Ravens coach John Harbaugh "had a creative response when asked about the team’s new gold pants, which debuted to a mixed reaction Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium," according to Jon Meoli of the Baltimore SUN. He said that the pants, which are the same shade of gold as seen in the Ravens’ logo, "were a special look that nodded toward the team’s 20th anniversary season." Harbaugh: "Uniforms are fun. They should be fun, and we want to be traditional. ... It doesn’t really matter what color the pants are to me. If the players like it, I like it. But we want the fans to like them too, so it’s official, we’re having a contest.” Though Harbaugh joked that he would "likely have to ask" Owner Steve Bisciotti, he added that Sunday’s pants, which "were in the works 'all the way back to last season,' were actually planned to be debuted sooner." Harbaugh: "If we had been doing a little bit better, you might have seen them a little bit sooner. ... I didn’t take a vote to see who liked them or didn’t like them, but they were excited to be out there in a little different look. They always like a different changeup" (Baltimore SUN, 12/22).
STICKING WITH TRADITION: STEELERS.com's Bob Labriola noted that the Steelers-Ravens "TNF" matchup on Oct. 1 did not feature the NFL's "Color Rush" uniforms because the "color rush foolishness didn’t begin until" Bills-Jets on Nov. 12. The timing of that "had nothing to do with the Steelers and/or their Thursday night game against the Ravens." Labriola: "My understanding is that the Steelers have no interest in altering their classic uniform for some harebrained marketing stunt" (STEELERS.com, 12/22).
