O'Neill's lack of minutes has been the topic of a few discussions, including one earlier this season about his apparent want of more.
The post I made earlier in the year about how fabulous the Rapids defense has been has weathered a bit in the weeks since — surprise, surprise, a 0.5 GA mark per game was unsustainable — but it's still holding true. The Rapids defense has been pretty darn good all year long, and after 10 games they've still got a goals against record of less than a goal per game. That superb defensive record has been in large part due to the center back play on the team.
Really, the argument should only be who the third-string CB should be: O'Neill or Bobby Burling. The Sjoberg-Moor pairing has just been too good to break up otherwise. O'Neill's lack of minutes is simply because he hasn't earned a starting spot past those two, and I have a feeling unless there's some sort of immense defensive breakdown in the team halfway through the season, it's likely going to stay that way. Bad news for the homegrown player perhaps, but not something that Rapids fans should be complaining about if it helps them get points. I don't think anyone would argue that they should be doing whatever they can to accomplish that.
Now, Dillon Serna's lack of minutes… that's a topic worth some more discussion. Next time, perhaps.
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Matt Pollard 