Preki pushing all the right buttons for Chivas

Sweeping up after the MLS weekend party, here are 10 things I found lying around:

1. Why it's working for the Goats: One player says it all about Preki and the job he does coaching league-leading Chivas USA. The name might surprise you: Carey Talley.

Talley is playing for his fifth MLS side. He last punched the clock for Real Salt Lake, but it deemed him dispensable, too, and passed him along to Preki last year.

At each of his previous two stops, Talley was a central midfielder. Although he's a good technical player, his diminished speed and ability to cover ground limit him somewhat. At Chivas, he has been stationed at right back and center back, positions that seem better fits. He played center back in Saturday's win over Seattle, and Sounders talented striker Fredy Montero was nowhere to be found after an early opportunity. Talley's smart work had something to do with it.

Preki continues to tie together good performances from proverbial bailing wire and duct tape, scratching out results despite a squad that is hamstrung by injury. Preki's ability to squeeze production and commitment from individuals, to put them in spots where they can succeed, is one reason why.

2. The replacement: Brad Knighton's shot-stopping looks quite good in the Revs' goal, and his hands aren't bad. But Matt Reis' stand-in has really impressed with his composure and his confidence in getting off the line quickly. New England may have found something in its 24-year-old backup.

3. Settling in: Five weeks in, players are settling into positions. Teams are finding identities. One significant result is better matches.

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Week 5 produced the best collective set yet. There was quality in New England's 1-1 draw at D.C. United. Similarly, Chivas USA's 2-0 win over Seattle featured some attractive stuff from both sides, although referee Alex Prus' leniency -- the man just doesn't like to blow his whistle -- led to a physical match and muted the overall quality slightly.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco & Co. put on a passing and possession clinic early against Kansas City. Then, later, watching the Wizards pull a Tin Man (they finally found a heart) and press Chicago for two late strikes in the heroic comeback was wildly entertaining. Red Bull New York actually put some passes together, so that match wasn't as hard on the eyes as the other RBNY outings this year.

In Houston, rain fell in buckets late in the week, and that softened the dog track that Houston had played on previously at Robertson Stadium. The players could move the ball a little better, which dramatically improved the quality of the match. Funny how that works, eh?

Finally, the Toronto-Dallas match was entertaining, if only for all the under-16-level defending on both sides.

4. One thing going right at Buck Shaw: The Earthquakes aren't strong enough down the middle; center back Nick Garcia is showing age, the central midfield continues to founder and the strikers continue to find their balance. But right back Chris Leitch is having a nice campaign, having replaced James Riley, who went to Seattle in the expansion draft. Leitch, the former Red Bulls man, is tied for the league lead with three assists -- not bad at all for a fullback.

5. Head-hunting: It is time for the league to sternly remind players, managers and, especially, referees about that forgotten directive from a year ago to eliminate those chilling blows to the head.

In the past three weeks, several players have gotten away with dangerous elbows to the noggin. Three weeks ago, the chop of the day was New York's Dane Richards' unpunished swing at the head of Chicago defender Gonzalo Segares. Last week, Red Bull's Andrew Boyens got away with clunking Houston's Brian Ching on the melon. This week, Chivas' Atiba Harris, who leads the league in fouls and can be a pretty nasty player, hit Seattle's Zach Scott in the face with an elbow.

Colorado's Conor Casey received a booking for his intentional elbow to Bobby Boswell's face but may have deserved a straight send-off. A league with an ugly history of concussions really needs to police this stuff better.

6. Tumbling at DSG Park: Has there been a faster fall from grace than winger Terry Cooke? He has led Colorado in assists for the past three seasons, and his 12 last year were third-best in the league.

But he's not likely to get anywhere near those totals in 2009 because he's yet to start. Once again he came off the bench Sunday, replacing Nick LaBrocca, a much more defense-oriented choice in manager Gary Smith's first 11. Hard to argue too much with Smith's choices, as the Rapids own a respectable 2-2-1 record despite having played just once at home so far.

7. The weekend's head-scratcher: What to say about Kansas City's late rally at Toyota Park, where the Fire coughed up a two-goal lead? Chicago wasn't just winning for 65 minutes; the Windy City men had their hapless opponents on the business end of a back-alley beating. Guided smoothly by a well-rested and active Cuauhtemoc Blanco, in his first start this year, Chicago looked like men against boys.

But as Blanco tired and Chicago eased off the throttle, Kansas City slowly began pressing. Josh Wolff, pretty much invisible to that point, sprang from nowhere with huge strikes in the 78th and 89th minutes.

And what to say about Wizards veteran shot-stopper Kevin Hartman, who looked suspicious on both of Chicago's first-half goals? Hartman more than made amends with three absolutely world-class saves after the intermission. Otherwise, Chicago could have won in a laugher.

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8. A closer look into Toyota Park: Chicago looks pretty good, 15 ridiculous minutes against Kansas City notwithstanding. On the other hand, the five clubs that have faced Denis Hamlett's side have a combined record of 6-10-9. So, we'll know a lot more about the Windy City men after the next three Saturdays, when they play at Columbus and meet Seattle and New England in Bridgeview, Ill.

9. Wolff is a striker, case closed: Wizards manager Curt Onalfo just can't seem to figure out where to play some of his guys in Kansas City. Claudio Lopez has toggled between left midfield and striker. Davy Arnaud has relocated more often than a full-time carnie. And Wolff keeps finding himself on the wing.

Wolff is clearly either not comfortable or not interested in playing out wide. He was wholly ineffective for 65 minutes Saturday. As Onalfo made changes, Wolff shifted up top and made an emphatic case to remain there.

10: Rookies showing their colors: FC Dallas' George John, following two strong matches, finally showed some unsteadiness in his third professional start. The exact same can be said for Kansas City's Matt Besler, who had two nice matches at left back before turning No. 3 into a little bit of a stinker. D.C. United's Rodney Wallace and Chris Pontius have and can do better than their nights against New England.

Steve Davis is a Dallas-based freelance writer who covers MLS for ESPNsoccernet. He can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com.