The Mane Land MLS Power Rankings: Week 2

If you need to catch up on this week's MLS action, our Wade Williams has a nice recap, which you should check out. You can check out last week's rankings here. (You should have been there, I made a Scrubs reference and everything. It was great.)

The Best

1. LA Galaxy (Last Week: 1)

Did you see that finish between LA and Portland? How the Quakes ever gave up Alan Gordon last season I will never know. You remember this guy was a regular call up for the USMNT just last cycle, right? The fact that he comes off the bench for LA just illustrates how much better the Galaxy are than the rest of the league. GM Bruce Arena may be more important than coach Bruce Arena. Remember how silly he looked when he traded Mike Magee for Robbie Rogers? Magee may have won MVP that year, but I’m sold on that trade being in favor of LA because we all know how little MVP matters in the bigger MLS picture. Rogers was tossed around as a potential international player at left back, while Mike Magee’s team just pent DP money on someone at his position. What’s that tell you?

2. Seattle Sounders (Last Week: 2)

So last week I posed the question of whether the Seattle offense can outpace its defensive leaks, and this week we saw what may potentially derail their campaign to win silverware. However, I'm not going to read too much into a one-week scare. They'll stay at No. 2, despite the loss.

Granted, Chris Wondolowski is one of the most active strikers in the league, but all three goals glorified Brad Evans in the wrong way. It’s apparent on this goal…

…and this goal…

…that the potential Sounder defensive woes reared their head.

3. Columbus Crew (Last Week: 15)

The Crew were the big movers this week, and that’s partly due to the fact that the East is Grand Canyon-esque, in that it’s wide open. With Federico Higuain and Kei Kamara, the attack should be able to do better than it did last week at Houston, and considering no one else will step up, the Crew figure to be one of the leaders of the pack. This is where they’ll stay for a while, assuming they don’t lay some eggs in the near future.

Also, they beat Toronto, who I'm still high on. You can jump off the bandwagon all you want, I'm keeping my seat warm.

4. DC United (Last Week: 5)

United didn't play but move up slightly, due to the failings of others. DC gets the benefit of the doubt because of the bye week.

5. Toronto FC (Last Week: 3)

Notice that Toronto didn't drop very far despite the L. I'm a believer. The Reds played Columbus nearly evenly for the first half before the red card pushed them back. TFC will be back with a vengeance, especially once they get to play at home.

6. FC Dallas (Last Week: 6)

If anything, Dallas is too low on this list. The more I watch the hoops the more I like what I see, and apparently Frisco is paying attention for the first time ever (arguably). If a successful Dallas squad can continue to entertain and put butts in seats, the upward trajectory of a club that was once a laughing stock for off-the-field reasons could become a powerhouse in the near future.

7. New York Red Bulls (Last Week: 7)
8. New York City FC (Last Week: 9)

The New York teams land here (again) after the Red Bulls had the week off and NYCFC soundly beat a New England team still missing the leadership of Jermaine Jones. By the way, I know we're all supposed to hate the Soccer Yankees for being Manchester City Jr. and what not, but I secretly hope they do really well. A proper New York team that isn't named after an energy drink is something this league desperately needs to be taken as seriously as it wants to be.

9. Orlando City SC (Last Week: 10)

The Lions still remain a mystery after their 1-0 win over Houston. While Houston still doesn’t seem to know how to score, Tyler Deric couldn’t keep up his Tim Howard impression for another week and Orlando still couldn’t score a goal as a result of their own volition. OCSC should still be a playoff team in this Eastern Conference, but they need to show me more from the world of potential they have.

10. Real Salt Lake (Last Week: 11)

If I told you I watched a 3-3 draw in a soccer game, you'd probably think that it was a pretty entertaining match. If I told you I watched a 3-3 draw where one goal came from a penalty, another from a freak deflection, and yet another from an own goal, you might say that game was entertaining but not well played. You would be right.

RSL played Philly to a 3-3 draw in which all of those things happened. Was there also a beautiful free kick from Javier Morales? Yes. But not all 3-3 draws are made the same.

The Rest

11. Vancouver Whitecaps (Last Week: 16)

12. San Jose Earthquakes (Last Week: 20)

13. Portland Timbers (Last Week: 13)

I still believe in the Timbers, but they need to stop drawing and actually, you know, win some games.

14. Colorado Rapids (Last Week: 12)

I really hope Colorado starts doing well, simply because of Pablo Mastroeni's mustache. Look at that thing. It should be in the MVP discussion this year.

15. Houston Dynamo (Last Week: 4)

A big free fall this week from a team having trouble scoring goals and relying on stellar goalkeeping to stay in matches.

16. Sporting Kansas City (Last Week: 8)

What's going on with SKC? I think they'll turn it around — they've been too good in recent years not to — but they need to start showing signs of it.

17. Philadelphia Union (Last Week: 17)

18. New England Revolution (Last Week: 14)

Boy, oh boy do they miss Jermaine Jones right now.

19. Montreal Impact (Last Week: 18)

20. Chicago Fire (Last Week: 19)

Losing your first two games in which you only showed that you have one decent player (Harry Shipp) will get you last place really quickly.