Colorado Rapids Atlanta United Preview: Five Questions with Rob Usry, Five Stripe Final

Preview – Tomorrow Colorado Rapids host Atlanta United FC. It’s the first match up between the Burgundy Boys and Five Stripes since May 17, 2023. We reached out to our former SB Nation colleague Rob Usry, from Five Stripe Final. He answered some questions to get us caught up on Atlanta and discuss the Noah Cobb loan.

Big picture, Atlanta spent a bunch of money in the offseason and has underperformed expectations. Miguel Almiron’s been good in his return to Atlanta. Why has everyone else underwhelmed? Is this on the coaching staff?

It’s been a total disaster from top to bottom. I would even include Almiron as a big part of that. The club had two DP spots to utilize this offseason and spent huge on Latte Lath for the striker spot. Honestly it feels like they kind of caved to fan pressure in bringing back Miggy. He simply is a horrible fit for what the club and first year head coach Ronny Deila needed. Him and Alexey Miranchuk occupy similar spaces and roles and the chemistry within the attack has been horrible all season because of it. 

Some blame the front office for building a dud of a roster. Some blame Deila for not getting the most out of his players. I guess the truth is somewhere in between, but it’s clear that the club are laying the blame fully at the feet of the players and will give Deila time to work with new acquisitions. 

Noah Cobb got two starts last week for the Rapids. What should Rapids fans know about him? What was your reaction to him getting loaned?

This is a touchy subject around our corner of the world. With all the bad soccer we’ve been through this season, it was the Noah Cobb loan move that seemingly broke our fan base this season. The overall reaction was visceral to my surprise. Our fans have had little to get behind, so homegrown players is one area of pride. Seeing the club let one go for basically nothing left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths. 

Personally, I get it. He’s a young kid that needs minutes and wasn’t going to get them here. He’s also one of the few players on our squad that seemed to care about playing for the club and showed some leadership beyond his years. He’s a player with excellent character and potential that has a chance to develop into a consistent contributor at the MLS level. 

Speaking of Cobb, from a far, the defense doesn’t look as good this season. Brad Guzan’s getting up there in age. I thought Derrick Williams was an under-the-radar pick up. What’s going on with the backline? What do they need to improve on?

The defense has been abhorrent this season. There’s a wild stat that they’ve only been able to keep two clean sheets all season and funnily enough weren’t able to win either game. Injuries to key players like Stian Gregersen have played a big role in the problems. Derrick Williams began his Atlanta career exceeding expectations but workload and age caught up to him this season and he has regressed tremendously. While the attack has struggled with chemistry, the defense has been ripped apart by a lack of health and overall talent that the club is desperately trying to improve. 

Atlanta is 0-7-5 on the road in MLS play this year. *gulp* Is there something to their road struggles this season?

That’s a tough one to answer. It seems like this team has been helpless away from home for many seasons now. This is spanning several different managers and play styles. Obviously winning on the road in MLS is difficult, but this team has made it seem impossible. There really is no explanation for how bad they’ve been in away conditions. Rob Valentino seemingly figured out that extremely conservative soccer could manufacture results late last season, but our permanent managers seem reluctant or unable to recreate that mentality to get the tough results. 

Most Rapids fans know Brooks Lennon, Aleksei Miranchuk, the other guys I’ve mentioned. Give me one player to watch who Rapids fans might not know about.

It’s a period of roster overturn for this club currently. There are a few new players who could feature in this trip to Colorado such as midfielder Steven Alzate. If he sees time, he’s definitely someone the club is banking on to help improve the quality of the squad. However, one name to keep an eye on is homegrown winger Luke Brennan. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, he’s been a threat on the left wing. He’s an energetic youngster eager to prove himself and has been one of the few bright spots in the attacking end for Atlanta the last few months. 

Prediction: What’s the result? What’s the score line?

Despite the results not showing it, Atlanta’s performances lately have improved. Last weekend in Montreal they created a ton of chances but only finished one. This team seems to have a knack for repeating the same script over and over this season. I think they’ll be dangerous around the Rapids goal but inevitably give up a goal or two on the counter and be desperately pushing for an equalizer late. They are the masters are nicking a late goal to snatch a point in a match they should win so I’ll go with a 2-2 draw. 

Photo Credit: Spencer Baldwin

Thank you for reading Burgundy Wave. Support us via our Patreon starting at $5/month. We’re always looking for new talent. Let us know if you’re interested in covering Colorado Soccer.