The Browns yesterday unveiled new Nike-designed uniforms displaying Cleveland "on the front," making them the "only ones in the league" with just the city name on front of the jersey, according to Tom Reed of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. The new uniforms "consist of nine jersey-and-pant combinations featuring the traditional orange, brown and white colors." Besides the city name, the franchise "will be the NFL's only team to feature its nickname on the pant leg and cross-stitching in the jersey." But it was the "distinctive 'Cleveland' mark that generated the most buzz on a night in which about 3,000 fans flocked" to the Cleveland Convention Center. Redesigning the uniforms was a "two-year collaborative process involving the Browns, Nike and the NFL." They considered "enlarging the word 'Browns' that was on the front of the old uniforms and entertained using 'Dawg Pound.'" Ultimately, they "inscribed 'Dawg Pound' on the inside of the back collars" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 4/15). SI.com's Tim Newcomb wrote another design element that "grew in stature with the new look is the larger uniform stripes, which make a cohesive connection between the helmet, jersey and pant." The horizontal sleeve stripe on the jersey "now crosses over to the chest panel, and the stripe in the helmet includes carbon fiber texturing." The stripe plays "vertically on the pants as well" (SI.com, 4/14). Browns President Alec Scheiner said that the orange jerseys would "likely be designated as the team’s third jersey." In Akron, Nate Ulrich notes teams can wear a "designated jersey twice per season." Also, all of the pants "can be included in the regular rotation." Scheiner said that the team will be "able to use eight or nine combinations in one season" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 4/15).
ATTENTION TO DETAIL: The PLAIN DEALER's Reed notes the Browns "knew they had to get it right" because the league allows teams to change their uniforms "only once every five years." Before Nike designers "put pen to sketching paper, they dispatched representatives to Cleveland to speak with fans in focus groups." The NFL also was "represented in a series of informal chats" in February '13. They learned what was "important to fans and tried to walk a balance between modernizing the team's staid look and respecting its past." The designers "toyed with the idea of adding a fourth color to the uniform, but decided none made sense." The final uniform designs were "completed last summer and received the team's blessing in September" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 4/15). NFL Creative Dir Shandon Melvin said that while other colors "were considered, the current palate worked out fine in the end." In Cleveland, Dan Labbe notes in the "process of testing new colors, one familiar color went away." Melvin said of the Browns' facemask since '06, "Gray's nowhere else. Let's make it brown. Let's make it tough. Let's connect it all." Labbe notes the helmet also "remains without logo." Melvin: "We certainly didn't ever consider putting a logo on this helmet. This is iconic just as it is" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 4/15).
REPORT CARD: ESPN.com's Paul Lukas wrote the use of large "Cleveland" lettering on the chest of all three jerseys "feels forced and overdone, like something a college or even high school team would do." It would "work well on an alternate jersey," but putting it on all three "is too much." But on the "plus side, the block-shadowed numerals look great on all three jerseys -- a nice touch, and a throwback to the franchise's early days." Overall, Lukas gave the jerseys a "C" grade. As for the pants, he gave them an "F" grade and wrote they are "embarrassing." Lukas: "Those big, honking 'Browns' word marks down the sides are an arena league move." They are also "designed to be a poison pill for traditionalists -- a litmus test to divide old-schoolers from futurists. Mission accomplished, at least in that regard" (ESPN.com, 4/14). ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler note the Browns have "gone the way of the Bucs and the Dolphins and some others that have gone and kind of gotten lost in translation with new uniforms and gone from traditional" (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 4/15). PROFOOTBALLTALK.com's Mike Florio wrote the change is "definitely more radical than the so-subtle-it-wouldn’t-have-been-immediately-noticed alteration to the team’s logo and helmet" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 4/14).
