Ahead of the Seattle Sounders’ Decision Day home match against Real Salt Lake on Sunday (1 p.m. PT; ESPN, 107.7 The End, El Rey 1360AM), SoundersFC.com caught up with ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman, who will be calling the game with Adrian Healey.
SOUNDERSFC.COM: What are your initial thoughts on the match?
TWELLMAN: I think Seattle has done a wonderful job of grinding their way back into [contention]. They were thought to be dead and obviously looked to the future, got rid of Sigi [Schmid] and bringing in Nicolas Lodeiro, who looks like he’ll arguably be their best signing ever. You still gotta do it. You still gotta get results. When it’s all said and done, I think Seattle should be very proud of how they got back into it, but while saying that, if they don’t finish the job, it’s just going to be that much more disappointing.
For RSL, I’m shocked that they’ve been that bad recently going forward. It’s amazing to see how many games they’ve gone where they’ve looked anemic going forward. Jeff Cassar and his staff can say that they’ve created chances, but the reality is this: They’re not scoring goals for the life of them. Are they a streaky team? Yes. So who’s to say that they can’t show up Sunday and score two or three goals? But this team was comfortably in the Western Conference playoffs, and now you’re literally going into the last game on the road in a hostile environment trying to get a result. I think that’s a little bit of a surprise to me.
SOUNDERSFC.COM: Who are the key players to watch?
TWELLMAN: I think the strength of Seattle is the two center backs, [Roman] Torres and [Chad] Marshall. When they play together well, when they read each other...it’s still a work in progress, you saw that in the first half in L.A., they really struggled, but then they have moments where they completely shut you down. I think they’re the key not only for Sunday but going into the playoffs. If Marshall and Torres are on the same page and playing at their full potential, you’ve got a back four that can really go on the road and get you a result.
SOUNDERSFC.COM:What do you think of MLS’ implementation of Decision Day?
TWELLMAN: I love games at the same time. It’s the way the rest of the world does it. I fully understand scheduling issues in Major League Soccer, but it’s a unique experience. I think it creates the opportunity to have a “red zone” type of experience. How do you get Decision Day to be more than once a year? How can you get Decision Day across 34 weekends? If Major League Soccer can create that animosity, that big-time feel, that must-win game, then you’re really moving the needle. If Seattle makes the playoffs and hosts a game, they have literally written the book the last two years that it really doesn’t matter what you do from March to June 1.
SOUNDERSFC.COM: What do you think of the job that Brian Schmetzer has done since taking over?
TWELLMAN: If Clint [Dempsey] is healthy and Nicolas Lodeiro comes in, I do think Sigi would have been able to turn the corner, and even Brian [Schmetzer] has said that publicly and privately. I respect Brian for understanding that. What I think Brian deserves an incredible amount of credit for, is that he lost Clint Dempsey. So you bring in Nicolas Lodeiro, you lose Clint Dempsey for an unknown amount of time, and yet the morale of this team has changed [for the better].
SOUNDERSFC.COM: What do you think of Jordan Morris’ development over the course of his rookie campaign?
TWELLMAN: Jordan Morris is growing up, he’s a young adult. He’s idolizing and watching the U.S. national team with Clint Dempsey leading the way. It’s an intimidating experience because you’ve got to be strong. Clint is someone who expects the best out of you, he expects the most out of you. For any young player, it can be a little bit of a shock. I think it’s about Jordan Morris becoming more comfortable in his game. He’s not trying to please everyone around him, he’s just trying to do his job. When I saw Jordan Morris in the first eight to 10 weeks, every time he didn’t make the right play or the right decision, he’s looking at Clint, he’s looking for affirmation. As young players, they all do it. You don’t overblow this and Jordan still has a long way to go, but to have 12 goals after the start he had…I give a ton of credit to him for turning the corner as quickly as he did.
SOUNDERSFC.COM: What is Seattle’s playoff ceiling?
TWELLMAN: You ride the wave. They did all the hard work by giving themselves a home game on the last game of the year to win and get into the playoffs. You’re playing with house money. As much as the pressure is to win MLS Cup, and we all know about the struggles to win in the playoffs that Seattle has had, this year is a bonus and anyone who tries to convince me otherwise is full of it. July 15, August 1 came around, nobody expected this team to be in the position they are, so if they have a commanding performance to get into the playoffs, this is a team I’m not sure you want to play.
