Backpass: Top of the Table

The last time the Rapids were in first place this far into the season it was June 1, 2008.

George W. Bush was the president. David Beckham was just beginning his second season in Major League Soccer. The Rapids roster included Colin Clark, Mehdi Ballouchy, Mike Petke, and Pablo Mastroeni. Milk cost a nickel (not really). Gas cost $4.10 a gallon (really).

And that's just atop the Western Conference standings. I'm not sure when the last time the Rapids were the best team in MLS. I'd guess it was at a time when the league had 12 teams or fewer. Back when baggy shirts and rat-tails were cool, and nobody knew what a Kardasian was. Rat-tails were never cool. Kardasians still aren't.

The Rapids sit alone atop the MLS Supporter Shield standings right now, May 10, 2016. Here's a picture to prove it, in case someday my grandchildren need to google this article to find this momentous occasion.

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The Rapids have never won MLS Supporters Shield. Among MLS originals, only the Rapids, Dallas and New England have yet to win the Supporters Shield. Even defunct teams like the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the Miami Fusion have won the shield.

Yes, I know there's a long way to go in the season, and a lot can go wrong. But I think it's ok for Colorado Rapids supporters to get irrationally exuberant over this remarkable chain of events. The Rapids have done something nobody in MLS expected. Not even the sainted writers of this here blog, especially me.

The Rapids have certainly turned a corner. The team is no longer MLS' punching back, as they were in 2014 and 2015. They may not end up holding the Supporters Shield at the end of the season. But nobody thought we'd even be having this discussion at this point of the year. It is, however, certain, that the Rapids are very much in the playoff picture. In 2015, it took 51 points to make the Western Conference playoffs. It's early, and there is still a lot of work to be done, but the Rapids have already built an impressive war chest of 20 points in just 10 games that prepares them well for the playoff hunt. Nobody will deny that this team has turned it around and proven to be a formidable opponent.

Defense: Everybody Was Fighting

But not kung fu fighting. Except Nigel De Jong. And that dude with the flying back kick for the Pittsburgh USL squad. No, its our defense that, true to the dope C38 tifosi hanging above the North Stand, keeps fighting every single game.

The Rapids have conceded only 8 goals this season to date, second in MLS. This Rapids team has kept 3 Clean Sheets: only Toronto FC have more.

It's damned impressive. And it's the result of total team approach.

As sexy as the 4-3-3 is for modern coaches to use today, generally its major weakness is the problem of having three forwards, two of whom are pushed out onto the wings and into the corners so much that it's hard to get them to be useful defensively. Your formation, however, doesn't make your team's individual players play a certain way - that happens through strategy, and also through selecting players that are committed two-way guys, not only in the more defensive positions, but also on offense.

What I mean is, the Rapids primary offensive players are also doing defensive dirty work. Jermaine Jones is the best example of it, and Matt Doyle wrote a fantastic column for mlssoccer.com extolling the virtues of Jones playing as a trequartista with serious defensive chops.* Doyle's neatest connection? That JJ playing as a creative destroyer looks a lot like a former Rapids player by the name of Pablo Mastroeni.

Here's a great illustration of total team defense in action. Below is a chart with Colorado Rapids tackles and interceptions for just their midfielders and attackers in the game against RSL. Green is tackles, blue is interceptions.

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Here's the same chart for RSL's midfielders and attackers.

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That's 22 defensive actions for the Rapids, and only 8 actions for RSL. Moreover, the Rapids had 9 actions in RSL's defensive end. RSL had 3, and two of those, as you can see, are barely across midfield. And it's not just Jermaine Jones puttin' in work. Luis Solignac had 5 tackles and interceptions. Micheal Azira had 9 (!) . (Azira will eventually get a full backpass singing his praises, but right now, suffice it to say he has to be one of the most pleasant surprises of the season.)

It isn't quite Jurgen Klopp's Gegenpressing - the practice of winning the ball back high up the pitch and bearing immediately down on goal - because the Rapids don't constantly pressure the ball deep in the opponent's end; nor do they hunt in packs. It is an aggressive attack for loose balls and balls in vulnerable spots, generally in one-on-one situations.

It is an example of what I'd call ‘Rapids Total Defense' - everyone is expected to work, to pressure, to defend, like 11 little Pablos. Up to now, it's worked to devastating effect.

Defense Be Fighting, Part II

There are still some Rapids skeptics unsure about the backline. But I'm pretty well sold on the whole lot: Burch, Sjoberg, Burling and Williams (and Miller when he was healthy). Numbers don't lie they've been hard to beat, especially at home, where the backline has conceded just two goals in five games.

Quick illustration: below is Axel Sjoberg locking down Yura Movsisyan. Axel wears Yura like a coat, sticks to him like glue, blocks him, then demolishes him and takes the ball.

Axel knocks Yura Movsisyan around the pitch like a chew toy. Movsisyan is not Joao Plata; Axel knocks him around like he is, though.

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I'm not the only one that's noticed. Sport Illustrated's Planet Futbol named Axel Sjoberg MLS Defensive Player of the Week. Keep it up, big guy. Win enough 'player of the week' accolades, and you may find yourself in talks to be on some other prestigious lists, like the roster of MLS All-Star Game, the end-of-season best XI, and maybe the Swedish national team, AKA 22 guys you never heard of and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

MacMath Comes Up Big

Zac MacMath has had a few spotty performances to start the season, like a soft goal against DC United and some scary moments against SKC. But he was excellent in this Rocky Mountain Cup matchup. I actually figured out how to make a gif'ed supercut. Just for you guys. That's love people. They sure don't teach this stuff in rabbinical school.

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MacMath legit saved two sure goals with fantastic stretches. Well done sir. The skills are there. Now he's got to show us he can do it on the road, and in consecutive games, and on corners and crosses when he's called upon to command his box. But credit where credit is due: MacMath might be your player of the game.

Quick Hits

Kevin Doyle dropped back into midfield to receive the ball a ton in this match. It's a thing he's done in past seasons, only to get stripped on his way back towards the goal or to be stranded with no one to pass to. In this one, his holdup play while dropping back as well as his instincts around and in the box got him three Key Passes and an assist. It was also great to see him come back and watch Jermaine Jones fill-in by running right on into the box, dragging a defender and creating mayhem. That's a thing that was missing in 2015. Oh yeah, here's that pretty assist...

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Once again, the Rapids did not use their full compliment of subs. They only brought on their second, Dillon Serna, at the 89th minute. I don't know what the Rapids are doing, but I suspect that it has more to do with a lack of suitable defensive strongman options on the bench then it does anything else. If everyone stays relatively healthy, I'd say a utility winger with strong defensive chops would be an acquisition target during the MLS Summer window, which opens July 4...

Shkelzen Gashi wasn't a big contributor in this one, and Marco Pappa is still out with a sprained knee. Can you imagine what this team might do if Gashi starts clicking in the same game as Jones and Doyle, or Jones and Solignac, or Badji and Pappa? Mamita querida...

Mmkay, I'm done with attending the cold games - the average temperature when I'm in attendance is like 40 degrees. Especially since I think I'm bringing my kids on Wednesday...

Rapids Ninja Life

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It can't all be thuggery. This week, the must-see moment is Kevin Doyle's chest-to-volley-perfectly-weighted-through-ball. Damn, son, that right there is some ninja skills.

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* Note: Anybody who reads me knows I think Matt Doyle is both a brilliant analyst and a fantastic writer, but this week's column is one of his best, and not only in looking at the Rapids. He breaks down the Kamara-Higuain beef and explains what makes Tommy McNamara so darn good. And he quotes Kafka.