Latest / Tectonic Takes / Episode 185: Full Moon Monster Mode

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Episode 185: Full Moon Monster Mode · Tectonic Takes

• Tectonic Takes: Los San Jose earthquake been thinking So Marco on the richer scale of football I think. What's up Quakes fans? We are back again after a big win against Portland Timbers. Devin, how are you feeling after this huge win? Hell yeah, Abram, we are back. this is probably one of the most like I don't know, feel good wins of the season. For some reason, like, you know, there there's other wins that we've had throughout the season where I've just kind of walked away and it's like, Yeah, awesome, we won. It was kind of like expected. This one kinda felt the same. Like, you know, it it was expected to win. But I feel like there was just a certain atmosphere or a certain level of like electricity in the atmosphere that's undescribable. And I I think you had felt it too, Abram, when we were in the media box and we had talked about it. It it's it felt different than most nights and and I'm so happy that we walked away with the wind. It just felt so refreshing. Yeah, it w it was weird when we were in the press box. It was we could see as a full moon 'cause the press box is opposite to the moon. in the mountains and it was beautiful to to look at the stadium and we w we were talking that like the there's not a lot of people here but it feels amazing. You know, it feels like there's there's a palpable energy in the stadium. and and the press box particularly like everyone was in a great mood and it was only you know the mood was only furthered by the fact that the Quakes ended up scoring three in the first half and You know, it i it definitely felt like the full moon. Like I'm not a crystal grower or anything like that, but it it felt like there was something going on. and I I we could talk about this 'cause it's not illegal or anything, but was something happened to me in the press box that was extremely embarrassing. so Devin and I are sitting together. I had just like gone somewhere and came back and I was like tired and and sweaty and thirsty. So I went to the the mini fridge in the press box and I got a DeSani water bottle. And mine was defective, like I don't know what was wrong with the bottle, but the top like thing it it didn't like unscrew, just kinda came off, you know? And then the bottom was all lumpy. So if I tried to put it down, it would fall over immediately. Like there was it was not flat. And Devin King's can f can confirm this because when I tried to put it down I almost spilled the water all over my laptop and but I caught it. I caught it. and he said, y you gotta check if you're Spider Man. That was before that was before it popped. Yeah, that was before it popped. and so because I didn't want my water to fall anywhere and the top was like wonky to begin with, right? I didn't want it to fall anywhere. So I I tried to push on the bottom of the bottle to try and get it to flatten out. So I could put it down on the table. and so I was just holding it and then pushing on the bottom and then the top blew off, water spewed out of the press box onto the crowd below. So if you are in like the kind of you know, higher end you know, like the higher end seats with the padding and stuff, that's kinda like where that is, I think. I don't know, you might I might be wrong. And you got just like splooged on by an unknown source. I I deeply apologize. I hope I didn't, you know, do any damage to any of your items. that was awful. That was the worst thing that's ever happened to me in a a San Jose Stadium. Yeah, I was completely blissfully unaware of of what you were trying to do. I was looking at my phone and all of a sudden I hear a And it just water went everywhere. Everywhere. I think it it it yeah, i it kinda caught onto my my stat sheets a little bit as well. But I mean just the moment it happened I looked at you with like a thousand thousand mile stare. Yeah. And we were both sitting there pretty quiet for at least like a minute. And I think you had turned around and you were looking at our PR people and they were just like Ryan was looking directly at me. and he was like Don't do it again again. You know, he wasn't upset, but it's definitely like shoot, man. Don't like because we're told like to be really careful with what comes out of the window. Like, don't drop anything. Right. and I I definitely dropped like half of that water bottle out of the window. And also Carlos Eustis, the Telemundo presenter, was right there watching. so Very embarrassing. I'm sure it's ho it's it's a lot worse for the whoever got, you know, splashed by by my water bottle. I hope it like somehow like the spirit of the full moon immersed it into a mist and it just like, you know, dispersed, but that's n definitely not what happened. That was one of the funniest things that I've ever seen at at Paypal Park. So I think I think we can walk away from that with with a good chuckle. than an embarrassing moment. 'Cause that I mean Abram to to to kinda calm those nerves, it it definitely wasn't like in a first person, you know, position that definitely was a little unsettling, but I think holistically, you know, I think y you gave the people down below a story to tell later on in their lives. Yeah, I just really hope they don't watch the show. and and like, that's what happened. if it happened to you in the comments, I guess leave leave a comment. I I'd But don't sue me. That's the main thing. anyways, we do have a great game to talk about. we ended up winning three one to Portland Timbers. They look terrible. Like the the Portland team in the first half at least just was not there to play. we scored one goal like after four minutes and then we just kind of kept going and going. for you was this more of a case of Portland not turning up or Was it, you know, center of the earthquakes having a great time or was it both? I think it's it's definitely a mix of both. I actually thought, you know, the way Portland started off was was not intimidating, but I thought they had really good high press and it the issue with that press was that they weren't cohesive, which I think San Jose was easily able to break down. I had listened to a lot of Portland podcasts right before, you know, starting this show and and they had mentioned that they were just you know, completely upset with how Portland was able to transition. you know, they were upset with with just a lot of individual players and just the team team style, tactical style. But I actually I thought it was great. I thought that, you know, them pushing high up the field and pressing us in certain positions in the corners of of our midfield third, they had opportunities to contain us and to transition the ball higher up the field, but again it's just the the laxadaisicalness in the the ninety five percentile of of their of you know execution. you know, it seems to be a consistent theme for Portland in in the second half of the season is is the execution factor. that seems to be, you know, preventing them from crossing the line victoriously after, you know, a ninety minute period. but that being said, you know, I think San Jose did what they needed to do. I think You know, the further we go into the second half of the season, it seems like, you know, our tactical preparation and, you know, our our studying you know, is is is kind of paying off. You know, we're we're starting to to collect better notes on the opposition and and prepare better for these games. And our centralized midfield and defensive presence does a lot of those job, you know? And I think there were there are definitely some standout players for us, but you know, kinda looking here at the stats, Portland had won the possession game, but it seemed like s you know, the earthquakes had done what they need to do in their own possession. every time they got the ball. It seemed to be like every every attack was was pretty dangerous in and it was hard to say the same to Portland. So can I provide some statistical input on that? so statistical and also eye test, right? I think that in the first half the Quakes were very dominant and if you look on Fot Mob you can see you know, you could differentiate the stats in the first half of the second. the first half we have fifty three percent possession, we have eight total shots, four shots on target, fifteen touches in the opposition box. We're attacking well, we we have a lot more accurate passes and we have a big chance, you know, we have we have big chances. it's all blue. i in in terms of like the first half and and all the stats here are are blue except for probably the defensive stats. and you go over the second half and it's a completely different story and not only do Portland kinda flip the script, they have more possession in the second half than we did in the first. they have way more shots. You know, they they're they have nothing to lose at this point. But in my opinion the way that the game went, at least from the eye test, is that We scored three goals and that kind of won us the game. And then it was just up to us to not, you know, mess it up. And Portland tried their best and they they, you know, definitely have like twenty two shots in the opposition box in one half is is, you know, impressive. It's not impressive to only score once in in, you know, with with that in mind. Twelve shots, only one goal. Like they they definitely can't finish. That's a problem that I'm sure they're having. I I don't watch Portland regularly, but they don't seem to be, you know, ecstatic with the quality of the finishing. but like you said, Devin, they do have overall more possession because of the how the second half went. but I think that we killed this game off early and we did like we got to take off the second half almost. you know, I'm not saying that they didn't try hard, but it was definitely a different approach to, you know. Instead of trying to make it six six zero. They're just like, Okay, let's keep these points and and you know, head to Colorado in a few weeks. Yeah, second half was more of a Jose Mourinho park the bus type performance, you know. as you had mentioned, you know, that's that's kind of what brought Portland stats kind of up up that bar. especially with the shot count, shot on target and ball possession. There wasn't as much urgency by the earthquakes to attempt any shots, except maybe long distance, long range shots. you know, kind of overcrowding the opposition eighteen wasn't really a a primary objective of ours. I think ours was just kind of sitting back absorbing pressure and and hoping to counter that way. I thought the the the subs were interesting. I'll get to that in a minute, but you know, looking here obviously with the second half, Portland with sixty one percent possession, Quakes with thirty nine percent, you can definitely tell that they're Portland had attempted to kind of regain some level of focus back onto the game, whereas in the first half there was just no chance whatsoever to to compete with Bruce Arena's attacking style of play and especially Preston Judd. Preston Judd yet again getting another brace versus Portland Timbers. I'm not sure what it is with Portland. I had asked him during the press conference what it is about Portland. He just kind of he made a joke saying like, you know, if I could do it once, I can do it again. Sure enough he did. but in in one of the podcasts I was listening to for for Portland, you might think this is a little funny here, the the Timbers fans had actually referenced Preston Judd as a Holland level finisher. Is that is that something that you agree with? Erling Holland or the country? Erling Holland. Erling Holland, yeah. Kind of like that's That's a really, you know, interesting what's it called, when you say something nice about someone? Compliment. Yeah. I I speak two languages, guys, even though I barely speak Spanish. I I thought they were saying like he's similar to Van Bastin, Van Persie, you know, like all these players of the past. Of n one nationality. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I was like, that's a really crazy compliment. Like, wow. But Erling Holland, no. so He he does fit the profile in a lot of ways. you know, big, fast, very aggressive striker, but I would say that the the main thing that differentiates it too is is when they strike the ball, what happens. and and you know, Preston Judd is doing a very good job at this level. but Erling Holland strikes it and the ball kind of w warps space and time when it when he hits the ball. So And and that's not that's not anything against Preston Judd. That's just like Holland is is unbeatable for anyone in this universe. Like nobody can contain him. He plays for Norway and he got like a bunch of goals in the World Cup. We all saw it. so yeah, that's just a a little bit of hyperbole, but in this league I think that Preston Judd is showing to be one of the best strikers, with with a lot of ability, a very diverse you know, profile of what he can and can't do. so super happy to have him on on our side. Yeah, I think in consolation to the to their opinion, I think, you know, they are kind of right, at least just in terms of the Portland game. You know, as as a Portland you know, if you're a Portland fan and you're watching Preston Judd, you know, finish off these header attempts, like, you know, w with the a far post header, just sailing it over the goalkeeper. and did the that happened twice, right? Was that two headers or was that one header and one volley? Yeah, one volley. I mean, w you would see Erling Holland make those types of finishes. Yeah. maybe with a little more power than Preston Judd had shown in Portland, but you know, just to to kind of con you know, console to their opinion. they they have kind of a point, but I'm not gonna be like, well, Preston Judd resembles a lot of Erling Holland because it's just not true. But that being said, you know I think if we look at this game, Preston Judd, yes, is a highlight player and got player of the match, but I think there is one specific player here for the San Jose Earthquake who actually made a more impressive appearance on the field. Abram, who do you think that is? Edward Lowen. Absolutely correct. Yes. You wanna go into that? I mean, there's not much to say other than he was absolutely insane. again he was everywhere. we talked about his his match a few episodes ago, maybe last episode, where he got an eight point one rating despite not scoring and not getting an assist. He said, Hey, you know what? I'm gonna start doing those things and continue to get high match ratings and you know, dictating the whole play. he got a goal and an assist. One of them was a secondary assist, but in MLS we count those the same. his goal was super surprising because you don't score that. Right? And it's not like, that's a crazy finish or whatever. He he did exactly what he needed to do. He did his job. It's just like I don't think the keeper was expecting him to go for it because he's he's has all angles covered. Arguably the angle that he scored from was still covered. But he when he shot it, the keeper, you know I don't think he reacted appropriately, but also I don't think he was ready for that to happen in the first place. But I'm super happy for Edward to get his first goal in in black and blue. everyone is super complimentary about Louvin's impact on the locker room and it showed when everyone was, you know, jumping on him and and congratulating him for that goal. it's clear that there's a a big difference between the locker room's morale before Lubin got here and after. And we see the effect every week and this is one of the best examples of of, you know, not just what he can do to bring the team together, but also the impact that he provides on the field, because if he couldn't do anything on the field then it kinda not worth it to to bring him. But he is absolutely providing a huge impact. and, you know, without him this game could be one one and that's not just counting his goal and direct assist, but you know It's it's he is a difference maker. And and I think that's very you know, simply put, and I think everyone in the Quakes fandom would probably agree with that. Yeah, he's one of those players where, you know, he kind of exceeded expectations coming into the earthquakes. It's it's one of those things I think where, you know, as a player, or if you're already on a team and you have a new player come in and you're kind of like Who is this guy? You know, what what can you bring to this team? And then all of a sudden after the very first game, this guy's pouring his heart, his energy, everything out, you know, for for the San Jose Earthquakes and for his teammates, for the love of the game. You kinda give that that player a new sense of recognition and validity, like, hey, this guy's willing to die for us. We're gonna try and die for him too. and I think that that's what sparked, you know, the the level of respect that we see in the camaraderie between, you know, the existing Earthquakes players and the the newcomer of Edward Lowen. and and you know that that goes a long way. And we've seen it s you know since his very first game, every single game. up until this point, you know, where Lowen now gets a goal and an assist. but after he gets his goal, you could just tell that, you know, the the sense of camaraderie is really high between all the field players and and Edward with the way that they went and celebrated with him. you know, I know that there were there were other celebrations that had occurred in the game that we will talk about. But specifically with with Edward, you know, I I'm just I'm really happy with with the fact that one that we brought him in. I know other Portland podcasters were were actually like pretty pissed off that that Portland itself didn't go for Edward. You know, well that remains kind of not skeptical, but we're not sure what other teams may have gone for Edward, but I'm I'm just really happy that he landed here in San Jose, of all places. And you know, we're we're s you know, kinda moving back up the ranks in the in the playoff standings. you know, with with seven games to to go and and Edward's definitely leading with the you know, each each foot, each stride. Absolutely. I think that, you know, we needed a piece like this. and I don't know what we were calling out for at the beginning of the of the you know after the World Cup break. I don't remember what it was exactly we said we needed. I think it was like a D P striker or something. I don't know. D P winger. We got a D P midfielder and I think that we were hesitant about that because Bo LaRue and and Ronal Ronaldo Vieira were so, you know, impactful on this team. we didn't think that Bruce would just, you know, s force more midfielders into this formation. Just like make it all the midfielders possible, to account for everyone and it has definitely worked to our advantage. another player that everyone's talking about is Earl Edwards Junior. I thought he had a very good match, very solid. There there a few saves where I was like, okay, that's definitely like that's not just average, that's a that's a pretty, you know, good save. I'm personally not convinced that he should be number one over gun who has been starting to show that he can play at a good level. I I I think that this is a great performance from Edwards. I need to see more to to make that judgment. but I also don't think that he's gonna get the chance just because of how goalkeeper hierarch hierarchy works. but you know, if he does and gets to you know, show us more of that form and we've seen it before, this isn't the first time he's played like this. He's he's a very decent keeper. despite some performances very early on. I think that he he's changed my perspective on him and and showed me that he's a very good number two and great shot shopper and all that. but I'm curious in your thoughts, Devin, on should he eclipse Angus Gunn, and how would that, you know, affect the the team. Well Earl is certainly making a case for himself, that's for sure, of of, you know, competing for a starting spot. But I'm in the same page as you, Abram. I don't I don't think that he's done enough or has enough minutes to warrant, you know Eclipsing Angus Gunn. I think Angus there's a lot of factors as to why Angus will be starting for the rest of the season over over Earl. I think it's comforting to know that we have a, you know, a competent backup goalkeeper. I know that's been a worry for Quakes fans for a really long time. for as long as we've had Daniel, at least. Yeah. you know, after post J T Marsinkowski. You know, just looking at the s the the backup, any time Daniel got hurt, we were always, you know, starting every game worried that this goalkeeper isn't gonna perform, we were gonna lose because of goalkeeper errors. I think now those expectations have settled. Earl is put in a good performance. You know, the question is whether it's consistent or not. And we may not know the c the level of consistency, due to the fact that, you know, once international break come you know, is over, Earl Earl Edwards Jr. will be the backup and Angus Gunn will be our starting goalkeeper again. and I I think, as you had mentioned, Angus has done enough to warrant that starting spot and and he's still improving as a goalkeeper. I think all you need is a goalkeeper who's been out as a starting spot for two years is time. You just need time, minutes, experience, and You know, our our coaching staff is definitely giving it to him and I'm I'm I'm not like a hundred percent satisfied with Gunn's ability. Obviously there's there's levels of improvement to go before I feel, you know, really confident in in him being being, you know, in net. But also with our performances as of recent, we're getting the job done and we're also getting it done with Angus and Nett. So I'm I'm not too upset. I'm I'm okay with Angus being the number one goalkeeper for now. Yeah, and you know, definitely s some saves Edwards made that I was like, you know, I don't know if Gunn would have done that. He would've stood in the way and let the ball hit him and you know, it wouldn't go in, but it'd be bouncing around, cause a lot of chaos. Edwards has a really good, you know, catch. He he he stops the ball dead. And I I appreciate that in a goalkeeper. something I was never good at. I was a good shot stopper, but then what happens after that after I stop it from going in, that's your guys' business. Miami might come calling though. Yeah, yeah. wouldn't mind that. They'd be playing alongside Leo Messi, you know, out of the gate. Although I don't think that they would want a five ten goalkeeper to be honest. they might they might want anyone after the the goalkeeper blunder against like against Columbus in that ninety sixth minute yeah goal concede. I don't know if you saw that, Abram. No, I don't know. Earl Earl Edwards could be a good backup or a starting keeper for Miami. Well, I mean I'm I'm I'd rather keep here, honestly. But what what else what I was saying is that I I I do like a lot of the 'cause they're different profiles again. Edwards and Gunn. I I I like a lot of things that's all from Edwards, but people have to keep in mind that it's the grass is always greener on the other side and then also We we jump too much on one really good performance from a keeper and assume that's gonna be every game. but kind of the reality of the sport is that there's a reason why number twos are number twos. and that goes across all teams. There there's a a reason and the coaches see that because if they genuinely thought that the number two could be the number one, they would make that change. or they would start slowly phasing in the number two, when the number one is fit. Like we see Seattle. Andrew Thomas, former Danford player, somebody who, in my opinion, didn't start off immediately as good as Stefan Fry, but slowly started to show that he had that ability, very physically capable, and I think grew into that player and he started to get more minutes naturally. When you see kind of a lockout situation where the the number one is getting all the minutes and the number two doesn't play for years, there's a reason for that. And even if the number two comes in for a game where the number one's injured and does well, that doesn't necessarily mean that he's always been able to do this. He just like is extra motivated for this game, of course. Or there's a bunch of factors, right? I remember we saw what what was his name? Jackson Jackson something. He came from New England and he was the open cup keep keeper in the match against Sacramento where we lost in Sacramento the second time. I don't remember his his full name, but we called him JJ. Yeah, I can't remember either. He had a really good game that game we lost, but he had a really good game, and everyone's like, Okay, get him in. You know, that's our number one because they weren't happy with who we had at the time. there was a time where everyone hated Daniel. Don't rem don't forget that. and he kind of had blunders, like really bad ones, in in his next match, in in PayPal Park. And so it just shows the duality of of goalkeepers and just athletes. We're all they're all players that are gonna try and do their very best, but they they they have the ability that they have. They can grow, they can decline, it's it's all fluid. so just Be open minded with the the keepers and and the shifts and stuff. you know, again, like I said, if Ur Edwards ends up being the number one, just because Gunn can't take the his spot back because he, you know, isn't showing that he as as capable as Edwards, I'm super happy for that. But right now I trust the coaches to make the right decision for who the the most capable keeper is on, you know, week to week basis. any thoughts on that, Evan, before move on? No, I think you're right. you know, i and I think Angus Gun is doing well also for Scotland, I might add. You know, they just came off a a zero zero draw. I don't remember who it is against, but you know, an international draw with with you know a clean sheet is a clean sheet. I can't give an exact performance review of that international game, but you know, just just looking at it from a a broad statistical standpoint, it's always a good thing, you know, with your your number one goalkeeper getting clean sheets internationally coming back in in good form. I think it's always good to see. But, you know, if anything happens to Angus Gun, at least we know that our our backup goalkeeper can give us the confidence to potentially, you know, win games for us home or away. Yeah, and Huge props to Earl Edwards who, you know, if you're watching, we we love your work and what you're doing. We hope that every time you get the opportunity you keep doing that. We saw a post, Tectonics got to collab on a post from photographer Gustavo, I remember his last name, Madeira or something. where he he he focused all his pictures on Earl Edwards and Edwards' wife commented on it and was talking about his journey to get back to fitness so they'll be able to play for us. And I just think that's great. you know, and I'm super happy that one, that you know, the media and people making content can make the families of the these athletes happy. Hopefully it makes the athletes happy as well. but you know, is it's still a business and we need results more than anything. So it's just whoever is the best keeper should be in in the net. That's that's what I want. but speaking of best players Timo Werner had a six point one rating this match. I thought he looked better than that for the most part. he had a secondary assist. It's not gonna count on Fot Mob. But what what did you see from Werner? I thought that he was just moving around doing his job. I thought he moved the ball fine. he almost scored, I think he might have hit the post or something. overall analysis. I th I think Werner was great for us on the build up. I was really impressed with the fact that, you know, as as a a a new we kinda had like a new formation. It wasn't necessarily a new formation, but we had new players in the formation. And I had asked Preston Judd about that in the post conference post game press conference. And he he seemed pretty happy with with the the teammates overall, th their their performance. And and specifically with with Timo Werner, I'm only mentioning that because Werner was the secondary nine to Preston Judd. And we saw a lot more of a centralized presence from Timo this game. And with that centralized presence, I was more concerned with how Timo was able to collect possession and kind of, you know, move laterally. And not necessarily in a in a vertical sense. I wasn't really looking at at his verticality. I was just, you know, as a nine, you see more of a deliverance. If you're receiving the ball in the midfield third, the upper midfield third, how you can handle yourself in that in that spot that we haven't really seen Timo do in recent time. And he did a really good job. You know, he collected possession and then immediately changed pace, changed direction later laterally, and handed off the ball to, you know, either Vitor Costa, who didn't start the game very well, but progressed and improved over throughout the game. But specifically you know, made plays with with an overlapping Paul Marie. And I was really impressed with that. The only thing that I wasn't impressed with necessarily by Timo was his ability to find not necessarily the back of the net, but just find shooting opportunities for himself. he was a great team player, which I think we all can appreciate. but that final product is is still something that Timo's still working on. a as we had kinda seen through the seasonal stats He has more assist excuse me, more assists than he has goals. and it seemed like that that teamsmanship showed up tonight or not tonight, but Saturday night versus Portland. But that that final product is still we're still looking for improvement there. Yeah, I'm not, you know, too con too concerned. I think that he he's had a lot of games out injured. and I don't think we realize that. I mean, well obviously we do, but Because Nico has been so good in his absence whenever, you know, Nico's in and Naverne isn't. We've done so well without Timo. We kind of just like assume that we're better without him. but he's a very good player. He he's probably the best player on this field, you know, in terms of the the quality that he possesses and the level that he's played at. it doesn't always show, but I think this is a game where it's very nuanced his impact. in the second half I thought that he kind of Bruce mentioned he might not be a hundred percent fit or ready to play a full ninety. He he's said that maybe we pushed him tonight. and you know, based off of I I can re recall two almost consecutive up I not opportunities but sequences where he received the ball, charged over past the player or whatever, and lost it and it was kind of unforced, but it was like if he had the correct form and and done that at the correct speed It would came off. But very simple things that didn't, you know, work. that's not what happened the majority of the match. I thought the first half was he was one of the best players on the field. but again, in in nuanced ways where he's not the guy putting in the cross for Pest and Judd, but he's the guy who, you know, is distributing it and and moving it around. and also is causing issues for for their defenders. But this is, in my opinion, a slightly different formation than the what we usually have is a three, four, two, one, where it's, you know, jud at the top or or actually it's been Buddha. It's been Buddha at the at the top mu more recently. And then right behind him is Laru and Chikaris. Then right behind them is Luvin and Viera. Then wing backs, l not LaRue, Ricketts and what's his name? Benji usually. and then the the three center backs that we you know usually go with. This is a little bit different where we instead of having the the fourth midfielder, we just have an extra striker. And so and then also there's a clearly a more defensive approach in terms of the wing backs. So it goes from a three at the back to a five where Win backs are always, you know, expected to drop back, you know, but this is where they start. They start further back a little bit, just to negate some of the issues where they can be, you know, have people running behind them. But those are just minimal stuff. Very, very s you know, similar jobs. I mean, you and I had looked at the lineup together, Abraham, when it came out and we were like, Wait, why is why is Jamar Rickett subbed for Vitra Costa? You know, what what is the purpose of that? And then we as as time went on, as we were watching warm ups, we can kind of like we we started to discuss and and and we realized, you know, it seems like Bruce Arena was going for more of a defensive approach to start the game. Yes, we scored early. Yes, we scored all three of our goals in the first half. But you know, with the way that Portland operates, yeah, they press high, and and they like to push hard. So I think, you know, Bruce Arena wanted to start the game with kind of like a lower block than normal, you know, absorb more of that pressure and then counter. Yeah. And that's what we saw a lot of the goals, you know, how we saw a lot of those goals took place. It wasn't during like a slow build up, it was more of a a counter attacking opportunity and and forcing Portland to, you know, put themselves out of position, which, you know, we had seen at least in in one or two of the goals. and and I think if we if we started Jamar Ricketts, I think we would have had more of an attacking approach. But I'm actually satisfied with with having, you know, Vitro Costa as our left wing back for that game. You know, he he may not not have started well, but he provided a lot defensively and and you know, was very structured in that that central defense. he may you know, as as a a left wing back, he just kept a sturdy line for for the earthquakes and and I was very appreciative of that. You know, different players have different advantages in a game and and I think we used, you know, Vitor Costa to the right advantage at the right time. I I agree. I wanna I wanna go on a bit of a rant about different profiles of players in different positions or in the same position that that provide different outcomes. because obviously we all agree that Jamar Ricketts is a more attacking fullback than Vitor Costa. Just his ability to attack is better. in my opinion. More lethal because he's faster and does step overs and the cool stuff. Anyways. Attacking isn't, you know, just all all times we have ball we are better. Like it is even though Ricketts is a better attacking fullback, I think that Costa has a more seasoned and intricate understanding of building out from the back. I don't think Ricketts has that. He he will get the ball, make sure it's it's like not running away from him and then kinda look up and pass it to a guy who is open. And I think Costa has is more comfortable receiving the ball on the half turn, looking up, passing it to the guy, and doing that job consistently. he's not as good at attacking, but he can do, you know, those things to start attacking. I think Marie, same thing. He he is very good, very calm on the ball, can receive the ball on pressure, and has, like I said, an intricate understanding of how to move the ball forward. I don't think that Benji is as good at that specific thing. as Marie, he's done it fine. He he's done a fine job. But when you when you're playing a game like this, like you mentioned Devin where we want the the opposition to come at us and and we want to you know have the ball at the back and then they pressure us then we skip past them and then attack. You want someone like Marie who is more creative and and able to get those you know intricate moves going whereas Benji, as good as he is, is a little bit more clunky. Not a lot. He's not like a crazy clunky player. like Romney at fullback. That's a clunky player. Benji just isn't as, you know, quick and nimble as Marie. and so I thought that this was the right way to start this match. it was Zion, shout out to Zion who's been on the show before. He, you know, mentioned this, how he was surprised that we're starting so, you know, defensive, but He said that it's probably because we want prep Portland to press us and then we're gonna try to find, you know, team of Werner in the white areas or whatever to try and, you know, get a counter. And I think that's lot of what we saw happening, you know, in credit to what you said, Devin. and I thought this game plan was a very well thought out one and I thought it worked very well for us in the first half. seemed to change a little bit in the second. but do you have any other thoughts on anything that I said? I there there is one thought and adding to the the whole Benji conversation. I know he's been a a very fluctuating point of conversation in throughout the season. but I just found it funny that, you know, a lot of the the Portland analysts had given a lot of credit to Benji for for the recent game. And and one of the the notable mentions was apparently in the fifty first minute where Benji Kakanovich had driven driven driven? Yeah. Driven through four Portland players in one dribble. Mm-hmm. which, you know, obviously that's pretty impressive for for Benji. but it also kind of adds to your portion of conversation earlier, Aaron, where Benji adds kind of More of an attacking presence and less of a defensive presence. I know he's he's locked down a lot more of the bigger named players from the first half of the season, but second half of the season he's he's been a little more laxadaisical on on the back line front. But that's not what I'm saying. Right, right. I I'm just adding to to parts of you. You said I said something I didn't say. You're gonna you No no no, I added I added that. I had it. You're gonna get me canceled, David. I'm saying he was more laxadaisical in the second half. but that being said, you know, Paul Marie has a different attribute that that was more advantageous to to Portland. and I'm really happy with the starting eleven. Advantageous to Portland or the Quakes versus Portland? To the Quakes against Portland. Okay. Yeah. so you know, with those two fullbacks in mind, like we we hadn't seen them play before, you know, together on the same field, or nonetheless starting together. and and obviously with those types of changes you expect to have more of a you know like a not a one-on-one matchup but in terms of I can't think of the right term, but you know, the the player matchups. Bruce obviously did his homework and both Vitor and Paul Marie were obviously the right choices because Paul Marie had an absolute beauty of an assist, a travella assist to Preston Judd, I believe. was it Preston or was it Luven? No, it was Preston. To Preston, yeah. I I I I like in in the moment I just looked at you with my jaw like to the floor. Yeah. just because of how impressive that was. You know, he saw Nico Sacaris earlier in the season Travella assists and he's like, you know what? I like what you did. I'm gonna try that myself. But obviously in shorter range. Yeah, I I I really stoked with the fact that we still have Paul Marie, given his his age. that he's he's still able to provide as much as he can and w is that what, his fourth assist on the season? Fourth or fifth? Something like that? I can check right now. whatever it may be, you know, he's still producing a lot both offensively and defensively. so so credit to to the management team, the coaching team for making those changes. So yeah, Paul Marie has five assists in five starts. and yeah, he he he played really well in the first half. We saw him when we're going back up to the Pest Box after halftime, we saw Marie kinda limping across the bridge so it looked like he picked up a knock. But to be clear about what what my perspective is and and how I see this is I think that Benji is the better defender. I think he's a defensive fullback who does defensive things really good. Like win aerial duels and and lockdown defenders. you know, look at his his player traits on on Bot Mob, eighty one defensive contributions, eighty one percent defensive contributions, and ninety seven percent aerial duels, which we all knew he could have ninety seven percent aerial duels all over the pitch. we know Paul Marie can't do that because of his height. No. That's that's something he definitely can't do. and only in the thirties fourth percent tower for chances created. you know, and and he doesn't have any assists this season. He he's not as I don't know, i it it I don't know the right word to say, but he he isn't as he isn't as accomplished as a attacking fullback as Marie is, who has played there for For a longer amount of time, in my opinion, and has a lot of weaknesses in the fullback position. Like he's not as good defensively. you know, here it says on Fat Mob that he has nine he's in the ninety-fourth percentile for defensive contributions, so it's definitely something that he's doing r well. but on the other hand, he has he's in the seventy sixth percentile for chances created. So he he you know. In terms of just that stat, and I'm not gonna look at every single stat on the show, he is producing more on the offensive end than you know, Benji is. And the st the stats show just the the basic stats. He has five assists and that's a lot. but only five hundred minutes played due to injury and also a lot of times I think Benji is the player who should be starting in that position because he is better defensively and will provide more of a lockdown than than Murray can. I don't know if you wanted to keep talking about write back Stevin. but No, I'm actually looking at the the MLS table here and and I had I had mentioned this what is it, Saturday or last night as of recording. I guess yeah, Saturday night, Sunday morning. there there is a chance where I I I I'll add to this in the next couple of weeks when we start talking about Colorado and RSL, I'll I'll talk more about it, but there is a chance where if we win the next two games and Portland Timbers don't collect any points, Austin FC, San Diego, Minnesota don't collect any points or not enough points where, you know, if if we collect six points on the road, there's a good chance we make MLS Cup playoffs, with five games to go. So that's that's something to consider moving forward. something to excite Earthquakes fans. You know, if if all these teams under the playoff line were to, you know, collect enough points to to sit at thirty six and we're at fifty one, we make playoffs. so keep an eye out on on on all these games coming up. especially for, you know, Portland Timbers who play SKC, Galaxy and Rapids. I mean there's a whole list that I'll go later into in a in the future episode, but something to be excited about for Earthquakes fans. If we win the next two games and Teams under the playoff line are at at about thirty six points. looking at our our win total and goal differential, we surpass all the other other clubs vying for a playoff spot. So that's that's something to look forward to. I mean it sounds like Danny's excited. I th I think my mom just got home, that's why. Okay. Danny is Devon's dog for people who don't know, named after the illustrious Danny Hoosin ex earthquakes forward. I actually have a picture with Danny Hoosin, like way back in the day, but my dad couldn't figure out my phone to take a picture. So I don't actually have a picture. I don't know why I said it like that. I don't have you try to take a picture. Yeah, I ch I I stood next to Danny Hoosin for a good twelve seconds. and then my dad just couldn't figure out the camera. I don't know what it was. he he had a little bit to drink that day, so it's probably that. Most likely that. but regardless, we are gonna save the preview for the Colorado game for next week so we have something to talk about. but is there any other players on the pitch that you'd like to discuss? I thought Muni played really well. I thought Harks looked very good, back to the Harks that we know. and we really need him to be that guy because he is the, you know, third choice midfielder in a lot of cases. first guy off the bench. Who knew that Romney had horses? Yeah. Dude's got horses. So I I only knew this I also wouldn't have expected that, right? But I knew this going into us signing him because we had a New England person on the show who who was a fan of New England. I don't remember their name, it's been a few years now, two or three years. and they said that Romney actually won the you know, stats thing for the fastest player in a straight line, the hundred meter. And I was like, That makes total sense because you know, sometimes big guys can't maneuver that great. Even if they can run great in a straight line, might not be able to turn and do all those things. 'Cause Muni very fast but can also move around, right? Romney it kinda has to be like directly in front of him, nothing in the way. He's he's a bulldozer and it takes him a minute to build up to that speed. But he can get there. But in in you know, average kind of gameplay, he's a little bit, you know you know what I mean, Devin. He's a little bit clunky and can't maneuver that well. Right. you know, I I I would actually like to ask you what your thoughts are on our substitutions. And and the reason why I wanted to ask you is because, you know, the majority of the substitutions we made were in fact offensive related substitutions apart from I think Benji Kakanovich and and maybe one other, but you know, the the notable substitutions here that I I can remember, and looking at the the player chart here, Jack Skane, Luko Jovanovich, Nick Fernandez, and Jamar Ricketts, and obviously Benji Kakanovich. So making up those those five substitutions, you know, at least three of them were offensive related. You know, did Wha w what did you make of of our substitution choice? Yeah, I think so you wanna take off Judd because he is a little bit like shaky. He has a yellow card already. and a tired Judd might be make him like cranky and you know, shove another center back. The yellow he got here was like I can understand it, but it was frustrating. Like I I was happy with that he did that. Like I'm not I'm not saying that Judd shouldn't have done that. I think it's kind of frustrating that he got a yellow for it. but regardless, he was on a yellow and you know, you kinda wanna get him off the field. Werner's fitness is an issue, right? We don't want that to to come back to bite us. So I understand taking him off. and Marie again, we said half time he he got injured so so Benji came on for him. That that that makes a lot of sense. Nick Fernandez is the one that kinda surprised me. you know, I don't know it I think that, you know, most people would assume that Jonathan Gonzalez would be the more defensive midfield substitution. I thought Nick did fine. You know, I didn't have any complaints, but it it is something where you're like you're defending a lead. why why Nick Fernandez? You know? What were your thoughts? Yeah, I'm I'm I'm not sure about Nick Fernandez either. Like I'm I'm okay with this c what what he did in the game, but you know, at the same time, like I I just wasn't sure if bringing on a cam was the right thing to do. obviously it paid out in the end. and and maybe Bruce's strategy was to to use Nick and and Luca as counterattacking opportunities. Yeah. But obviously we we didn't necessarily see that. so maybe the the only kind of explanation that I have And it's something that I like to see out of Bruce and and at least the tactics anyway, is the fact that he loves pressing high up the field, so maybe bringing those two attacking players we can add higher press. instead of, you know, kind of sitting all the way back like parking the bus, as we'd see like out of, you know, Arteta trying to think the Real Madrid manager's name right now. I just mentioned it earlier. Jose Mourinho. Jose Mourinho, guys like them. You know, we're just kinda like sitting back, waiting for waiting for any attack, absorbing pressure. Bruce likes to press higher up the field and and I think with those two substitutions, at least with Luca and Nick, you know, he wanted to add at least some sort of press in in at least the midfield third against Portland. But, you know I feel bad for Luca. Kinda. Because most of the times he's he's subbed in. It's when we already have a lead. And we're protecting the lead and the team's being asked to defend. And so he doesn't have that many opportunities in front of Ned. I don't know if you feel the same way, Abram, but you know, most of the times he's he's getting minutes. It's it's not necessarily for the reasons he's excited about. Yeah. I would say that he's like asked to do a lot of the dirty work, and come in to t just to do that. none of the fun things of being a striker. I thought he played well, he he drew a foul or two. Obviously these aren't the things that like i if I said about Press and Judd in a whole game, like he played well, you drew a file or two. You wouldn't you'd be like, Okay, well that that's not what he should be doing. But the circumstances for Luca is different where he's coming on near the eightieth minute. yeah, no no complaints, but I would love to see, you know, another start for Luca. maybe not when we have Werner and Judd you know, both fit, but that isn't always the case and you know, that's just the truth of the matter is that both of them have been kinda on and off in terms of fitness and they've been dropping to the bench and we've been playing Buddha at Striker and I think that I I would just love to you know, like a genie I guess, replace all the coaches that come here's brain and and and just like in their brain just be like, okay, Buddha, not a striker. Lukas Ivanovich is a striker. And just hammer that into their heads. Because every coach who comes here like, Buddha, that's a striker. He can't play a winger when he's playing striker. What do they see in training that we don't you know? What what do they see? 'Cause obviously in the ninety period like we don't watch training. In the ninety minute period, we don't see anything that that leads to any evidence, you know, emphasizing Buddha as a striker. There's there just isn't much apart from that one goal with with Nico's Travella assist, but that's that's it. Yeah. And and if Nico doesn't hit the Travella perfectly then he doesn't get to do that, you know? So yeah, I d I have no idea what it is because we watch all the games and Buddha there th the the the things that you want from a striker aren't there. And then and I don't wanna like hate on Buddha too much 'cause I think he's a great winger and that's what I'm frustrated about is that, you know, he's not being he's not able to do the winger stuff because he's stuck at striker. I I'm sure in training, like, maybe he turns into R9 Ronaldo and just, you know, does crazy striker stuff. That's the only explanation. and then he forgets how to do that at the weekend. I don't know. But I would like for the strikers to stay a striker and and Luka Jovanovic is a striker and I'd like him to have that opportunity 'cause, you know, we we heard when we signed him that this is his first time ever being outside of Australia and he's twenty one years old. You know, his family can't come with him. He he's here alone at twenty one. It's it's a big change and then he's not playing as much as we would like. I'm sure he's not happy with it either. it's just disappointing. So w it would be great to see more of Luca. I and we still we d talk about this every week almost where we're like we just want to see more from him so see what he can do or whatever. We still don't know what he can do because it's he's not let he they're not allowed to do anything. Yeah, we're we're happy as getting minutes but it's just not for the right reasons. And and not not enough minutes, you know? I it's it's the the junk minutes at the end of the match. if if you came on like where Werner came off in the sixty seventh, I would prefer like that. Like almost a half hour of of just play. I I wanna call that the Uber minutes in front of a bar where he's waiting for he he's like that security man and and he's he's guiding people home after a a fun night, you know what I Yeah, yeah, I know what mean. But yeah, guys Nevertheless, a lot of things that we complain about here, but don't take that to mean anything other than, you know, just tweaking before this really rough playoff stretch where we have a lot of games in a short amount of time. we are trying to get Danny Meary on the show. We have spoken to a lot of Quakes two guys and that has been a incredible experience. Spivy Brothers, I spoke to them, Dev and I you weren't available that day. But Dan DeGeer was just amazing to talk to, lovely guy. do you want to share how that was for you? Dan, I'm sorry for asking you a question after you just answered the question. if you're listening. But no, no, that was really fun. I enjoyed picking Dan's brain and and I hope to one day do it again because I I'd like to know, you know, more about his journey to become a coach instead of you know just just being the coach. so yeah, a lot of questions unanswered but also, you know, I I was really happy to speak to him and he's he's just a very forward and friendly guy. It it's it's hard to say, you know it it's it's easy to say something nice about him just because of how easygoing he is. Absolutely. and again for the Spider Brothers was amazing. and thank you for the earthquakes organization. We're not super happy with you at the moment, but the the people that we talk to every day have been, you know, amazing. special shout out to Jake Jansen who is moving on from the Quakes organization. He was the one who got us those two interviews with the Spybe Brothers and head coach Dan DeGeer and he also had us speak to Tomo Allen earlier in the year. and those are things where he reached out to us you know, to to do it and that that's very much appreciated here as a small, you know, outlet. That's not always the case, so we have to kind of like nail and bite for everything we get. so for him to have the humility humility to reach out to us and platform our stuff, we we we love that and we appreciate that 'cause like I said, it's not always what's afforded to us. so good luck, Jake, for all your feature endeavors. we will be back next week to preview the Colorado game. The quakes of course have a buy, so a great break for us. But until then, GW out. Fisher out.