Armchair Analyst: On the radar for Week 18 of the 2015 MLS season

We officially crossed the halfway mark of the season, and as things stand there is only one team that's more than a three-game winning streak below the red line. And since this is MLS, I can offer you this immutable truth: Anyone can string together a three-game winning streak.

Want proof? At this time four weeks ago, NYCFC were on an 11-game winless streak. At this time one week ago, they were on a three-game winning streak.

So don't go giving up hope just yet.

Onto the games:

1. Home Soil

The sudden nosedive of the Seattle Sounders is Exhibit A in the "anybody can lose three straight" corollary to the above intro. Obviously there have been mitigating factors -- torn muscles and torn notebooks -- but in case it wasn't already abundantly clear, it is now. Nobody in MLS has the kind of depth needed to replace an MVP candidate (or two) like-for-like.

Or how about three? One of the somehow underappreciated subplots of the Good Ship Sounders striking an iceberg has been the absence of not only ObaDeuce, but that of Ozzie Alonso as well. He might be back for Friday's game against D.C. United (11 pm ET; UniMas | UnivsionDeportes.com), but then again...

...yeah, he might not. And honestly, since it's a cross-conference game, why would Sigi Schmid play him? No matter what happens this weekend, come Monday morning the Sounders will still be above the red line on both points and points per game. At that point, they can look at a schedule that has 12 of their final 15 games against Western Conference foes, knowing that an extra week of rest for their most important player now can mean the difference between home field advantage and another early exit.

I'll also be watching... I'm still surprised Perry Kitchen isn't at the Gold Cup. He's been a lot of fun to watch this season, and I expect him to continue playing with a chip on his shoulder.

2. Yesterday's Enterprise

The Red Bulls are about to play their sixth game in the last 18 days. That time span has included two derbies, a season-ending injury to their starting right back, an incredible double-PK-miss, and Matt Miazga returning to the starting lineup basically wearing a superhero's cape. It's been a wild two-and-a-half weeks.

And on Saturday night in Columbus (7:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE), I kind of feel like it has to come to an end. The starters have logged incredibly heavy minutes (Dax McCarty hasn't gotten so much as a second of rest during this run), and they're doing so while playing a high pressure, high-energy style that is tough to keep up game after game after game. And did I mention it's summer?

If you can spread a tired team out, you can get chances. And spreading you out is pretty much the Crew's entire reason for existing:

RBNY have been clicking recently, but it feels like Saturday night could be a little "Charge of the Light Brigade"-ish. They're going to have to switch from "enterprising" to "opportunistic" for this one, an adjustment they've so far been mostly unwilling to make.

I'll also be watching...Wil Trapp made his return to the lineup for a midweek US Open Cup cameo. He is perhaps the most gifted defensive midfielder in the league at spreading possession to the flanks, so... yeah.

3. The Best of Both Worlds

Portland hit a soft spot in their schedule a month ago and have mostly run with it, generally clubbing wounded teams at home but struggling on the road against full-strength conference rivals. They've won five of their last six games in league play, and get more short-handed conference rivals into Providence Park when Wondo-less San Jose visit this Sunday (11 pm ET; ESPN2 | ESPN Deportes).

This is a good thing on two fronts. The first is that Wondolowski has generally liked to operate in the gap between the midfield and defense this season, a spot that -- even when things are going well -- the Timbers still have trouble sorting out:

Compounding the lack of pressure on that pass is the fact that Liam Ridgewell gets caught ball-watching, and doesn't realize there's only one place where Sebastian Jaime can make a run and still be dangerous.

Obviously the good news for the Timbers is that 1) these kind of mistakes haven't been happening at home, and 2) without Wondolowski in the midfield, the Quakes are significantly less dangerous both on and off the ball.

I'll also be watching... Look, the Quakes are gonna bunker. But doing so requires more than just dropping numbers; it requires coordination in and around Zone 14. Fatai Alashe chews up ground like few d-mids in the league, but he'll need help keeping track of Portland's attack, especially when Fanendo Adi drops off the front line and starts holding the ball up. 

Please follow all appropriate safety protocols this weekend. For America.