It's too bad too because Rowe's was ridiculous and Morris's was mundane, its a shame Seattle is so self-congratulatory
Except they didn't play a strict two striker formation. Kei and Agudelo were all over the place - out the wings, tracking back on defense, dropping deep for the ball while Lee, Rowe and Diego made runs into the box. It was a fluid front five. It was the personnel more than the formation. Agudelo is a striker. He's added a lot of danger because he's playing well. Yet replace him with another striker (e.g. a more traditional target man like Femi) and the results would be far different. If they had added another dangerous midfielder to the mix, not that they have one, they'd have similar results. I think it's mostly differences in terminology here. What I'm saying is the more dynamic attack we're see is down to Agudelo playing well rather than a formation which puts everyone in a perfect position. They've actually got enough attacking talent on the field at this moment that they don't need to play a strict formation, kind of like how Dallas is playing this season. What remains to be see is whether it will undermine the defense, though the defense has been poor enough this season that it's hard to make it a whole lot worse.
No, it doesn't make me happy. But, making the playoffs is the entry fee - you can't do anything if you don't qualify. I wanted a much higher-seed that probably is possible now, but momentum going into the playoffs is the great equalizer in MLS. It's not just 2 wins, it's the way they are finally playing. Everyone can see the difference. I know it's not worth any points, but I think Rowe's effort and performance have been about the most consistent of any field player this season. He's been there for every game and has played his tail off every time, whether he connects most of his passes or not. And, he's played at least 4 different positions - wherever Heaps puts him, and doesn't make the game-blowing mistakes we've seen way too much of this year. Right. We just beat Colorado, NYC and Montreal is succession, but Montreal is fading. Okay. Had nothing to do with the Revs. Nothing in MLS is a gimme, but having lousy teams on the remaining schedule is a bad thing? Yes, absolutely. That's why we have to continue attacking. We wasted much of the season playing safely, thinking that would protect the defense. It didn't. Forcing teams to defend us is what protects our defense. The best thing we can do for our defense it to be threatening every time we get the ball. Our defense struggles the most when teams aren't worried about our attack and push forward on us.
Montreal are definitely in a bad place right now, they were terrible Saturday. They have some good players and are better than the sum of their parts, but they didn't look like they wanted it. The Revs were winning most of the 50-50 balls and were making the runs into open space and basically doing all the things we wished they had been doing all year. Credit to the Revs for taking advantage of a situation, and especially not folding after the horrible PK call. How many times have we seen things fall apart in the past? And yes, it is indeed a good thing to be playing Chicago and Columbus (and another game with Montreal, but I expect them to be better next time). While the playoffs look much more promising than they did a few weeks ago, let's just see how things play out. Last year the Revs had a good stretch of 3-4 games around this time and looked like they were primed for 2nd place and a bye, but the last 3 or so games they fell apart and had to go to DC. The question is how long can the Revs sustain this level of play? Can they keep it going and finish strong and be in a good playoff position (a home game, maybe)? And if so, can they keep it going in the playoffs against the better teams?
Given their current form in league play and the schedule in front of them, they should win out. What the Revs should do and what they actually do almost never seem to line up and come together, but all four of their games are winnable on paper. If they manage to take close to max points, they should get a home game in the first round and then we'll see what happens. I'm like everyone else - making the playoffs for a one-game exit doesn't excite me or diminish the organization's shortcomings. But I always want to see them win, and I'm always hopeful that the stars may align.
To be fair, that's most teams. The best defenses play less defense. I also think it helps defenders on the psychological side of the game when they also get to attack. That in-game mental break helps combat any sort of siege mentality. They couldn't ask for two softer road games than Columbus and Chicago. Those two teams have nothing to play for.
While those teams are not playing well, they have only lost a combined 6 of their 30 home games. They're still not easy to beat in their respective stadiums. And we've only won 2 of our 15 road games. I know we can beat those teams, but people here seem to be writing these up as 6 points...
We have Colum-bust and Chicago away and KC and Montreal at home. None of those games are going to be easy. While we are playing much better now, and 12 points is far-fetched, we could just as easily get 3 or 6 from those games. KC in particular worries me, since they are the best of the bunch. And don't forget all the other teams we are fighting with have 1-2 games at hand. Not to say they will win those, but they could...
Columbus won 4-1 in Orlando, so don't write them off just yet. DC and ORL play each other twice more, so that helps the Revs.
New England's Kelyn Rowe named Player of the Week after shining in Montreal September 20, 2016, 11:12AM EDT Dave Zeitlin