Could Chicago Be….. Playoff Ready?

Sure, the Fire’s game against Chivas was on Telefutura, but it didn’t take my half-reading of the Spanish subtitles to realize the obvious: Chicago was looking pretty strong. And not even in the playing-the-last-place-team sort of way where everyone just happens to have a good game (sorry, Chivas fans); the Fire really showed a lot of prowess over the ball, and didn’t seem to show any of the general ineptitude they usually do (you know, scoring, etc). This made me wonder, could Chicago be a sleeper playoff contender?

And the answer seems to be a confident maybe.

I mean, look at it this way: they’re only six points behind a Wildcard entry, and nine behind the last guaranteed spot in the East. And sure, that becomes a lot harder when you consider that they aren’t the only team who will have games in the next few weeks, but it sure does leave a lot of possibilities. The Fire’s remaining six games will be against the Revs, RSL, Houston, Seattle, Dallas, DC, and the Crew in that order. It isn’t exactly an ideal lineup, but it sure could be worse. Let’s run through this sort-of-best-case scenario: beat New England at home on Sunday, Tie at RSL next Wednesday, beat Houston that weekend, beat Dallas on the 12th at home, beat DC away, and then (hopefully) beat the Crew to round out the year (this could be a stretch, but it’s a home game, and maybe by then they’ll have some momentum). There’s also a US Open Cup match against Seattle on October 4th, but we won’t be counting that (which is lucky; if it were regular season I’d predict they’d lose).

This scenario would leave the Fire 5-0-1 in their last six games, and 10-8-15 overall, putting them right at the 45-or-so point benchmark for making the playoffs.

But, can this Chicago team really pull it off? I mean, sure, this is a good idea, and three of the club’s five season wins have come in their last four games, but this scenario assumes the team can double their wins in six games. That’s just a little dicey. Let’s ask the roster:

Offense: The Fire’s offense thus far has been very, we can say, eh so far. Dominic Oduro is going to be the majority of the impact here, which could be good or bad. The game against Chivas says it all: Oduro scored his tenth season goal, the first time a Chicago man reached double digits since 2004, but then missed a wide open pass to Patrick Nyarko in the 75th, and essentially set up Chivas’s second goal after failing to clear the ball in the 63rd. Basically, the Fire need a little more consistency up top.

Midfield: There’s no two ways about it; I believe in the Fire’s midfield. Since Parvo came in July, there’s been a marked difference in their depth, and while Logan Pause is still finding his way (which is funny to say about a thirty year old player) he is fairly versatile on the right side. This is, realistically, a midfield that is severely underrated.

Defense: They’ve been up and down. To do so for a second time, I’ll draw a connection to this week’s game against Chivas: sure, the D let up two goals, but they should still be lauded for their fight. They were able to put up with the likes of the still-dangerous JPA, and keeper Sean Johnson (no relation to Shawn Johnson) made some pretty miraculous saves. All in all, this is probably the area where the most work is needed, but it isn’t out of reach.

So yes, call me crazy, but I do think that Chicago could make the playoffs. What do you think?

Category: Chicago Fire