The Mane Land MLS Power Rankings: Week 6

As much as we were all looking forward to the 20th MLS season, it's kind of been a dud so far. We've had nine scoreless draws in just six weeks of play and we're on pace to have the lowest scoring MLS season ever, in terms of goals per game.

Such is the life and times of an ever-expanding league that's still trying to find itself. I understand that parity is the name of the game in MLS, but sometimes too much parity can be a bad thing.

What does it say that the two teams who contested the MLS Cup Final just a year and a half ago went scoreless this weekend? The year is still young, and we've got plenty of soccer ahead of us, but something needs to change before this becomes the forgettable "Year of the Scoreless Draw" in MLS.

As always, if you need a recap of this week’s action, our Wade Williams has you covered.

1. LA Galaxy (Last Week: 2)

If you look at LA's position in the table and compare it to their position in these power rankings, you might have a puzzled look on your face. After beating Seattle in a rematch of last season's two best regular season teams, LA sits just outside of the Western Conference playoff picture with eight points from six matches so far. Why do I have them so high? Because they're LA, dammit. They'll be fine. While they haven't been very impressive thus far, I still believe in them. We had the Bulls in the 90s, and we now have the LA Galaxy in the 10s.

The argument against LA, however, is growing stronger in my mind. Let’s take that comparison I just made between the 90s Bulls and the current Galaxy run. Landon Donovan is LA’s version of Jordan and now he’s gone. Robbie Keane is getting older and hasn’t looked himself so far and Gyasi Zardes is having a hard time keeping up with his breakout form of last season.

Is Steven Gerrard the answer? Doubtful. Perhaps this LA run will end sooner than anyone has expected. Regardless, I'm keeping the faith and moving LA back in front after this weekend's result.

2. NY Red Bulls (Last Week: 3)

3. Vancouver Whitecaps (Last Week: 5)

As entertaining as Vancouver's midweek clash with Columbus was (very), their weekend trip to San Jose was equally unentertaining. There were zero shots on goal in the first half, and that's the second time we've been able to say that this season (looking at you Seattle-Dallas). That's not a trend anyone wants to see continue.

Regardless, Vancouver is first in the league after six weeks.

4. DC United (Last Week: 6)

5. Seattle Sounders (Last Week: 3)

Seattle is going to be fine, so long as Brad Evans can learn how to not get noticed for the wrong reasons at CB. They still have the best striker pair with Dempsey and Martins, and the supporting cast is as strong as its ever been.

6. FC Dallas (Last Week: 2)

I really don't know what happened in Frisco on Friday. Dallas, the team that had been as exciting to watch as anyone this young season, was on the wrong end of a 4-0 beatdown by a team that had gone scoreless in its last 600+ minutes of play, which includes all of this season and the tail end of last season. Was it the yellow Colombia-esque jerseys Colorado wore? Was it the fact that there were only like 16 people in the crowd? Let's go with both.

It seems that every year MLS is good for a few flukey results like this one. I don't expect Dallas' outlook to change significantly — they're still second in the West and third in the Supporters' Shield race — nor do I think Colorado has a chance to go anywhere this year.

7. Real Salt Lake (Last Week: 7)

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

9. Columbus Crew (Last Week: 8)

10. San Jose Earthquakes (Last Week: 13)

San Jose has played some of the ugliest games of the year so far, but they're third in the West right now and have beaten the likes of Seattle on the road and Vancouver at home. The only thing that has been pretty about San Jose so far is their new stadium.

11. Sporting Kansas City (Last Week: 11)

12. New England Revolution (Last Week: 12)

13. Orlando City (Last Week: 16)

See? I told you guys everything would be OK. As much as I thought Cyle Larin was going to Louisville for at least a part of this season, the gaping hole at the top of the formation has created an opportunity for the No. 1 pick in the MLS SuperDraft. He's got the look of a goal scorer, and now he's gotten on the score sheet.

Orlando is going to make the playoffs guys. I'm pretty confident about that.

14. Chicago Fire (Last Week: 14)

15. Portland Timbers (Last Week: 10)

Food for thought: coming into this weekend’s match against Orlando, Caleb Porter had drawn a whopping 42% of his matches as Portland’s head coach.

#Parity

16. Houston Dynamo (Last Week: 18)

17. Toronto FC (Last Week: 15)

Part of me is surprised that Toronto didn't come out with an L against the bye week.

18. Philadelphia Union (Last Week: 17)

19. Colorado Rapids (Last Week: 20)

20. Montreal Impact (Last Week: 19)

Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting for Montreal in the CCL Final, but wouldn't it be silly if the Impact won CONCACAF before they got a win in league play?