I was just watching Chris Jones on the Rich Eisen show just now and Chris said that black cleats were banned and not allowed to be worn by the players. Not in practice or in games. This is the first I've heard of this and what would be the reasoning behind it? Anyone hear of this before? :-) [Reply]
(Coming for the football, will stay for the racism.)
As far as the football goes, I have no idea unless maybe it's got something to do with figuring out whether a guy is out of bounds. But it seems like black would be better for that. [Reply]
I will preface this by saying I didn't see the interview but after a quick search, cleats must be white or in the team's PRIMARY colors. So, they didn't ban every team from wearing black cleats (e.g. PIT, LV, ATL, BAL, etc.).
Originally Posted by Cheater5:
I will preface this by saying I didn't see the interview but after a quick search, cleats must be white or in the team's PRIMARY colors. So, they didn't ban every team from wearing black cleats (e.g. PIT, LV, ATL, BAL, etc.).
That makes a lot more sense than a ban on black. The NFL is pretty picky about uniforms, and I actually appreciate that. I don't want to see a lot of customization by individual players.
I'm actually kind of surprised that they allow as many shoe colors as they do. [Reply]
I'm mostly just surprised all these guys don't wear white cleats. At least all the skill position guys.
It just makes all the sense in the world. For the same reasons evidently Belichick used to tell his OL to wear gloves that match the opposing teams jerseys.
The visual contrast can be massive (as Baltimore showed us). [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
That makes a lot more sense than a ban on black. The NFL is pretty picky about uniforms, and I actually appreciate that. I don't want to see a lot of customization by individual players.
I'm actually kind of surprised that they allow as many shoe colors as they do.
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
I'm mostly just surprised all these guys don't wear white cleats. At least all the skill position guys.
It just makes all the sense in the world. For the same reasons evidently Belichick used to tell his OL to wear gloves that match the opposing teams jerseys.
The visual contrast can be massive (as Baltimore showed us).
Wouldn't the refs just look for green in between the white shoes and sideline? [Reply]
Originally Posted by sedated:
Wouldn't the refs just look for green in between the white shoes and sideline?
Sometimes that's not that easy to see. And it's no easier to see green between black and white than it is white and white.
So there's nothing HURT by wearing white instead of black. And there might be something gained on those super close calls. And it's not just about the replay - it's about the call on the field sometimes as well where the presumption may bail you out and that real-time decision is that much more likely to go your way.
It's probably less of an issue than it used to be given that the cameras are better and more numerous. Most of the time there's a conclusive angle these days.