2007 MLS Week 1 Power Ratings
Welcome to the first week of the season and the most fun power ratings of all. With just 90-minutes of soccer on which to judge teams, things always look a little weird. But these ratings are based purely on what they showed on the pitch and not on what I think they can accomplish. With that in mind, let's see where things stand.
1. Colorado Rapids - What a way to start a season. They played great and looked smashing doing it. The new stadium and its 80-yard width will swallow visitors whole giving them some great openings. If they can keep their passes smart and own the midfield, as they did on Saturday, they will spend a lot of time in the top spot.
2. Chicago Fire - Get an early goal and hold on; any club that can do that impresses me. Still, they need to cut down the number of shots their opponents get. It might not have been overly exciting, but it was still a nice win.
3. Chivas USA - They controlled this game, but should have locked it up long before the 88'. They have some flash, but other teams will not give them as much time to make a statement.
4. FC Dallas - Great steal of a point on the road. Whenever Real Salt Lake mad a mistake, FCD made them hurt. Still, their backline has big time issues that created some mistakes of their own.
5. DC United - Yes, they were a fluff in the middle for most of the match, but they still found ways to threaten. They need to fix some defensive woes and Perkins might be falling into a slump, but they still played a decent game.
6. New England Revolution - Even with all their injury problems, they found ways of sneaking around things. Had the Fire been just a bit off their game, the Revs would have walked away with a point.
7. Los Angeles Galaxy - They have speed and once they figure out how to keep their shots down (hello Donovan), they will hit net. With Cannon providing miracles on their own end, it will be difficult for teams to respond.
8. Houston Dynamo - The Dynamo had their chances, but were missing that final killer touch. Then, in the second half, they stopped making their runs into the box. The good news is their defense looks to be one of the best in the league.
9. Real Salt Lake - What a way to find their offense, too bad they had to ruin it be forgetting about the defense. You will never be a success if you can't hold a lead in the final minute of a match.
10. Columbus Crew - They were able to create some opportunities, but they often found ways to surrender them. They looked out of place at times and the passing wasn't so great, but their defense is much improved over last season.
11. New York Red Bull - Claudio Reyna made a lot of noise on Saturday, but it didn't seem like the rest of the team was around to help him finish up. With Waterreus provided some awkwardness in goal, the Bulls are lucky to have the point.
12. Toronto FC - It just wasn't there for them on Saturday, but they did have a few moments of hope. It is going to take some time to bring things together, but they were not humiliated.
Kansas City Wizards - The Wizards got to enjoy an extra week of down time during which they came up with seven new ways to not score any goals.
1. Colorado Rapids - What a way to start a season. They played great and looked smashing doing it. The new stadium and its 80-yard width will swallow visitors whole giving them some great openings. If they can keep their passes smart and own the midfield, as they did on Saturday, they will spend a lot of time in the top spot.
2. Chicago Fire - Get an early goal and hold on; any club that can do that impresses me. Still, they need to cut down the number of shots their opponents get. It might not have been overly exciting, but it was still a nice win.
3. Chivas USA - They controlled this game, but should have locked it up long before the 88'. They have some flash, but other teams will not give them as much time to make a statement.
4. FC Dallas - Great steal of a point on the road. Whenever Real Salt Lake mad a mistake, FCD made them hurt. Still, their backline has big time issues that created some mistakes of their own.
5. DC United - Yes, they were a fluff in the middle for most of the match, but they still found ways to threaten. They need to fix some defensive woes and Perkins might be falling into a slump, but they still played a decent game. 
6. New England Revolution - Even with all their injury problems, they found ways of sneaking around things. Had the Fire been just a bit off their game, the Revs would have walked away with a point.
7. Los Angeles Galaxy - They have speed and once they figure out how to keep their shots down (hello Donovan), they will hit net. With Cannon providing miracles on their own end, it will be difficult for teams to respond.
8. Houston Dynamo - The Dynamo had their chances, but were missing that final killer touch. Then, in the second half, they stopped making their runs into the box. The good news is their defense looks to be one of the best in the league.
9. Real Salt Lake - What a way to find their offense, too bad they had to ruin it be forgetting about the defense. You will never be a success if you can't hold a lead in the final minute of a match.
10. Columbus Crew - They were able to create some opportunities, but they often found ways to surrender them. They looked out of place at times and the passing wasn't so great, but their defense is much improved over last season.
11. New York Red Bull - Claudio Reyna made a lot of noise on Saturday, but it didn't seem like the rest of the team was around to help him finish up. With Waterreus provided some awkwardness in goal, the Bulls are lucky to have the point.
12. Toronto FC - It just wasn't there for them on Saturday, but they did have a few moments of hope. It is going to take some time to bring things together, but they were not humiliated.
Kansas City Wizards - The Wizards got to enjoy an extra week of down time during which they came up with seven new ways to not score any goals.Labels: 2007 MLS Power Ratings, MLS
posted by Mike H at 4:22 PM
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