Ranking the CFL's "Signature Look" uniforms: Redblacks and Lions shine, Argos and Riders don't

It's Rankings Thursday around here, and the CFL's new "Signature Look" jerseys have now all been released thanks to the Edmonton Eskimos unveiling theirs Tuesday, so let's take a look at how they stack up. Ottawa Redblacks' blog Defend The R did a pretty good job of this Wednesday, but we don't completely agree with their conclusions. Here are the 55-Yard Line Signature Look Power Rankings:

1.

Ottawa Redblacks: The lumberjack-inspired plaid look is unique, amazing and full of hoserism. The plaid helmet in particular is a fantastic touch, even if it hasn't been actually worn by the team yet. This is also a rare case where the giant logo on the front works; when it's the Redblacks' buzzsaw, it seems to fit. The colours are perfect, too; they call back to the CFL's history in Ottawa with the Rough Riders and Renegades, but are their own new thing at the same time. It's about time the Redblacks wore red and black.

2.

B.C. Lions: The Lions' new look was actually unveiled last year, and it paved the way for the rest of the ones that have since followed. The "gunmetal grey" main colour is perfect; it's distinctive, and it contrasts nicely with the team's typical orange. The orange numbers and small side stripes (on both the jerseys and the pants) are a nice touch, as are the paw prints on the shoulders and helmet (the matte-black helmet works well with this). B.C. got this very right.

3.

Calgary Stampeders: The Stampeders' "Outlaw" look is a good one, with plenty of neat touches.The matte-black, red and chrome helmets with speed lines are great, as are the crossed guns on the shoulders and the "Quidquid requiritur" ("Whatever it takes") Latin motto. The team was smart to go with typical numbers rather than a big logo on the jersey, and the numbers and side panels bring nice amounts of red and white in. The main reason this isn't higher is that it isn't terribly different from the black third jerseys the team has worn before. It's a nice update, but they could perhaps have gone with a few bolder moves.

4.

Montreal Alouettes: The Alouettes' new uniforms may do the best job of representing team history out of any of the new ones. They're based on the team's namesake, the Royal Canadian Air Force's 425 Squadron, and it's great to see that. The grey/silver colour (representing the squadron's planes) generally works, and the team was smart to still incorporate their traditional dark red and blue on the helmet, shoulders and gloves. The bird wings on the shoulders are a nice touch, as are the 425 unit patches. These could perhaps have used more contrast between the jerseys and pants, and we don't have a complete idea of how they'll look yet thanks to the team only posting a couple of photos, but what we've seen so far looks pretty good.

5.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: The Ticats' use of "stealth" grey is pretty cool, and they're smart to keep their traditional black and gold represented as well. The grey and matte black combination on the helmet is particularly good, complete with gold numbers on one side and a tricoloured logo on the other side. The black and gold pants are good as well. This might look better if the grey and black areas were reversed, though; the grey doesn't contrast as well with the gold numbering as the black does.

6.

Edmonton Eskimos: The Eskimos' new look isn't bad, but it's not all that memorable either. Given their history with green and gold, the team was probably limited with what they can do, and their regular uniforms are already some of the CFL's best, so they didn't have as many options to shake things up as some other teams. There are good elements here, too; the gold pants with green side panels work, as does the green helmet with gold stripes and the gold double-E logo. The big logo on the front doesn't really work, though, and these seem a little plain next to some of the other new jerseys.

Some of the Eskimos' fan suggestions seem more appealing, such as this one from @RayBee150:.

7.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: The Blue Bombers have taken more flak than anyone for their redesign featuring blue camouflage and leaving out gold, but their jerseys don't seem like the worst from this viewpoint. From this corner, the camo look actually works; it's on the helmets, the shoulders and the sides of the pants, and that seems like a cool way to feature it without it overwhelming the rest of the uniform. Leaving off the gold is problematic, though, and it's curious that they couldn't work it into either the jersey or the pants. The big white W logo doesn't really work with this, either. Even making the logo and numbers gold would have been an improvement.

8.

Saskatchewan Roughriders: The Riders' decision to go with 50 shades of green has been popular with some of their fans, but it doesn't really work from this corner. The "blitz" (or neon) green on the shoulders and socks seems out of place in football. However, the watermelon-themed helmets are cool, as are the tributes to sheaves of wheat throughout. Overall, though, it doesn't really seem to fit together.

9.

Toronto Argonauts: Oh, look, it's the Houston Oilers! (Except without Warren Moon.) Or the Tennessee Titans! (Because they really need to bring back memories of legendary Tennessee/Toronto coach Bart Andrus.) It's weird to see a team so known for its double blue all but neglect the dark blue completely, relegating it to just outlines on the shoulders and the logo as well as the helmet. The helmets actually look pretty good, but there's way too much white on the uniforms, and the giant logo is an odd touch; it doesn't really work with their logo, and it's curious that they didn't use even the standard version of that (seen at left), which would have added more dark blue. The pants are good, but the combo's way too similar to Houston and Tennessee, and it doesn't really reflect the Argos. Odd choices all around on this one.

How would you rank the new uniforms? Weigh in in the comments, on Twitter or by e-mail.