Part 2 of OTPB’s uniform series breaks down the winners and losers in the National Football League, where uniforms change more often than you might think. Over the past 10 years, at least one team per year, save for 2008, has made some sort of overhaul to their duds (mostly ill-advised).

That said, the league is home to probably some of the most identifiable uniforms in sports, which is reflected in our rankings (with a couple of surprises). Picking the worst unis went down to a couple of round-robin tiebreakers, but in the end, ugliness prevailed.

A reminder, here’s the schedule for the rest of the week:
* Wednesday: NBA
* Thursday: NHL
* Friday: Throwbacks

TOUCHDOWNS
Pittsburgh Steelers (home, road, alternate): No city identifies more with its football team than Pittsburgh, and the iconic black and gold color scheme, reminiscent of the liquid steel you see in the classic TV shot during any Steelers game, has permeated the entire pro sports landscape of the city. The Steelers also have the unique trait of having their logo (which are called hypocycloids, by the way) on one side of their helmets, and whatever apocryphal story you may believe for its reason, gives the team another cool touch that no one has. The Steelers have only made slight modifications (slanting the numbers) to their set over the last 30 years for good reason. (Elliott)

New Orleans Saints (home, road): The fleur-de-lis is one of the coolest logos around, and it goes great with the Saints’ black and gold uniforms. The helmets are a novelty in the NFL, with the 49ers being the only other team with gold hats. The Saints were a very bad team for a long time, but their uniforms have always been very good. They started to look even better when Jim Mora put together one of the best linebacking units in league history in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Recently, the Saints have joined the growing legion of monochrome teams, wearing all black for their home games. All black with gold highlights – it’s a good look for a team that has been stylishly dangerous on offense the past couple of years. (Chris)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (home, road): Who can resist Pewter Power? The Bucs underwent a complete makeover in 1997 from the creamsicle unis they had sported for 20 years to an edgier look dominated by red and pewter. They changed their logo from what some thought was an effeminate “Bucco Bruce” to a more intimidating sword holding a red flag with a skull and crossed sabers. With Tony Dungy in charge, Pewter Power reigned on defense in the late 1990s. It culminated in the Bucs’ league-best defense dominating the Super Bowl in Jon Gruden’s first year (2002), and the Bucs have had the look of a contender ever since. (Chris)

Miami Dolphins (home, road): You can’t go wrong with the Aqua and Orange. Whether it’s the aqua tops with the white pants (with white lettering highlighted by orange) or the white tops with the aqua pants and orange piping on the white socks (with green font highlighted by orange), the Dolphins’ unis look sharp and different than most other NFL teams. They’re creative, but not overdone. The font is simple, but stands out from any distance. Even the all-aqua uniforms look cool because the white helmet offsets so much aqua. And Miami’s logo is unique because it not only incorporates the mascot, but also the city, as the dolphin is wearing a white helmet with an orange M. When I see the Dolphins, I can’t help but think of warm, tropical weather, which totally defies the NFL in the winter! Who knew aqua and orange went so well? (Paul)

Oakland Raiders (home, road): It’s the silver and black. ‘Nuff said. Easily the sharpest and most intimidating uniforms in football. Even though the team on the field is pathetic, they look good no matter the score. For years the Raiders have embodied (along with its insane fan base) the tough, rugged, smack-‘em-in-the-mouth attitude that the NFL has come to be known. The logo is easily the coolest one on any NFL helmet, with the black shield and silver border embracing the face of a raider, stern look on his face, wearing an eye patch. It just looks tough. Add in the two swords criss-crossing the shield, and you have the classic skull and crossbones. They may not be the best team (or even close to that), but damn if the Raiders don’t just scare the hell out of me. (Paul)

FUMBLES
Cleveland Browns (home, road): As a Steelers fan, I am genetically predisposed to hate all things Browns, but even if I were not, Cleveland’s uniforms would rank this low. Brown and orange are not an appealing color combo, and the fact that this is 2009 and the Browns don’t have an official logo to put on their helmets or gear means they are woefully behind the times. And don’t get me started on the brown pant fiasco they unveiled to much derision a couple of years ago. Just because the Browns have had the same uniform for years doesn’t mean they’re any good. (Elliott)

Arizona Cardinals (home, road): It doesn’t get much plainer than the Cardinals red and white uniforms (unless it’s the Colts’ blue and whites, which somehow didn’t land them on this list). It’s probably no coincidence that the Cards historically haven’t looked that great on the field or had much success, because they’ve been pretty plain Jane in the fashion department forever. The Cards haven’t changed their colors in 100 years – since they first became the Racine Cardinals. It has been red and white forever. At least they added red pants in 1990. Of course, it was Kurt Warner’s gloves that got them to the Super Bowl last year, but that won’t happen again. They’re just too damn boring. (Chris)

Atlanta Falcons (home, road): The Falcons are one of those nondescript teams that thinks creating a new uniform set every couple of years will draw some attention to them, and thus, they got rid of a perfectly acceptable uniform a couple of years ago for these disasters, which fit in the Bills, Cardinals and Vikings mold of unnecessary color blocking, creating a CFL-esque look. They even updated the somber looking falcon into a much more aggressive one. Why? I have no idea. (Elliott)

Denver Broncos (home, road, alternate): Give us the old Orange Crush unis. The outfits they have sported since 1997 are just horrible, and they don’t look any better now that we’ve had 12 years to adjust to them. They look like something out of a Nike factory, with the orange swoosh running down the side of the jersey and pants. And the white and orange horse-head logo is horrible. They’d be better off using John Elway’s face. What was wrong with the big orange D with the bucking horse in the middle? Really, this was one of the worst uniform updates in league history. Even Broncos fans despised them – until they won back-to-back Super Bowls in them. But they haven’t done a thing since, so maybe it’s time to go back to the Orange jerseys and cool D. (Chris)

Seattle Seahawks (home, road): Fucking GROSS. Neon green piping? What is this, the World League of American Football? Two shades of blue (one called Seahawk blue) that look so similar that you can’t really tell them apart (especially when it’s raining and the unis get soaked). Add with it the same color helmet and you’ve got no creativity whatsoever. Maybe if the Hawks would have kept the old silver helmet (which fans voted against for some reason), or replaced the neon green with silver piping, the uniforms would look decent, but, wow, way to drop the ball (like all those Seahawks receivers do). The road uniforms are fine, because they incorporate white (pants and top), but those home unis are just for the, um, birds. Bring back the old uniforms (and logo, because the newer one, supposed to look more fierce, isn’t, because, you know, it’s a fictional bird). And this is my favorite team? Wait until they incorporate those hideous green tops at some point in the upcoming season. Doesn’t matter how many games you win, Seahawks, you’ll still look like the second-ugliest team in the NFL. (Paul)