This quote from Nicol says it all: "What can you say? We are missing guys,'' added Nicol, whose team is 2-5-3 for nine points. "We have to get on with what we have. To be honest, we are fairly fortunate that the guys who are backup players have a little bit more to offer than we thought. I think the whole team has stood up well. I think we can bemoan the lack of points we have. I think you can say we have been vastly outgunned but not vastly outplayed by teams. San Jose was the only team where it happened.'' I don't even want to think of where we would be if we had "secondary" players the calibre of those in years past. We have a bunch of competent players who, as a whole, have done a decent job stepping in. If you took out 5 starters from each team in the league, I don't know who could have done better. Once we get some semblance of our "normal" team back together, we just might "gel" (drink!) in time for a strong second half. Tom
Dempsey has been exactly what you hope for in a first round pick (as was Noonan, picked in the same range). Twellman the biggest impact right from the start, but as the #2 (I believe) pick, that's again what you hope for (although not a sure thing, has Eskandarian has shown). So the Revs have done quite a good job with the first-rounders three years running. With Dorman and Brilliant, I think we have two of the most MLS-ready, post-first-round picks that the Revs have had since Pierce showed he could play right off the bat (with the exception of Joseph, who was a total bonanza for what, a second rounder?). I'm really encouraged by the fact that the Revs finally have started to draft well after being so horrible at it (or not attempting by trading their choices) for the first 6 or so years of their existence.