Player Ratings: Week 8 - Houston

Last week, the New York Red Bulls barely pulled out a win over the Philadelphia Union. This week, they crushed the Houston Dynamo 4-0. Maybe it was that the lineup was barely changed since last week, or maybe Houston was just that poor of a team? Either way, it was a solid performance by the Red Bulls, one that Matt Coyne says he's been waiting for.

Starters

Luis Robles - 8: Congratulations Luis Robles on your first shut out of the year, it's more than deserved. The defense was still poor in front of the keeper, and honestly, if Houston had gotten more shots on goal, this would've been a close game. Robles managed to make a few important saves (6 total) though to keep the Dynamo off of the scoreboard.

Kosuke Kimura - 6: Linked up well with Lloyd Sam, and had a decent game defensively. Just didn't do anything to be a stand out player, but there is nothing wrong with that.

Jamison Olave - 6: Olave is a beast, but even beasts can have their bad moments. He treated some balls too easily and get burned for it. Did well on McCarty's bad back pass to help Robles.

Armando - 6: Didn't see anything really positive out of Armando, but on the flip side, didn't see anything too bad. He also managed to stay out of the referee's cross hairs.

Roy Miller - 7: Miller and Alexander on the left have been a revelation the past two games. I'm not sure if it's temporary, but Petke should probably ride it out. the only reason Miller isn't higher than a 7 is because of his dangerous tackle on Boniek Garcia. He went in late and studs up. Could've been shown a red, probably should've been given a yellow.

Dax McCarty - 5: Dax had a solid game, except for a terrible back pass to start the 2nd half. I don't know what is going on with him, but he's been having bad moments all year.

Lloyd Sam - 8: This guy...what can you say except that he's the right winger the Red Bulls have needed since releasing Dane Richards, and I think he's better.

Eric Alexander - 8: A lot of people (myself included) didn't think Eric Alexander had a place in the starting XI. After two solid games on the left, he may be challenging for Johnny Steele's spot.

Peguy Luyindula - 7: Another solid game from Peguy, but Henry was just too good for Peguy to really make a difference, which is why he probably subbed off for Johnny Steele, a more defensive option.

Thierry Henry - 9.9: It's hard for me to ever give anyone a 10 because no one is perfect. Henry however played as close to a perfect game as one could in MLS.

Bradley Wright-Phillips - 8: Wright-Phillips got into a scoring mood getting a hat trick. Last week against Philadelphia, he didn't seem to know when to attack the ball, which wasn't the case this week. Throw in the fact that he was returning from the flu, and it's a solid performance.

Substitutions

Johnny Steele (for Peguy Luyindula 69') - 6: Put in a solid performance, but didn't do a lot of the offensive side. Then again, he didn't need to as the Red Bulls were already up 3-0 when he came on.

Ruben Bover (for Lloyd Sam 83') - 7: 10 minutes isn't really a lot of time, but I'm giving him a 7 because of the energy he showed, as well as putting away a goal that unfortunately for him was called back for a penalty kick. Henry should've given the ball to Bover instead of getting Wright-Phillip a hat trick.

Connor Lade (for Bradley Wright-Phillips 92') - N/A: Came on in stoppage time, so he doesn't warrant a rating. However, I feel bad for Lade. He shouldn't be getting garbage minutes as he will be necessary when we start getting into World Cup, US Open Cup, and CONCACAF Champions League.