U.S. Back-Line Concerns are a Serious Issue

Omar Gonzalez and the rest of the American defense's poor play against Honduras is an alarming sign (Credits: Kirby Lee-USA Today)

Forget winning CONCACAF, forget beating Mexico twice, forget showing the world that we're still improving, it looks like we're going to have trouble just winning one single game. Now, I'm all for overreactions, this could have been an absolute aberration and the United States could be completely fine. And I get that CONCACAF road games are a different beast because of the under-developed nature of the most of the countries in the region, but today's game exposed the fact that a long standing issue has yet to be resolved. The United States back-line is a full blown mess.

Whether it was Timmy Chandler getting turned around time after time or Fabian Johnson looking totally lost, it was a scary site to see. Geoff Cameron and Omar Gonzalez also weren't that great, though they didn't look as if they were a deer in headlights. The biggest question mark was why Carlos Bocanegra wasn't on the field? Yet, I'm not even sure that would have made that big of a difference. They looked overmatched from the start and even when the American midfield began dominating possession, the backs were still being bailed out by Tim Howard. From start to finish Honduras' strikers Carlos Costly and Jerry Bengston were consistently beating the American defenders so badly that they should have scored three or four goals.

But the scariest part of what happened today is that it happened against an inferior squad with a far-from-deadly front pairing. Imagine when they play Chicarito and Dos Santos from Mexico or Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell from Costa Rica? In theory, with what we saw today and what we've seen for a while now, they should shred the American defense to pieces. And the only thing Carlos Bocanegra brings these days is a wealth of experience and a pair of aging legs. Yes, he could potentially be the calming influence needed, but nothing out of the backs today made me feel like his presence would have completely altered the game. Maybe he wouldn't have absolutely blown it on Bengston's goal, but that wasn't the only mishap of the day for the back four. The team was also missing the injured Steve Cherundolo which might be an even bigger loss because of his ball control skills and ability to push the pace, something that Chandler and Johnson had a hard time doing. But still, the shenanigans that happened in the backfield today happened with the future of the U.S. back four out there and it shouldn't weigh solely on the shoulders of two American veterans to turn this ship around.

Potentially the humidity in Honduras was so unbearable that it led to the seemingly low-energy play that occurred on the back-line, but that excuse isn't relevant against Honduras, not when you had a 1-0 lead and not when you have the expectations that the United States has. I'll tell you what, it might be one game, but these re-occurring problems on the American defense have me fearing the worst.