The NFL pre-season is here and teams are gearing up – literally – for their games. Players have their favorite brands of pads, shoes and, I imagine, jocks. Of course, the teams provide their uniforms – meaning the most stylish of dresser might get stuck in a hideous jersey or a jeans-and-t-shirt guy gets to rock a winning ensemble.

Do the relative aesthetics of a uniform matter to the game? Not really – these guys fight for their team pride and personal competitiveness. Truthfully, the aesthetics of team colors, logos and overall design only affect us, the fans. We have to look at those uniforms and spend money on their gear at the memorabilia store.

So, with that in mind, let’s evaluate the top 5 and bottom 5 in NFL uniforms.  Let us know what you think by commenting!

Best-Dressed

1. Carolina Panthers

The Panthers’ inclusion under best-dressed may seem controversial considering their colors are cyan blue and black with a side of platinum. However, their black uniforms make this color combination work. Plus, those colors mixed with a fierce black panther logo make for some fan shirts you wouldn’t mind pairing with some skinny jeans, accessorizing and hitting the town in.

4. Miami Dolphins

You either love or hate the Dolphins uniforms, with their teal base accented in melon. Of course, those colors are representative of Miami – and many people either love or hate the city. The logo is cute without being cartoonish, and the pastels work well with many ensembles. Of course, you’ve got to give props to a pro football player who can wear teal and melon with pride.

3. Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys’ uniforms are iconic in their simplicity. The simple star logo melds well with the overall design. Plus, the colors complement each other without being opposites on the color wheel (ahem, Denver Broncos.).

2. Oakland Raiders

Ain’t nothing more fierce than the Oakland Raiders uniforms, all silver and black with a pirate logo. Silver and black – those are some colors you can work with since they go with, literally, everything. Bonus points to the Raiders for color-coordinating with their neighboring L.A. Kings, whose colors are also silver and black.

1. St. Louis Rams

The Rams’ uniforms are classy, navy accented in gold like they just stepped off a yacht. They also make the animal metamorphosis work (unlike the Bengels) in wearing ram horns on their helmets instead of the logo. Congratulations to the Rams for being the best-dressed team in the NFL.

Worst-Dressed

5. Detroit Lions

Detroit’s uniforms are not ugly so much as… blah. Non-descript blue gets “accented” with non-descript gray. Plus, the rampant lion logo looks less rampant and more like a blob on the side of their helmets. Seriously, your eyes just skitter over the uniform, looking for some detail.

4. Denver Broncos

Ok, as long as the Broncos insist on using opposing colors for the team – their switch from azure to midnight isn’t fooling anyone – and emphasizing the orange, they’re going to continue to make the worst-dressed list. Accenting in flame orange with carrot as the base color doesn’t improve matters any. Too bad – the logo’s actually ok, which is why they’re not lower on the list.

3. Green Bay Packers

Did you know the Green Bay Packers are the only community-owned major pro team in the U.S.? Which makes their lamentable lack of uniform style all the more tragic. Bright yellow and muted green – what were the designers thinking? Don’t they know you put clear colors with clear, muted with muted?

2. Seattle Seahawks

What could be worse than the Packers’ garish yellow? The Seahawks accenting in neon yellow. Neon yellow? What pro sports team uses neon anything in their official logo? I know it rains a lot in Seattle, but is visibility really that poor? Plus, stare at that stripe in the pants – don’t you get motion sickness after a minute? Maybe that’s how they won the Super Bowl.

1. Cincinnati Bengals

Everything that’s right about the Rams’ uniforms is wrong about the Bengals’. I mean, their mascot is a tiger – and not just any old tiger, but a Bengal tiger! Yet they bring that out in the lamest, ugliest manner possible. Matching their tiger-striped helmets to tiger-striped sleeves to tiger-striped stripe makes it look like a Bengal threw up on them. Seriously, the 80s called – and they actually don’t want their uniforms back.

Let us know which team rocks your fave unis!

Contributed by Nadia Archuleta