The Sounders Should Keep Their New Formation

On July 19th, after falling behind by three goals in only 50 minutes against D.C. United , the Sounders substituted Nouhou Tolo and Kelvin Leerdam into the game in the 54th minute. These players took over the left and right defensive back positions from Brad Evans and Joevin Jones, who each moved up to an attacking mid-field role. That new formation resulted in four unanswered goals for the Sounders in the final 36 minutes. Moved forward on the field and relieved of his defensive duties Jones started making plays and notched up two assists. Brad Evans also got involved with the offense netting a goal of his own. The new formation worked great against D.C United and resulted in a historic come from behind victory.

Head coach Brian Schmetzer decided to keep the line up in the Sounders next match against the San Jose Earthquakes on July 23rd. The decision to stay with what worked the week before paid off for the Rave Green yet again. Seattle had a sustained attack against San Jose and looked more alive on offense than they have most of the season. Best of all Seattle scored another three goals and held their opponent scoreless grabbing a win.

So, in the roughly game and a half that Seattle has played with Brad Evans and Joevin Jones as attacking mid-fielders, instead of their more common defensive back positions, the team has scored seven goals and given up none. I think that much of the credit for this offensive explosion has to go to the new formation. It puts a better defender, in Nouhou, at an important position and allows Jones to focus on what he does best, driving up the left side and crossing balls in front of the zone. It also makes room for newcomer Kelvin Leerdam to get on the field and, admittedly based on a small sample size, put him in a position to maximize his contributions to the team.

Jones has had a hot and cold season. On the good side he has notched nine assists, almost all of them on crosses from the left side of the field into the box. Much of this is because so far this season the Sounders attack has focused almost exclusively on this tactic. They relentlessly push the ball up the left side to Jones and give him opportunities to cross it. With as many chances as he has had the nine assists aren't as impressive. Additionally Jones plays left back, a position that requires good defensive skill, something Jones has failed to show consistently in 2017. Number 33 is regularly out of position on defense, often because he hasn't hustled back from the previous crossing attempt. This poor defense has let to several goals by Sounders opponents this year.

The player replacing Joevin Jones at left back in both games is rookie Nouhou Tolo. Watching him play it is obvious he is raw and full of energy. He often makes aggressive decisions and has exaggerated effort, but it has been effective. Nouhou (who at only 20 years old has apparently already earned the right to go by only his first name) is usually in the right spot and he is willing to tackle to make a stop. He is already a better defender than Jones and with more experience he should continue to get better at defense. The one things I dislike about Nouhou's play is his continued attempts to score a goal from 40 yards away. The shots are always errant and have no chance of working. Again this is something coaching and experience should fix.

The other big change in the new formation is the addition of right back Kelvin Leerdam. The Sounders just recently signed Leerdam and the game against D.C. was his first with the team. He made his presence felt and did a great job shutting down the right side. Against San Jose Leerdam was even more impactful. He continued to play solid defense and use his speed move all around the field and shut down attackers. In his limited playing time he appears to be a very solid defender.

Also, Leerdam's massive throw ins led directly to two of the goals. Speaking of those throw ins, wow they are amazing. The guy can huck it like no one else I can remember on the Sounders. He can turn an out of bounds throw in into basically a corner kick. This is a huge advantage for the Sounders and should continue to lead to goal scoring chances.

Moving Jones away from the left back position and into an attacking role allows him to focus on offense and it mitigates the risk of him not being in the correct defensive position. The change also gives the team room for Nouhou and Leerdam to play and both of these players are superior defenders to Jones. Leerdam also brings his strong throw ins to the team boosting their offense. Overall the position change improves the teams chances of winning and I for one hope they stick with it.

Tony Romo Did the Right Thing

In April, coming off a major back injury that caused him to miss most of the 2016 season, veteran Quarterback Tony Romo announced his retirement from the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL. Romo has a gig as a color commentator lined up at CBS. At 36 years old Romo is at the point of his life and career where most quarterbacks begin to regress. Father time and the abuse of playing professional football catch up to them and their skills diminish. So, his decision isn't entirely unexpected. That said there were many that were shocked at Romo's decision. There are several NFL teams with bad to mediocre quarterbacks slated to started in 2017. More than a few of these would probably have been interested in giving Romo one last chance to start in the NFL. Tony Romo did the right thing by resisting the temptation to get back out on the gridiron and instead retiring.

Even in a league as beset with injuries and medical trauma as the NFL Tony Romo stands out as someone whose body took a severe beating. In 2010 Romo broke his left collarbone for the first time. He would go on the break the same bone twice more in his career, both in 2015. Romo also broke parts of his back three times in his career, in 2013, 2014, and 2016. NFL.com summed it up pretty well with this quote, "During his career, Romo played through broken fingers and ribs, a broken back and a punctured lung. He rushed his recovery from broken clavicles and fingers, often finishing games with a significant limp or hunch."

The glorification of Romo's toughness is a symptom of the NFL's dangerous worship of those players willing to continually put their bodies at grave risk for the good of the game. Romo should have probably retired years ago. Breaking your back once should be a wakeup call. When you break it a second time it is a flashing red siren to get out and let someone else take the physical punishment.  Waiting until now, after his third broken back, to retire is better late than never I supposes.

Hopefully Romo has a long and happy life outside football. I hope that Romo realizes how lucky he is to be able to walk and function as a relatively normal adult and decides to use his new position as a NFL game broadcaster to speak about the dangers of the NFL and the sacrifice that players make for the chance to entertain us.

I hope that Romo doesn't use his influence to voice a glorification of the violence in the NFL and the culture of toughness and manliness that it perpetuates. Americans need to see Romo as an example of someone making a decision based on his own personal health and celebrate it, not question his desire to win a championship. Romo did the right thing by retiring.