The Road to MLS Cup XII Week Two

A few thoughts from the weekend:

1. Chicago is unbeaten, but...
Chicago played about 20 minutes of fantasy football during their match against New England, then they never really got into the game against Colorado, even going down a goal after Colorado had been playing a man down for nearly the entire match. Yes, they eventually got a late equalizer and Chicago is unbeaten. But based on their on-field performances, they can't get too confident. This team could go either way this year.

2. What's good for Freddy is good for Real?
Freddy Adu was apparently pretty happy that, even though he's stuck out on the wing, he wasn't going to be saddled with defensive responsibilities like he was with United. We watched what happens when your winger doesn't play any defense against a speedy attacking back: Frankie Hejduk absolutely ruled the roost on the wing during the RSL-Crew match. Hejduk probably needs ten crosses to get one on target, but it looked like RSL was determined to let him try and get them. The Crew didn't score, but you wonder how RSL will do against a team with a little more firepower if they're basically going to concede the wing so as not to trouble Adu.

3. It's easy to beat up on DC's defense, but what's different this year?
After a few disasterous games, a number of fans are asking whether DC should play with only three men in the back. And, sure, Erpen has been terribly erratic, but I think one of the major problems have been breakdowns in the midfield. United's simply not as good at holding onto the ball as they were last year. A number of people have pointed to Brian Carroll, which is fair, but even Gomez and Moreno seem to be coughing up the ball more. I think switching the a four man backline might mask the problem a little but not if the midfield continues to struggle.

4. Toronto's defense...
Combined MLS experience: 0 minutes. Some of the guys are rookies, some of the guys were playing in Europe in decent leagues, but none of them have played in MLS. I honestly didn't think they looked so bad in the first game, but letting in four goals? Brutal.

5. Officiating standards
The game is called different ways in different countries. For example, the England national team always seems to suffer when playing with international referees who don't let quite as much go as the premiership refs. But smart players should know how to adjust their game accordingly. In MLS, the slightly peculiar standard is that you need to caution players for challenges that look bad (think Shalrie Joseph in the 2006 series against Chicago). Roberto Brown found out the hard way with his early challenge in Colo-Fire. Although Brown says he didn't intend to injure, he still received his walking papers-- he should take notes from Carlos Ruiz about how to foul without drawing the ref's attention. Ruiz gets a lot of flack for his diving, but his ability to create space seems to have a lot to do with little pushes and elbows thrown.