdown+point after, of course)
Helmet
Eagles: 7 — Metallic Midnight Green, Nicely detailed wings with the silver pattern, black then white double-stroke really makes the design pop. The helmet is definitely the strongest visual identifier for the Eagles.
Lions: 2 — The Lions’ logo is, and has always been “blah,” even though though the 2009 refresh specifically tried to address this. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the Lions’ color scheme, so nicely proportioned stripes aside, the Silver+Blue+Black+White aren’t making up for the dullness of the logo.
Jersey
Eagles: 6 — Finally some stripes after last week’s throwbacks! The green jersey is the one in the Eagles fan’s mind’s eye, but there’s nothing wrong with the white one. Check out this picture of Kevin Kolb from last week’s game. Based on the fans, it would appear that the Black, Midnight Green, and Kelly Green jerseys are much more popular than the White jerseys.
Lions: 2 — Supposedly the blue is officially called “Honolulu Blue.” It can be bought as a real-deal paint color, so I guess it’s a real color. (example: Kelly Green is a real color, Midnight Green was created by marketers). But Honolulu Blue. It’s like the Color Train was between the baby blue and Yale stations, so decided to choose neither.
Pants + Socks
Eagles: 6 — The stripes on the pants, at first glance, appear to be Black/White/Black, but there’s a neat detail hiding there. The “back” stripe is actually dark grey, not black. The solid black and white sanitaries and socks…plain, but they work without turning the whole combination into stripezilla.
Eagles: 6 — Compared to the normal Green over White combination, these are just lacking…something. BUT, the Eagles do have one of the best looks in the league, effectively mixing the traditional and the modern without looking like an over-financed high school team.
Lions: 3 — I can’t ever fault a team for trying to honor tradition [within reason] (and generally succeeding – as Paul Lukas said last year, they still look like the Lions), but if ever a uniform is exactly the sum of its parts, it’s the Lions in “Honolulu Blue” over Silver. Actually, their White over Silver isn’t so bad. And…at least they’re not wearing the amateurish Black over Silver from the pre-2009 uniform set.
Final Score
Eagles 25
Lions 13
This week’s match-up gets two stars; the Lions uniform is nothing special, and the game will likely be just as (non-) special, and the Eagles will be wearing their “B” uniform.