There are very few topics on which all Jets fans agree. There are a few things we all agree on, such as Joe Klecko belongs in the Hall of Fame, the 2022 draft class has the potential to be one of the best ever, and Adam Gase was a disaster in every way.
But with most topics like uniforms, Jets fans tend to be divided. When the team redesigned the logo and uniforms in 2019, everything from the logo to the font to the addition of black became a topic of debate.
It seems as though a lot of people have now warmed up to the black as perhaps the sleakest and most appealing uniforms in the team's arsenal now. But in recent months on Jets social media, there has been a heavy demand for a throwback uniform reminiscent of the 1980's with the Jets airplane logo and the kelly green.
So this week, when team owner Woody Johnson teased a helmet reveal on Twitter, it got fans talking. Now that the NFL is allowing alternate helmets for the first time, what would the Jets add?
They did not add a white helmet, they did not add a retro look. Rather they added a stealth black helmet to complement the black jerseys, which the team will wear for three home games this season.
Let's look at the helmet up close from a couple of different angles.
The first thing I'm fond of is that the word "Jets" is placed right smack dab on the front of the helmet. If I had one complaint about the uniform design, it was that the word Jets was only found on the side of the helmet. And with the white lettering on the green helmet it didn't necessarily pop. But here you see the Jets up front when the TV camera cuts to a close up of a given player. I think that's a positive addition.
What I don't understand is the hexagon shape at the top of the helmet. Is that for safety, is that supposed to be some kind of unique design? What is the relevance of it?
I'm a huge fan of the Gotham green face mask. I could have dealt with white, and I think black would have been excessive. But the green mask is going to be a different look than anyone else in the league, so props on that.
Perhaps the biggest criticism that I have seen is the font of the word Jets on the side of the helmet. It doesn't affect me one way or another, I think I need to see how it will look on TV. My biggest criteria is it has to be easy to read when the team is lined up. I don't want it to look like a big green blob.
That said, I am a fan of the color scheme. I do not like when a team has dark on dark. Case in point the navy and orange Chicago Bears uniforms. If the Jets simply had the green letters on the black helmet, I think it would have looked absurd. But the white outline will help the letters to pop, so I'm a fan of that.
There's one other feature I wanted to talk about, and this was about the best angle I could find of the back side of the helmet. I like the New York on the back side in the same font that it appears on the front of the jersey. Although I still think the green home jerseys should have the word Jets on it, and the road whites can still display New York.
All things considered, I like the addition of the black helmet to the Jets uniforms; it makes a lot of sense to replace the green helmets when they wear the stealth black jerseys. I think they're going to look extra sharp for that Thursday night game against Jacksonville when they play under the lights of Met Life Stadium.
And as for the idea of a throwback 80's style jersey goes, there's always a chance and it could be a cool idea if it's done once a year. But I'm in no real rush to see it.
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