2014 NFL uniform changes: Bucs unveil home jersey

After the more-subtle changes to the Bucs' logo and helmet a few weeks ago, the new jerseys are completely unlike the previous incarnation - and that's not necessarily a good thing, depending on who you ask.

When the teaser photo of Doug Martin in the white jerseys were published by the Bucs earlier today, I can't say I was a fan - but I held hope that, in red, the jerseys would look better, and in fairness, they do. Just not by very much.

Here's Gerald McCoy sporting the new threads:

Well, it's certainly different. As with the first shots of the new helmet the pewter doesn't really come across as pewter, but more off-black. In fact, the only pictures where it looked notably 'pewtery' to me were these ones:

It's a shame, really, that the Bucs chose to go all "dark and edgy" with these photo releases, as the jerseys actually look like they might be a little bit less visually offensive with that more pewter sheen. Sadly, we might need to reserve judgement even longer, at least until the Buccaneers media department buy a new lamp to get some light on the damn thing.

Personally, I like the way the new ship pops out off of the shoulder, and also like how the ship's only on one sleeve, the other having the word "Bucs". It's a little quirky and I think that's pretty cool.

I also like the orange swooshes. The side of the pants might have looked pretty cool too, if they had a few more working light bulbs at OBP so you could actually see the pewter:

Unfortunately, that's pretty much all that I personally like about the new jerseys - with one more thing: according to the New York Post, the numbers will have a reflective chrome outline. That's pretty neat - but it doesn't detract from the eyesore that is that numerical font. I just can't look at the road jerseys without thinking "digital alarm clock".

You can check out all the publicity shots the Bucs have released here.