re: USMNT Talent Level vs. Expectations

Here's how the US talent stacks up in FIFA 16. I made ranges for all players at each position with the same overall rating. According to that list, Fabian Johnson is a Top 50 player and Dempsey, Howard, Bradley, and Brooks (since there are 2X CBs) are Top 100. The Colombia team we played Friday is rated significantly higher at almost every position.

Name : Position : Rating : High : Low : Notes
Tim Howard : GK : 79 : 51 : 69 :
Brad Guzan : GK : 76 : 108 : 135 : Bill Hamid and Nick Rimando are rated 75
Fabian Johnson : RB : 78 : 38 : 53 :
Tim Chandler : RB : 73 : 111 : 153 : Yedlin is next at 71
John Brooks : CB : 77 : 147 : 196 :
Geoff Cameron : CB : 76 : 197 : 250 :
Omar Gonzalez : CB : 75 : 251 : 335 : Matt Besler and Chad Marshall are next at 73
Edgar Castillo : LB : 71 : 327 : 403 :
Damarcus Beasley : LB : 71 : 327 : 403 : Next is Tim Ream, Jorge Villafaña, Robbie Rogers, and Drew Moor at 70
Michael Bradley : CDM : 79 : 57 : 86 : Next is Dax McCarty and Kyle Beckerman at 73, Jermaine Jones is a 71
Alejandro Bedoya : RM : 75 : 160 : 224 : Next is Ethan Finlay at 71
Benny Feilhaber : CM : 75 : 280 : 357 : Next is Darlington Nagbe at 74
Gyasi Zardes : LM : 71 : 489 : 597 : Next is Sebastian Lletget, Dillon Powers, Shea Salinas, Chris Rolfe at 69
Lee Nguyen : CAM : 74 : 305 : 345 :
Darlington Nagbe : CAM : 74 : 305 : 345 : Next is Sacha Kljestan at 72, Mix Diskerud is 70
Clint Dempsey : ST : 80 : 43 : 63 :
Aron Johnansson : ST : 74 : 306 : 384 :
Jozy Altidore : ST : 74 : 306 : 384 : Next is Wondo at 72, Bobby Wood is 71

This American group is very talented. Bradley just can't lay eggs.

It's been tough to be a U.S. soccer fan since after 2002. It seems we have been on a steady decline after that World Cup. It's surprising that we can't find a single impact player for our offense. Most of our guys are role players and don't give defenses a real threat, and only play super conservative passes (besides careless hail mary long balls). Dempsey is our only true "impact" player. I put impact in quotes because he has some serious ball skills, but he doesn't really have the explosiveness to threaten a defense on his own. I have some hope in Yedlin to get better and contribute more to the offense in the future, but I don't know if he will ever develop into that player. The rest of our strikers and midfielders seem interchangeable with each other, with the exception of Bradley. People say "he's the best that we have in midfield", and they are right, but it doesn't mean he's some amazing player. It's sad that he really is the best option that we have.

People are frustrated, because 2002 gave all of us hope that we were finally becoming a team that can compete with the best nations. But there's just mostly been disappointment after disappointment since then, with a few shining moments between WC's.