Previous ranking: 12
The Lions did a lot this winter and the squad looked really dangerous, but the center backs were an area of concern, and for good reason. There’s still reason to believe the midfield will sort itself out with more time, but if the center of the defense doesn’t get fixed then it won’t matter, as a 3-1 loss to D.C. showed.
Previous ranking: 17
The Pigeons are quietly right in the mix in the East after beating FC Dallas. They have been working through some roster turnover and it has been impressive watching them nab enough points to stay competitive as they sort out who they are, but they have yet to win on the road and are about to play four straight away from the five boroughs, so let’s see what they’ve got.
Previous ranking: 13
Lorenzo Insigne and Richie Laryea’s goals were awesome. Unfortunately, Philly was already up 4-0 by the time TFC showed up.
Previous ranking: 19
Chicago deserved at least a point from its trip to Atlanta, so of course it lost deep into stoppage time because an accidental kneeing of a cross went off Maren Haile-Selassie’s back and into its own net. This game exists to hurt you.
Previous ranking: 21
Can you say the Rapids were unlucky to have to settle for a draw against St. Louis? They dominated the run of play and had the bulk of the chances, but they just don’t have the great forwards to reliably convert the really impressive work in the first two thirds into goals. Someone please shake owner Stan Kroenke’s pockets because just a little loose change is all it would take to make this team really dangerous.
Previous ranking: 22
Work hard, run fast and kick the ball toward Christian Benteke in the box. That’s not enough all the time, but it was enough to beat Orlando.
Previous ranking: 16
Even having the Red Bulls this high is a credit to their system and historical record of baseline competency, because they sure don’t deserve to be at 21 after losing to lowly Montréal. They have just one win and six goals from nine matches, but the system will start lifting them up soon, right? Right?
Previous ranking: 26
The Galaxy’s season has played out as follows: Greg Vanney plays his trusty 4-3-3, L.A. looks terrible, he switches to three at the back and the Galaxy look better, but fail to climb back from the hole they dug themselves early, and Vanney starts the next game back in his 4-3-3 to repeat the cycle again. This week, Vanney finally changed it up, going 3-5-2 from the start and the Galaxy won their first game of the season! Is that an oversimplification? Sure, but the talent on this team is just so much better suited to a 3-5-2 and all the evidence is that they play better that way. Stick with it, please.
Previous ranking: 20
Austin handed the Galaxy their first win of the season and now has scored just one goal total in its past five games.
Previous ranking: 25
The Crown hung around the playoff race last season entirely on their ability to rack up points at home, so it was odd to see them without a home win two months into this season. Now they have that elusive win in Charlotte after an impressive showing against Columbus.
Previous ranking: 23
The Timbers actually did a pretty good job of using last week’s triumph over the Sounders as a springboard with a nice 90 minutes in Cincinnati, but the scoreboard didn’t reflect it so they head home without any points.
Previous ranking: 27
Hello, Andrés Gomez. The 20-year-old was dynamite in RSL’s win over San Jose and might be reason enough to watch this team all on his own.
Previous ranking: 24
Inter actually played pretty well and probably deserved a point in Houston, but nobody cares about what you deserved when you lost your sixth in a row, and the questions about Phil Neville’s job security probably aren’t going anywhere.
Previous ranking: 29
At some point you stop caring how you get a win and whether it’s repeatable or indicative of any growth. You just need a reprieve from the losing. Montréal doesn’t care how it beat the Red Bulls, just that it won. Huzzah!
Previous ranking: 28
If you think it’s bad that Sporting have as many red cards as points and goals this season (3), remember, that is still three more than they have wins (0) after losing in New England.
