Saturday, March 13, 2010

Packers add Pickett to signings

In a week in which the Packers kept their offensive left tackle position stabilized (at least short-term) with the re-signing of Chad Clifton, and locked down one of the best young safeties in the league by re-signing Nick Collins, the Packers on Friday announced that they had also come to terms on re-signing nose tackle Ryan Pickett. While all of these were either known or anticipated, the Pack chose the annual Fan Fest at the Lambeau Field Atrium to make the official announcements. According to reports, the team dropped some major coinage into these players' bank accounts in exchange for the multi-year deals. You can read more about them here.

Alternate Uniform Unveiled
The Packers new "alternate" uniform was unveiled during Fan Fest on Friday and if you were around in 1929 it might look vaguely familiar. You'd remember this being the uniform of the team's first world championship team. Well, sorta. A few adaptations have naturally been made for the modern game. No leather helmet, for example, although the helmet will be a shade of brown as a nod to the old leather days. Helmet aside, the uni's almost remind one of Notre Dame's home look...almost. They're not bad, especially for a throwback look. And just think of the merchandising opportunities. Which, naturally, the Packers have: all related jerseys, sideline apparel and merchandise will be available eventually through the Packers Pro Shop.


Duke Bobber/Packers.com

According to a story on the Packers' website: "The jersey is navy blue with the number on the front inside a gold circle. The circle and number are enlarged a bit from their 1929 size to comply with NFL regulations regarding jersey numbers. An enlarged number is also on the back, with a nameplate above the number, another modification that wasn't present in 1929. The helmet is a solid brown color without a logo to best simulate the leather helmets worn during the era. The uniform pants are a tan color."

Further from the same story: "NFL teams are allowed to have a third jersey that they can wear for up to three games per season (no more than two home games) over a five-year period. Murphy said the Packers would wear it for home games only, and for one or possibly two games this coming season, with potential future use to be evaluated. Which game or games will depend on the team's schedule, which will be released sometime in April."

You can see players in the new uni's here. Photos of the jersey alone can be found here. There's even a shot or two of the original '29 jersey and uniform on which this new version is modelled.