Colorado Rapids Season Preview – Storylines

This is soccer, though. Little details matter. What are the storylines for the Rapids that we aren't talking as much about?

Potential On Offense

That's all well and good, but there's absolutely no reason that the offense on this team shouldn't be able to one-up them in a spectacular fashion. Both the 2010 Rapids and the 2013 Rapids had 141 shots on goal. However, the 2013 Rapids got those 141 shots on goal from 460 total shots, and the 2010 team had only 354! They played two more games last year than in 2010, but I don't think they were getting 50 shots per game.

The RapKids 2.0

We're going to find out in 2014. Once again, the Rapids enter the year with eight youngsters that have no meaningful top-flight experience. Marlon Hairston, Grant van de Casteele, Jared Watts and John Berner all came from an MLS Draft class that has been touted as one of the worst in a while. Charles Eloundou is rated highly, but in preseason just looked like a Cameroonian Kevin Harbottle.

We've knocked the depth of this team, just like we knocked the depth of the 2013 team before the kids became world-beaters. Did the Rapids brass come up with another batch of diamonds in the rough?

And speaking of right back…

Remember Davy? He was kind of a big deal back in 2010 when other teams were starting to reap the benefits of their newly formed academies and the Rapids had a bare cupboard. The team made quite a to-do about his signing, and he was touted as a future midfield prospect for Gary Smith's Rapids. Gary Smith's Rapids didn't last more than another season though, and he's been playing right back ever since.

See the rest of the Burgundy Wave Rapids Season Preview: