NFL 2009 Week 3 Picks

AP Photo/ J. Pat Carter

The NFL season has started and I feel it's time to include on the blog a picks segment.Expect me to go through Sunday's games and pick you a winner every Saturday. Disagree? Make sure to leave a comment then.

Washington (1-1) at Detroit (0-2)
Last week the Redskins scored a total of nine points against the Rams. Nine! St.Louis looks like it’s headed for another miserable year, but the Redskins barely squeaked out with a win. Meanwhile, while the Lions aren’t good, they will have the best offensive player—Calvin Johnson—between both teams, and can put up points on occasion. I like them here, at home, to get their first win since December 23, 2007.

Green Bay (1-1) at St.Louis (0-2)
Sure, Green Bay lost to Cincinnati last week. Sure, the Rams didn’t get embarrassed last week. But quite frankly, the Rams are one of the bottom three teams in all of the NFL and Green Bay is one of the top contenders in the NFC, and they’ll be looking to bounce back from last week against a much weaker opponent. Green Bay wins easily.

San Francisco (2-0) at Minnesota (2-0)
Tossup. I’m not buying Minnesota as a legitimate contender yet. They beat the Browns and the Lions. Whoop-de-doo! Those teams aren’t even average. But it is their home opener, and you can believe the Metrodome will be pumped to see Adrian Peterson and the home debut of Brett Favre. The Niners beat the defending NFC champion Cardinals and the Seahawks, and I like their defense, but the NFC West is the weakest division in football. I’ll go with my gut here and take San Francisco.

Atlanta (2-0) at New England (1-1)
Have the Patriots looked bad or what? Tom Brady certainly doesn’t have that killer instinct in his eye this year; he looks more nervous about getting hurt again. The Pats defense just looks old. Atlanta has gotten off to a nice start, trying to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke. Atlanta looks like the hungrier team, and I still don’t think the Patriots realize what is wrong with them yet. I’ll take Atlanta to steal one here.

Tennessee (0-2) at NY Jets (2-0)
If Mark Sanchez’s performance and win in week one wasn’t enough to get Jets fans excited, then leading the Jets to victory against the rival Patriots while throwing no interceptions should definitely have done the trick. Meanwhile, Chris Johnson had an amazing performance against Houston last week, but they still lost. That a week after losing the opener to Pittsburgh in OT. The balls are bouncing the right way for the Jets, while the Titans don’t have any luck at all. I’ll keep going with the streaks and take the Jets.

Kansas City (0-2) at Philadelphia (1-1)
McNabb may still be out, but it shouldn’t matter. The Chiefs can’t seem to put it all together. In week 1, even without Matt Cassel, the offense puts up 24 against a strong Ravens defense, but their own defense surrenders 38. Last week they give up only 13 points to Oakland, but score only 10 themselves. The Eagles win, no question. The more intriguing storyline is what will Michael Vick do in his first regular season game since 2006?

NY Giants (2-0) at Tampa Bay (0-2)
The Giants ruined Dallas’ home debut in primetime last week. Surprisingly, without Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, the wide receivers have stepped up and played well enough to help out Eli Manning win games. Tampa Bay, after years of being famous for a stingy defense, is now getting further and further away from that distinction, allowing the second most points (67) in the NFL, behind only Detroit (72). Giants win this game.

Cleveland (0-2) at Baltimore (2-0)
Since when does Baltimore have a good offense? After years of inconsistency at the quarterback position, Joe Flacco has finally solidified the most important position on the field. Ray Rice has looked very good as the starting running back. The two second-year players have transformed the Ravens into a complete team. They easily dispose of a bad Cleveland squad.

Jacksonville (0-2) at Houston (1-1)
Matt Schaub had the game of his life last week, although it’s easy to do when you are throwing to the most underrated wide receiver in the game in Andre Johnson (how does this guy not get the publicity that Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, and even Chad Ochocinco get?). Now if they could only get last year’s surprise Steve Slaton going strong again, they’d have something going on down there. In Jacksonville, all David Garrard has to throw to is an over-the-hill Torry Holt. I like Houston here.

New Orleans (2-0) at Buffalo (1-1)
Drew Brees is amazing. We knew that. The Saints score a lot of points (93 points in two games; second is Baltimore with 69). We knew that. However, the Saints defense has done a good job of bending but not breaking this year. How far New Orleans goes depends on how well the defense does, not how well Drew Brees does. Buffalo is one Leodis McKelvin fumble away from being 2-0. The Saints are stronger though, and they win this game.

Chicago (1-1) at Seattle (1-1)
I liked Seattle in the (poor) NFC West this season. I liked their pickup of T.J. Houshmanzadeh. I thought they’d return to prominence, at least in their crummy division. With Matt Hasselback injured, I don’t like them as much. Sorry Seneca Wallace, but you just don’t cut it for me. Not even against a Bears defense without Brian Urlacher. Chicago wins.

Miami (0-2) at San Diego (1-1)
Miami’s performance against Indianapolis was surprising. It even almost resulted in a victory. The defense has played fairly well this season. San Diego will be missing LaDanian Tomlinson, but Darren Sproles has looked really good in his place. A tough call here, but I’m not confident in any team where Norv Turner is the head coach. Miami gets its first win of the season.

Pittsburgh (1-1) at Cincinnati (1-1)
Yes, we all know the Bengals are a miracle catch from Brandon Stokley away from being 2-0. Yes, it looks like Ochocinco is back to his old self after a rough season last year. No, I don’t think they are a better team than Pittsburgh, and they don’t win this game. Pittsburgh does need to get their running game going though if they are going to even beat Baltimore this year, let alone defend their Super Bowl championship.

Denver (2-0) at Oakland (1-1)
After all the offseason drama, the Broncos are looking ok and sitting atop the AFC West standings, and I’m still waiting for Knowshon Moreno to burst onto the scene. Meanwhile, the Raiders don’t have a clue, and if it wasn’t for playing Kansas City, they wouldn’t have a win either. Denver is the victor in this one.

Indianapolis (2-0) at Arizona (1-1)
This will be the most exciting game of the week. Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin. Expect a lot of points. Both teams have great offenses and average defenses. I like Indy’s rushing game more, to mix it up, but with those quarterbacks and wide receivers, I wonder if it really matters that much. Still, I believe Indy is stronger and expect them to win.

Carolina (0-2) at Dallas (1-1)
The battle of the turnover quarterbacks. Both Jake Delhomme and Tony Romo have cost their teams a game this season because of a high number of interceptions. This one could get ugly. So I like the team with the stronger defense to pull out in this one, and I think that team is Dallas.

What Will Become of J.J. Redick?

Think back to 2006.

J.J. Redick was a captain of a highly ranked Duke team, set an NCAA record for most 3-pointers made, broke Duke's career scoring record, and became the all-time ACC points leader, as well as the leading scorer in ACC Tournament history.

He also was the recipient of 13 postseason awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year award and was an Associated Press First Team All-American.

Come back to 2009 and Redick's basketball life has been turned upside down.

Drafted number 11 overall by the Orlando Magic, many thought that while Redick may not be an NBA All-Star, his great shooting would help open up the floor for Dwight Howard and he would be a grand asset to the team.

Redick himself thought he knew what to expect of his role in Orlando.

"I think I'll be a role player like 80 percent of the players in the league are. I don't expect to be a star, I'll just shoot, be a team player," he told the Charlotte Observer.

He could not have anticipated what his role became.

Since he entered the league Redick has struggled to earn minutes. In the regular season he has appeared in only 140 games out of a possible 246, started in only five, and logged a career average of 14.4 minutes per game.

Certainly not what you would expect from such an accomplished college player.

Some of Redick's biggest critics have said that he is not a capable defender and that he is not athletic enough to create his own shot.

While they are fair criticisms, Redick is still an extremely gifted shooter with a very good basketball I.Q. that he deserves more than to be buried on the bench, and when he's been given an opportunity he's produced.

The 2008-09 season was by far Redick's best.

All of his starts came this season, he averaged 17.4 minutes, and scored a career high 382 points. Even though his scoring average was only six points per game, he reached double figures 15 times, including a season high 17 points January 9 against Atlanta, where he played 20 minutes and shot five of seven from the field-- including four of five from beyond the arc-- and even pulled in four rebounds.

He was even given an opportunity to showcase his abilities in the playoffs.



He played in 16 playoff games, including eight starts, for 20.4 minutes per game also averaging six points a game. His best overall performance was in the first round against Philadelphia, where he started in place of the injured Courtney Lee. He played 31 minutes, scored 15 points, shot five of nine from the field, pulled in three rebounds, and handed out four assists.

Redick has publicly voiced his frustrations. While not trying to be a distraction, he has asked his agent to look into possible trades.

"We want to see what's out there," Redick told the Orlando Sentinel, "I want to stay here, but it's been frustrating."

This is where the J.J. Redick saga gets confusing.

While Redick spends most of his time on the pine, Orlando has said repeatedly that they have no interest in trading Redick, even though a number of teams have reportedly called inquiring about his availability.

The franchise claims that they like Redick as a player and do not want to let him go, yet at the same time he still has trouble earning regular minutes, no matter how he performs.

What is to become of J.J. Redick?

One possibility was that his increased minutes in the playoffs was an audition, for both other teams for a trade in the offseason or for his position in Orlando for the upcoming season.

It looks like neither will pan out.

Orlando traded for shooting guard Vince Carter, signed free agent small forward Matt Barnes, and signed power forward Brandon Bass which will push Rashard Lewis back to the small forward position.

Carter and Lewis are going to start, and they will be backed up by Barnes and Mikael Pietrus. Orlando could also go with two point guards in the backcourt together at some points during the game with starter Jameer Nelson and backups Jason Williams and Anthony Johnson.

Redick will most likely get some extended looks while Lewis begins the season serving a ten-game suspension for testing positive for an elevated testosterone level.

Yet once Lewis returns it is very difficult to determine where Redick will land.
Will Orlando continue to keep him on their bench, unleash him when they feel necessary, and hope he moves up on the depth chart?

Redick is in the last year of his contract and could be moved before the trade deadline as other teams try to stockpile cap space in preparation of the huge summer of 2010. However, if Orlando is having another successful season it's hard to imagine they will tinker with their roster and move him, especially if no one is significantly injured.

To expand on that, if Redick does not get the playing time he thinks he deserves, it's hard to imagine he'll stick around in Orlando after the season knowing that other teams are interested in his services. In this case Orlando would also get nothing in return for a player they at least claim to put a lot of stock in.

It remains to be seen what Redick's role with the Magic will be. What we do know is that Redick can produce and no matter what happens he will behave in a professional manner.

It will be interesting to see if we ever come close to witnessing the 2006 J.J. Redick again.

Photo Credits.
Top: AP Photo/ David Zalubowski
Left: AP Photo/ Bob Levey

Orlando Magic Doing Disappearing Act with Roster

Do you recognize the prospective 2009-2010 Orlando Magic, following their first NBA Finals appearance since the 1994-1995 season?

After losing the championship to the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando has tinkered with their roster quite a bit.

The big three of Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, and Rashard Lewis remains intact but the supporting cast is greatly different.

Gone are Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, and Tony Battie. Taking their places are Ryan Anderson, Jason Williams, Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, and Vince Carter. While some of these names aren't very big, their impacts on the Magic winning their first title in franchise history could be huge.

Ryan Anderson will replace Tony Battie as the backup power forward.



Last season was Anderson's rookie year and it's tough to tell how he will progress, but he was much more productive than Battie was. Anderson started in 30 games, although Battie was more durable, playing in 11 more games.

Anderson's numbers were significantly better in points, rebounds and free throw shooting percentage-- something that was Orlando's Achilles heel in the finals-- as well as having more steals and assists per game and an equal number of blocks per game.

Jason Williams will help with the depth at the point guard position, especially after the team traded away Rafer Alston.



As a younger player, Williams had great court vision but his decision making was subpar. Now, he is a year removed from playing, taking off last year because of family reasons, and could be a bit rusty.

However, he played for Magic coach Stan Van Gundy in Miami, and helped the Heat win the championship. His experience will help guide a young team, and he will push Jameer Nelson to be even better.



Matt Barnes is a versatile forward who can play either the 3 or 4 spot, depending on where Orlando needs help for the night. He is a solid contributor on the offensive side of the ball, but is even better defensively. He, along with Mickael Pietrus, will give Orlando a strong defensive presence on the perimeter.

Brandon Bass may be the biggest acquisition for Orlando this offseason, Vince Carter included.

Bass is a very physical and tough post player, who is a good rebounder. While he is a wide body, he still is an athletic player who will be able to run with Orlando's up-tempo offense.



Bass also has a good mid-range jump shot, which will perfectly compliment Dwight Howard. He will provide a strong post presence alongside Superman while also being able to step outside and free up space for him. Bass is also a career 83% from the foul line, including shooting 87% last season.

Also, starting Bass at power forward will allow Rashard Lewis to slide back to the small forward position, where he will be much more effective shooting from the outside without worrying about banging around in the post with more physical bodies.

Bass is the power forward Orlando has needed, and at 23 years old, he will fit in well with Howard, Nelson, and Lewis for many years to come.

The biggest splash Orlando made this offseason though was getting Vince Carter.

Last year, Orlando lived and died by the three-point shot. If the outside shooters got cold or out of rhythm, the Magic were in for a long night. They didn't have anybody that could take the ball from the outside and drive inside with authority and consistent success to stop the slide.

That's what Vince Carter will do.

Vinsanity is a prototypical slasher. He is a playmaker who can create his own shot off the dribble. If Orlando's shooters start to get cold, the team can get the ball in Carter's hands and let him take over the game.

However, the question about Carter is which Vince will show up?

Carter has a reputation as being a moody player. If he isn't happy, he won't be productive. He also has a tendency to just disappear from games.

He's a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of player. When he's on his game, Carter is a force to be reckoned with, a game changer. However, when he's in a poor mood, he goes through the motions and brings down the entire team.

How well Orlando does this season will have a lot to do with which Carter shows up. Right now though, it's fair to believe that Carter will be motivated by joining such a talented and successful group and will do what it takes to push Orlando over the edge.

While these personnel changes are upgrades and fill in needs that were obvious holes in the finals, one concern is that all these moves will temper with the chemistry the team has created.

Every year at the trade deadline, general manager Otis Smith is usually slow to pull the trigger on any move because he doesn't want to temper with the team chemistry.

However this summer has seen the team undergo a big transition.

Will the players be able to mesh?

Courtney Lee and Dwight Howard were close teammates. Will Lee's departure effect Howard, similar to how trading Mike Miller soured Tracy McGrady's attitude, or how getting rid of Cuttino Mobley bothered Steve Francis?

Only time will tell. For now, the remaining players will have to be confident that the front office did what they had to in order to ensure that this year the team would be hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy instead of watching someone else do it.

Change can be a good thing, and Orlando's changes may mean an NBA title.

Photo Credits.
Vince Carter: AP Photo/ John Raoux
Ryan Anderson: AP Photo/ Carlos Osorio
Jason Williams: AP Photo/ John Raoux
Matt Barnes: AP Photo/ Paul Connors
Brandon Bass: AP Photo/ LM Otero

To Care Or Not To Care

Photo Credit. AP Photo/ Rich Schultz

Tomorrow evening, David Beckham returns to the MLS when his Los Angeles Galaxy travel to New Jersey to play Red Bull New York.

The burning question: does anyone care?

The fans, the media, his teammates, Beckham himself, do any of them care?

When he first crossed the pond, some were claiming he would be the soccer savior in America.

While savior was an extreme title to give him, there was some legitimacy in the idea that Beckham’s name was popular enough that it had crossover appeal outside of soccer to draw more casual, or non-fans, to MLS and the sport as a whole.

Beckham’s arrival did generate a lot of buzz about MLS and soccer in the media and at the gates.

The Galaxy had the highest average attendance in the league, and when they were the visitors, the home team saw an incremental spike in attendance, like when over 66 thousand people showed up to see Beckham’s first trip to Giants Stadium against the Red Bulls. Beckham jersey sales also did well.

However, a few things really hampered his first season.

For starters, Beckham’s health was not 100%.

Knee problems, including a sprained right medial collateral ligament, kept him from making only seven appearances in his first season with the club, in which a handful he only came on as a substitute.

The Galaxy were also a terrible team.

Losing never helps a player’s profile, and Los Angeles lost a lot. They were eliminated from the playoffs, which meant one of the bigger stages of the MLS season would be without its biggest marketing tool.

Another disappointing aspect was the level of expectations that were placed, unfairly, on Beckham.

What non-soccer fans expected out of the player from the two biggest clubs in the world, Manchester United and Real Madrid, was for him to dominate the league and score a lot of goals.

What they didn’t understand was that that wasn’t the type of player Beckham was.
Beckham was a playmaking midfielder, a facilitator of the ball, with extremely good touch and a deadly free kick. He was not a goal scorer.

Spectators were building him up to be something he wasn’t, and when he didn’t deliver, they felt something was wrong with him and they were cheated by all the media hype.

What didn’t help Beckham’s case was that along with not scoring he was also not doing a great job of distributing the ball.

In his Galaxy career, he has only registered a total of 12 assists, certainly not what one would expect from a player of his caliber. Just last season, Columbus Crew midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto lead the league with 19 assists.

Nothing was worse, though, when Beckham was loaned out to AC Milan in the offseason.
One reason for the loan was because Beckham wanted to keep playing at a high level in order to continue to fight for a spot on the English national team.

While one can never berate a guy for wanting to play for his country, it is unfortunate that he would only be considered if he were playing abroad.

Things got uglier when he stepped on the field.

Beckham looked like a rejuvenated player. He scored two goals in his first four matches, assisted a number of others, and looked to be playing at top form again.

It was great to see a player who had been in MLS the past season and a half performing at a high level in the Serie A, but one couldn’t help but wonder why Beckham couldn’t perform this way in an L.A. uniform.

Where was this skill, talent, and production?

Why was it all of a sudden just showing up in Italy and not the states?

Then he pushed to extend his loan.

Beckham was supposed to return in time for the beginning of the MLS season. Yet he forced his hand into staying with Milan until the end of the Serie A season, not making him eligible to return to MLS until today. What Beckham really wanted was to be sold to Milan for good.

Now Beckham looked like a player who didn’t want to be a part of the league.

All his talk about being serious about doing his part to make America a soccer nation, and not just being another paycheck, seemed to be for naught. Comparing and contrasting his play in L.A. to Milan made him look uninspired on the field in L.A., and now he was backing it up with his contract dispute.

Beckham didn’t want to be here.

Recently, Beckham has made headlines again, but this time as part of the subject of a book.

The Beckham Experiment is written by Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl, detailing Beckham’s arrival in the states and impact on the game here.

One of the interview subjects is Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan. Donovan rips into Beckham and the perception that he didn’t want to be here.

"He's not shown (he's a good team-mate). I can't think of another guy where I'd say he wasn't a good team-mate, he didn't give everything through all this, he didn't still care. But with (Beckham), I'd say no, he wasn't committed,” said Donovan.

"Let's say he does stay here for three more years. I'm not going to spend the next three years of my life doing it this way. This is [expletive] miserable. I don't want to have soccer be this way."

While Beckham countered that he’d never been called a bad teammate anywhere he’s played, it’s tough to believe he’s been completely committed to MLS and the Galaxy.
He was much more explosive on the field at AC Milan, like playing for them mattered more to him.

Between the stark difference in play and his push to stay at Milan and be away from L.A., the team he is under contract for, has left a sour taste in many people’s mouths. Now that he’s finally coming back, it’s tough to tell if anybody cares anymore.

There will be some attention on the Galaxy-Red Bull game, especially two days after Wahl’s book came out.

How will Beckham and Donovan’s playing relationship be?

Will Beckham even be fit enough to play?

How much media coverage will the game receive?

Most importantly, will Beckham, after all this controversy, still be enough of a draw to bring fans out to Giants Stadium to watch a miserable Red Bulls team?

Beckham better put on a show in New Jersey like he did in Italy, because we know he’s capable, and if he doesn’t, this “savior” will become a fallen angel, and may take the intrigue of the league down with him if he isn’t careful.

What We Learned

Photo Credit. AP Photo/ Paul Thomas

The FIFA Confederations Cup was meant to be a warm-up for next summer’s World Cup.

The competition, the venue, and the team that was sent was all put together to allow for select nations to get an idea of where they stand and what they need to do in order to be successful in South Africa one year from now.

The United States learned quite a bit over the past few weeks. Here is a look at some of the things that the Americans can take out of the Confederations Cup.

The U.S. can compete with the world’s best

Some of the team’s games have not been pretty. However, this Confederations Cup really forced them to step up to the competition and step up they did, eventually.

They beat Spain, the No. 1 ranked team in the world, 2-0 to reach the finals and then they pushed Brazil to the limits, even though they lost 3-2.

These outings were quite impressive and proved that the U.S. can stand toe-to-toe with any soccer power in the world.

It is imperative though that the team came out with a sense of urgency and with a chip on their shoulder. Without those things, they cannot compete.

In recent outings against Costa Rica and the first match against Brazil, the Americans were undisciplined, lagging, uninspired, and complacent, and they got pounded because of it.

When they play with heart, when they fight, when they scrap for loose balls, when they show that they want to be out on the field and they want to win—come hell or high water—they pull out some great performances.

That’s a team that the whole country can get behind.

Tim Howard is one of the world’s best goalkeepers

Howard proved that he is in the elite class of keepers in the world.

Sure, some of the scores were a bit high; 3-1 loss to Italy, 3-0 and 3-2 losses against Brazil, and in the shutout against Egypt backup Brad Guzan was in net. However, watching the games you would see how valuable Howard is.

Howard has incredibly quick reflexes, great poise, and good decision making skills. These traits, combined with his athleticism, allow him to make marvelous saves.

Had Tim Howard not been in net for the Americans, especially in the match against Spain and the final against Brazil, you can bet the scores would have been very lopsided and the country would be nowhere near as proud of this team as they are today.

You can thank Tim Howard for that.



The team is still young and immature

Thirteen players from the 23-man Confederations Cup roster are 25-years-of-age or younger, and only seven have over 25 Caps.

Their immaturity and their inexperience at the international level still surfaces.

Michael Bradley, Sacha Kljestan, and Ricardo Clark were all given red cards for late and reckless challenges. While the color of the cards were questionable, they were still unnecessary and lazy tackles.

Jozy Altidore was given a yellow card for taking off his jersey after scoring against Spain. While it is true his emotions were running high, taking off one’s jersey is explicitly against the rules and it is a silly way to get a card.

Card accumulation and a potential second yellow card in the game could have had Altidore suspended and the team shorthanded. You need to control yourself better than that.

They are young, and they will learn, but the learning curve has to be faster and they cannot make foolish mistakes that will cost the team.

If players are going to transfer to clubs overseas, they need to go where they will play

In order to be a competitive team, players need to be competing at a high level on a regular basis. Practicing with top flight teams is not enough.

Take a look at the Confederations Cup roster. Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley, and Heath Pearce have trouble even making the bench at their respective clubs, let alone playing in games.

These guys will not get better if they do not play. Plain and simple.

What we didn’t learn:

Anything about Freddy Adu



My boy Tom DeRiggi wrote to me, “Freddy Adu= what we learned= he can cheer on the people actually playing with the best of them."

We have no idea what kind of player he is, how effective he can be. He really has not been tested at a high level.

He struggled to get off the bench in the beginning of his time with D.C. United. In a (shortened) season with Real Salt Lake, he made only 11 appearances.

He has played in only 11 games for Benifica, and barely gets any time with AS Monaco. He also has only been on the field for the senior national team 13 times, and didn’t see the pitch at all this tournament.

Many were excited he made the roster, but without seeing him play, he still remains a question mark.

Is he more dangerous offensively than Benny Feilhaber?

Can he complement Michael Bradley?

Does he defend adequately enough? Is central midfield the proper place for him to be playing, or should we utilize him on the wing or as a striker?

No one knows these answers.

Hopefully the Gold Cup will shed some light on Adu’s game.

Other musings:

Landon Donovan needs to learn when to pull the trigger. He had a number of chances to shoot during different games, but didn’t.

He’s the captain and needs to take the initiative. PK’s are nice, but you cannot depend on getting them all the time.

Clint Dempsey still has some magic while in a U.S. uniform. He disappeared in the beginning of the tournament but really stepped up against Egypt, Spain, and Brazil to renew the country’s faith in him.

Jay DeMerit and Jonathan Spector did a great job during the tournament and could really complete a defensive line that had some questions.

And how many times did we hear “Sacha Kljestan is a player without confidence right now”? Too many.

I’m all for getting a guy’s confidence back, but if he is not believing in his ability and it is affecting his performance on the field, why is he subbed into the tournament’s final, against superpower Brazil, in a 2-1/2-2 game (he got off the bench when it was 2-1, but didn’t come in until after Brazil scored the equalizer)?

Overall, the tournament can be viewed as a success.

The team learned a lot over the course of these five games about themselves. They also were able to get familiar with the country and the stadiums, which is only an added bonus next year (provided they do indeed qualify).

The focus shifts onto the Gold Cup now, and hopefully the team can continue to improve and perform at a high level.

Photo Credits.
Howard and Benny Feilhaber: AP Photo/ Martin Meissner
Adu: AP Photo/ Elane Thompson

Anything Is Possible

Photo Credit. Vladimir Rys/ Bongarts/ Getty Images

It's unbelievable what just happened.

The United States had the odds stacked against them today.

Advancing to the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup was such a huge improbability that all anyone wanted today was a game they could be proud of, unlike the squad's 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Brazil.

Advancing to the semi-finals seemed so out of reach that Bob Bradley decided to give starting goalkeeper Tim Howard a breather and start backup Brad Guzan to get some key experience.

They needed to beat Egypt by three goals, which seemed impossible given that they scored only one goal in the past two games, and that one goal was from a penalty kick.

In addition to winning by three, Brazil needed to beat Italy by three, another improbability given the talent Italy has on its roster, not to mention being the defending World Cup champions.

Yet all of this was improbable, not impossible.

Brazil surprisingly took a 3-0 lead into halftime against Italy, with the help of an own goal. The Americans needed to take advantage of the opportunity given to them.

Starting Charlie Davies alongside Jozy Altidore paid immediate dividends for the U.S. team.

Davies' speed was problematic for the Egyptian defense all game, as he was able to get behind the defense and be on the receiving end of slicing through balls as well as opening up the field for the team's other playmakers.

It was Davies' hustle that started the U.S. attack, sticking with a loose ball inside the six-yard box and knocking it in for the 1-0 lead in the 21 minute.

His heart and hard play rubbed off on the rest of the squad.

The Americans were a much more aggressive team today than they have been in quite some time. They created more chances for themselves, continually pressed the defense, and finished their chances.

They were also much more disciplined in today's match.

For starters, they did not allow a goal in the first ten minutes.

Allowing a goal so early can really crush a team's spirit, while conversely giving momentum to the scoring squad.

Also, no one earned a red card.

Playing a man down really hurts a team. More space is opened up for the other team to attack through.

Going hand in hand with better discipline was that the midfielders did a much better job today getting back on defense.

Previously, midfielders were either not getting back at all, leaving the defense and goalkeeper to dry on breakaways, or they were getting back late and forcing poor challenges, which led to fouls, free kicks, and red cards.

Now the U.S. has pulled off the improbable. Sure they got a little lucky, with major help from Brazil, but they did their job. The Americans seized the moment and played a very good game.

Each player was productive on the field today.

Guzan made some beautiful saves; Jay DeMerit stepped up big again filling in for Carlos Bocanegra; Jonathan Bornstein and Jonathan Spector continued to play well as outside fullbacks; and Ricardo Clark may have learned from his mistakes as he did not commit any reckless challenges.

Clint Dempsey looked to be the lone U.S. player to struggle and not contribute much, but he became the hero when he headed home the third goal of the match in the 71 minute, the goal that put the Yanks in the semis.

The most important thing to take away from today's match was the heart the team showed and played with today.

The team played with a sense of urgency. They attacked with purpose and defended tenaciously. They came out today to play with pride and wound up completing an unbelievable turnaround to escape group play.

It is not time to forget about the horrific play in the previous games of the tournament as well as less than stellar efforts in recent World Cup qualifying.

It is not time to celebrate either, because Wednesday the U.S. will stand toe-to-toe with Spain, the number one ranked team in the world.

However, the players need to remember this feeling. Remember how it felt to win today and to overcome such great lengths to get in the next round.

They need to remember they got this result by playing smart, disciplined, and with heart.

If they remember that, who knows what can happen against Spain.

As the Americans proved today, anything is possible.

Winning Isn't Everything

AP Photo/ Rebecca Blackwell

It's a shame.

Non-soccer fans in the States and American critics will look at the U.S.'s 3-1 loss to Italy in the opening match of the Confederation Cup and view it as a major setback. They will think that the U.S. showed that it still cannot compete with soccer's elite.

However that was not the case.

It's unfortunate because the final score did not match the effort put together by Sam's Army. Sure, there were some poor plays, but overall the U.S. put together a good outing against a formidable opponent.

The first positive was the courage the squad displayed.

After Ricardo Clark's foolish challenge in the 33 minute earned him a red card, the team was forced to play almost an hour's worth of soccer a man down, not to mention a man down against the defending World Cup champions.

Yet the team played even more spirited after losing Clark. They were more dangerous in the attack and created more opportunities, giving themselves a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

Landon Donovan, who scored the team's lone goal on a penalty kick, really stepped up to the challenge today.

Donovan did a great job creating offense for himself and for his teammates, which has been a problem lately.

The U.S. has had trouble scoring in the flow of play. Their goals have come off of dead balls: free kicks, corner kicks, and penalty kicks.

While their only goal of the day came off a penalty, the Americans were much more dangerous. Good passes lead to great scoring opportunities in the box from Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore.

Even Sacha Kljestan's shot in the 88 minute nearly curled in.

Now that they are creating chances, they need to be hungry and finish them.

Another part of their play that was much improved was the spacing.

The U.S. was disciplined enough to keep their shape and proper spacing on the field, even when they had to defend the floating playmakers Andrea Pirlo and Mauro Camoranesi and when Clark was ejected.

Proper spacing makes it harder for defenders to cover a single area and frees up space for creative players like Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore, to make plays.

The biggest negative came from the central midfield.

We still don't know who to pair Bradley with.

Clark's red card, while debatable, was still a reckless challenge, and he has a history of doing such things. He is not a dependable player.

Benny Feilhaber was another central midfielder who got an opportunity today, but he made nothing of it. Although he was supposed to create offense he wasn't heard from at all, save for when he was stripped by Guiseppe Rossi, who then scored the equalizer.

The U.S. needs to find an effective player to pair with Bradley.

While this tournament may be just to test the team and individual players against top competition in preparation of the World Cup, the nation still needs to finish out its qualifying and having two competent center mids will be an important part of that.

Still, there is even a silver lining for that situation.

Jermaine Jones, who will change international status from German senior international to American senior international, will be able to join the team in October, and will most definitely slide in nicely with Bradley.

The U.S. will again have a tough task in its next match against Brazil, and will need at least a point to keep its chances of advancing to the next stage alive. However what is most important is to see continued improvement from this young squad, especially against quality competition.

It's a shame the outcome couldn't match the effort.