The sky is falling.....

I voted for Other, which admittedly is a variant of the "don't worry" choice:

It doesn't matter, because the MLS regular season is a joke, and the Quakes will make the playoffs, where things really matter.

 

Ask again in a couple weeks when we hope to have some people back from injury.

 

It doesn't matter, because the MLS regular season is a joke, and the Quakes will make the playoffs, where things really matter. [/B][/QUOTE]

This is why the playoff spots need to be reduced. How can one write off 14 weeks or so of the regular season ?
10 teams = 4 playoff spots. 1 home, 1 away. We should use the goal differential system too, if we're not already.

 

other:

the Quakes at their worst are still better than Colorado & Dallas....

 

Well, with the Quakes as underdogs and Ekelund still on the bench, I'm as happy as a monkey with a balloon.

 

Chill, bro. The Quakes are on track to earn 60 points in the 30-game regular season. That would certainly be enough to win the Supporter's Shield by 10 points, and leave us about 45 points ahead of the Galaxy.

 

I absolutely agree. The finals should not be East v. West, and there should not be eight teams. If the league wants to give the MLS Cup more legitimacy as a tournament the regular season needs to have a purpose. If eight out of the ten teams make it, what point is there in putting out your best squad week in and week out.

Second, if there is more of a purpose to the regular season, than the Supporter's Shield will also gain more legitimacy, which is exactly what I could only hope for.

Finally, I think the Quakes have a tough road schedule ahead, but I think they'll be fine in the long run. A bump in the road is to be expected during any season. Like I always say though, I'd rather they go through tough times now than in September.

 

if mulrooney is out for an extended period, the Quakes are in trouble. coupled with the fact LD will be missing a lot over the next month and a half, and it'll be tough sailing for a while.

the Quakes need to hang on any way they can and get points from wherever they can get them.

 

The injury list just seems to get longer. See today's Mercury. The Quakes and the papers could save ink and space by just printing a list of healthy players. Just wondering which position Josh Saunders is practicing at this week.

I picked "other" - more than a bump in the road but less than the sky is falling. I don't think we will fall to last, but the middle of the pack certainly looks possible.

I think the regular season record should be the first tie-breaker in a playoff series. This would force the lower seeded team to get at least 4 points from the two games to advance.

 

[John McLaughlin] The correct answer, Pat Buchanan, is (a)...a bump in the road.[/John McLaughlin]

The road is long.

It's not where you start on the road...it's where you finish.

We didn't start strong in '01...but we finished strong.

We started strong in '02...oops.

I'd prefer to be at full strength in September and October (ugh).

And, yes, the playoffs are ridiculous...and will never be shown to be more ridiculous than this season. You can still have 8 teams but you need to move them along quicker. I've said my piece ad nauseam on these boards about the say to handle an 8 team playoff quickly, efficiently, and fairly...without dragging it out.

 

We're going to struggle on this three game road trip for sure, but bodies should start getting healthy after that. Gotta scrounge two points.

BTW, it's still really important to win the west because (as somebody pointed out earlier, forgot who) the conference finals are one game only, hosted by the higher seed.

Needless to say, we want that game at Spartan!



PS: Given that the new playoff system should get awesome attendances from the tiny number of fixtures, while still rewarding regular season record, I think it's pretty decent. (Though I agree with Dark Cloud and CARLOS1).

 

We are going to fall back to the middle of the pack with all of the injuries. However, assuming the players return and remain healthy, we will make the playoffs. If the team can stay together mentally for the next month, we should be in good shape for the rest of the season...