Power Rankings: Week Three

Let's get right into this week's MLS Daily Power Rankings. All Seattle non-believers can feel free to send me hate mail at majorleaguewriter@gmail.com or leave a note in the comments section below. Last week's rankings are in parentheses.

1. Seattle Sounders FC (5)
I should've trusted my gut and put them closer to the top to begin the season. This is not your ordinary expansion team; Seattle is the only team who's defense has yet to concede a goal. A big part of that has to do with the goalkeeping of former U.S. international Kasey Keller, who has come up big on several breakaway chances by opponents. It will be an interesting test to see how they play in a hostile environment.

2. Chicago Fire (1)
The talent is there, but I'm not sure Denis Hamlett is the right man to take the Fire to MLS Cup. Perhaps there is more to the rift with Cuauhtemoc Blanco than first thought? If the Designated Player is not happy now, I can't imagine things getting any better as his final months with the club play out.

3. Toronto FC (4)
Any doubts about the quality of this club have been erased in my mind. The biggest question surrounding this team was whether or not they would be able to get results away from BMO Field in '09. Two games into the new season, they've come away with four out of a possible six points.

4. Columbus Crew (2)
The reigning MLS Cup champions' early stumbles could be another case of a coach not being the right fit for a club. However, it's far too early to hit the panic button, especially since the team has yet to lose, but their pair of 1-1 draws to start the season have been underwhelming, to say the least.

5. Chivas USA (11)
This is one team that I was completely wrong about heading into the season. There are still many depth questions that need to be answered and I'll be watching with interest once 40-year-old defender Claudio Suarez is called upon to take the field again, but the club's last-minute acquisitions of Eduardo Lillingston, Mariano Trujillo and Bojan Stepanovic have proved to be very wise decisions already.

6. Real Salt Lake (3)
Got stuck on the tracks as a Seattle freight train came plowing though over the weekend. It's hard to tell a lot about a team from a game like that and, as Will Johnson said in his blog, they were a better team than the scoreline indicates. Still, they will need to solve those little defensive errors that put them behind early and took them out of it completely late. What was Rimando thinking by being so far off his line on Fredy Montero's goal?

7. New England Revolution (7)
The Revs were extremely fortunate to scrape out a point in their road draw with New York over the weekend. Unfortunately, they added another big injury to an already long list: Matt Reis was a late scratch because of swelling and pain in his knee, leaving goaltending duties to the woefully-inexperienced Brad Knighton. When is the injury bug gonna quit on these guys?

8. San Jose Earthquakes (10)
The usually-stingy Earthquakes uncharacteristically gave up two goals in a three-minute span of their game against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night, but their offense came alive and was able to outgun their opponents by scoring three of their own within 14 minutes. I'm more willing to believe the defensive lapse was a fluke than the offensive explosion. The scary thing is, they're doing this largely without the involvement of Darren Huckerby, who has yet to get going this season.

9. Kansas City Wizards (6)
Continuing their slide down the MLS Daily power rankings, the Wizards drop another three spots this week following a disappointing 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids. The defense really needs to step up this week, as their upcoming opponent offers no let-up: the suddenly-dangerous Earthquakes roll into town on Sunday.

10. Houston Dynamo (9)
What happened to the acclaimed Houston defense? Has that ship finally set sail? None of the three goals conceded to the San Jose Earthquakes seemed particularly impressive, in my opinion. Of course, the absence of Julius James could have something to do with that. One bright note: it's good to see Stuart Holden getting involved on the offensive side.

11. D.C. United (12)
Could've had their first win of the season if it weren't for a Josh Wicks lapse in judgement. Then again, he did come up big with six saves to keep his team in this one in the first place. Still I wonder, where is Louis Crayton and when is he coming back? Having seen Wicks play in Los Angeles last season, I know his mental mistakes will ultimately outweigh his positives.

12. New York Red Bulls (8)
The defense looked... better, but that was hard not to accomplish after their opening night debacle. It's still unfair to judge this team until all of the defensive pieces are in place, but the offense will also need to get better at finishing if this team is going anywhere this year. It doesn't look like the same Juan Pablo Angel came to play.

13. Colorado Rapids (15)
Terry Cooke wasted no time in showing head coach Gary Smith why he should be in the starting lineup for Colorado, using his first touch to drill home a scintillating free kick. I'm not sure why the Englishman was ever on the outs to begin with, coming off of his best year in MLS with one goal and 12 assists in 24 appearances.

14. Los Angeles Galaxy (13)
Not much to say about the idle Galaxy. Anyone else find it odd that L.A. was scheduled off on the first FIFA international date to conflict with the MLS schedule? No? Me either.

15. FC Dallas (14)
If I could rank Dallas even lower than this, I would. It was a very flat performance all the way around; the only good thing about their showing this past weekend was that very few people saw it. Just over 6,500 in attendance for the game. This front office needs to be gutted immediately... throw in the coaching staff while we're at it. This kind of attendance is just embarrassing for the league at this point and is unacceptable.