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So here we are, 20.588% done with the season already. Why is that significant? It’s probably not, but things do seem like they’re starting to shake out a little bit. Off the top of my head, as bad as Minnesota is, it looks like they may avoid being labeled the worst team of all time, despite their astounding 3.4 goals against per game average. Which makes Philadelphia’s troubles that much more amazing. They’re on pace to hit just nine or ten points this season. That’s just... wow.
Portland? Still very good, and Dallas too. Columbus have turned some heads, and even Chicago look to be contenders, with Bastian Schweinsteiger maybe not looking like so silly of an addition after all.
So with that said, how do things stack up in the good ole Excel spreadsheet? Like this.
Week 7 Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Points | Wins | Losses | Draws | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Points | Wins | Losses | Draws | Trend |
| 1 | Portland Timbers | 13 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2 | FC Dallas | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | Columbus Crew | 13 | 4 | 2 | 1 | up |
| 4 | Houston Dynamo | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | down |
| 5 | Atlanta United | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 6 | Orlando City | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | up |
| 7 | Sporting Kansas City | 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | up |
| 8 | New York City FC | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 9 | New York Red Bull | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | up |
| 11 | San Jose Earthquakes | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 12 | Toronto FC | 7 | 1 | 1 | 4 | down |
| 13 | New England Revolution | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| 14 | Seattle Sounders | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | down |
| 15 | Colorado Rapids | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | down |
| 16 | Vancouver White Caps | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| 17 | DC United | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| 18 | LA Galaxy | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| 19 | Real Salt Lake | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | up |
| 20 | Montreal Impact | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 21 | Minnesota United | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| 22 | Philadelphia Union | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | down |
As before, I’ve added the trend column to note that the “model” tends to have a bit of lag in it as it’s a weighted, moving average, taking into account both recent and season long performance. So Sporting Kansas City move up to seventh and likely trending higher, though the trip to Dallas may be daunting. Portland lose but don’t drop from the top. Minnesota finally out of the basement, and LA, Seattle, and Colorado seem to be fading.
Is this the year the end of the “West > East” cliche? Teams in the East are averaging slightly more points per game than teams in the West, but just barely (1.39 in the East vs. 1.34 in the West). I’d need to really dive in and see how they stack up head to head, but that could emerge as an interesting talking point this season. If you find that interesting.
Sporting wise, as mentioned, the game against Dallas is going to be a big one, so tune in next time to find out what the fallout is. Until then; courage.