The team has been more solid defensively, but it could be a reflection of opposition. We have really only given up multiple goals against top squads; the last time being against FCD. We held Portland to 1 goal in Portland, and held SJ and RSL scoreless. The exception is Houston, where we gave up 3. Giving up 3 to a crappy team like SJ is a little bit of an outlier, so I chalk some of that up to the rivalry.
(Warning: too long to actually read. Just needed to vent.) Well we've given up 1.6 goals per game on average so I don't rate us anywhere close to solid defensively. In our last 10 games we've shipped 2+ goals 6 times. Of the games you pointed out (Portland, SJ and RSL) I would rate only the game at Portland as impressive. The other two were both at home against the worst and 4th worst teams in the league. But forget about numbers for a minute. I can tell from your posts that you are an astute observer. So next time we play a decent opponent focus on: Cole when he is up against a winger who has the ball at his feet the percentage of time he either a) backs way off him and just lets him cross the ball or b) steps up and gets beaten. (Spoiler: It's going to be 80+%). Also watch when our opponents are attacking down our right side - Cole repeatedly squeezes all the way to the middle and leaves our left side wide open for late runner scorers. Skjvlkeus - Note how often as the last defender he will make the mistake of stepping up too far on his man who then receives the ball and uses his arm or body to get goal side and force Skjcjkl to foul or give up a goal (he's done both). Note how often he is outmuscled in the box on set pieces. Note how seldom the highest paid defender in MLS clears set piece high balls coming into the box. If he is back Pontius is 3 times as likely clear a high ball as Skjgisu. Ciani - I can't believe this guy is anywhere near the 6' 4" he's listed. He has played decently lately but made a mistake vs SJ that cost us a win. He has a way to go before he wears off his "blunder-prone, slow as fxxx" reputation from last season. And he isn't very good in the air, especially given his listed height. We'll see how he does going forward. Romney - Mostly plays smart but not nearly as confident on the right side. Generates nothing offensively from the right side so far. Kitchen - Will look good when making simple passes but he is weak in every other part of the game. Count his touches on the ball - will be the smallest number on the field unless Gio is playing. And that is an unusual stat for a central DM. See how rarely he personally dispossesses opponents or forces them into turnovers (his main job). See how few loose 50-50 balls he wins. Note how often he gets caught on the wrong side of his man just outside the box and fouls him from behind, giving up dangerous near goal free kicks. Or we can take another approach - compare our current defenders, position by position, to recent successful LAG teams. Here are my assessments - yours may differ: RB: Franklin, Rogers, Gargan > Romney and >> Rolf RCB: AJ >>> Ciani, and probably Leo > Ciani? (Leo's gaffes decreased in his last couple seasons plus he physically dominated and was better at controlling the airspace in front of the goal.) LCB: Omar, JVD >>> Skjxkouk LB: Dunivant >> Cole (Cole looks like a great player but in reality Dunivant was 10 times the defender that Cole is.) DM: Juninho, DeJong >>> Kitchen So compared to LAG teams from 2011-2015 we've gotten weaker at EVERY defensive position: RB, RCB, LCB, LB and DM. (The only exception are the Gerrard games - he was worse than Kitchen.) Compounding the issue; While our individual defenders are being down-graded the league as a whole is getting better. So I'm having trouble believing that our defensive personnel aren't our main problem right now. Good coaching would help. But Rolf has had years of coaching and it is unlikely that Rolf will ever be as good as Rogers was, Ciani will never be good as AJ was, Skjsilshk will never be good as Omar or JVD were. And even Cole (the one we received, not the 20-something Cole) will never be as good a defender as the 99.9% consistent Dunivant. We desperately need defensive upgrades if we want to compete in this league.