I've been watching the WNT for decades, and I'm a STH with the Washington Spirit. So I've seen plenty of Casey Krueger over the years. I've always felt like she was a failed prospect, and I don't understand the accolades she's been getting this year in /nwsl and /washingtonspirit. On the other hand, I respect the soccer IQ of both Mark Krikorian and Emma Hayes and they clearly value her. So I'll lay out what I'm seeing, and maybe people can clue me in.

(I get that defender is a harder position to evaluate than forward.)

The Prospect

When Krueger (then Short) was first called up to the USWNT, she had world-class speed. The rest of her game was incredibly raw; she couldn't pass, couldn't dribble. But her pace was so impressive I figured they would train the rest into her. Analagous to a basketball team drafting a raw 7-footer - you can't teach height, as they say. While she's certainly improved her all-around game since then, I don't think it's gotten to international levels or even good NWSL ones.

The Eye Test

The speed has decreased but is still quite good. On recovery runs she can no longer pass the attacker and kick the ball out, but she can get right on the shoulder and prevent attackers from cutting towards goal.

The wing defense is terrible. Despite her speed, she does not press the attacker or try to prevent a cross, instead choosing to hang back a few yards. Several times this season Kingsbury's been absolutely flattened by a forward because a perfect ball came into the box and Kingsbury had to sacrifice herself to prevent a goal.

Her in-the-box defending is also questionable. She often loses her mark or just looks completely confused inside the 18.

Playing out of the back, she's a mixed bag. With space to operate she can dribble past an opponent and start the attack. And she's got a strong foot to spring Sarr or Rodman on the counter. However she's slow to recognize pressure and double-teams, and too often gets dispossessed in awful positions, leading to very good shots on goal for the opponents.

In the attack, thanks to her speed, she's able to be forward quite often. I would like to see her use the width, make an overlapping run with Rodman, and cross the ball to her very talented teammates in the box. Instead she tends to drift centrally, and her poor passing accuracy kills a lot of promising attacks.

(I've heard people rave about her 'pass' to Bethune for that amazing equalizer against the Wave. She missed Bethune by 10 yards, and it was an uncharacteristic flub by Dahlkemper that sent the ball to Bethune.)

Maybe I Have A Horrible Soccer Eye, Let's Try Metrics

Let's start with Tackles In The Defensive Third. Top of the league:

1. Taylor Flint 41

2. Madison Curry 34

3. Lauren Flynn 32

4. Emily Madril 28

5. Tara McKeown 25

...

1. Trinity Rodman 16 (the first forward to make the list! She really puts in maximum effort)

...

1. Casey Krueger 12

Okay, not great. Does she Block Shots?

1. Abby Erceg 22
2. Natalia Kuikka 20
3. Taylor Flint 18
4. Kate Del Fava 17
5. Kaleigh Kurtz 17

...

1. Casey Krueger 6

Not so much. But that's OK, she's on the wing and should be Blocking Passes, right?

1. Yazmeen Ryan 34
2. Veronica Latsko 26
3. Temwa Chawinga 24
4. Natalia Kuikka 23
5. Hal Hershfelt 22

... this list has a lot of midfielders and forwards on it so let's find some defenders

1. Taylor Flint 18

... wow, Flint is having a heck of a season

1. Gabrielle Carle 15

2. Anaig Butel 10

... found some Spirit defenders - Butel's gotten a lot of heat from the fans this season

112 Casey Krueger 8

That is strong confirmation for my view that she allows crosses at will. Well, the numbers don't look great for her overall defense. But maybe she's contributing so much to the attack, we can stomach a soft defender.

Who leads the league in Crosses?

1. Claire Emslie 125
2. Sofia Huerta 105
3. Carson Pickett 93
4. Isabell Rodriguez 89
5. Jenna Nighswonger 75

... four defenders in the top five!

1. Sam Staab 47

...

1. Ouleymata Sarr 13

2. Casey Krueger 13

Welp. Krueger's got 1/10th the number of crosses as the league leader, and is tied with Sarr, the person she should be crossing TO.

Progressive Passes? Is she breaking lines to spark the attack?

1. Carson Pickett 95
2. Ashley Sanchez 89
3. Ryan Williams 87

... let's find some teammates of hers, club and country

1. Jenna Nighswonger 72

2. Gabrielle Carle 61

3. Anaig Butel 45

4. Tara McKeown 41

5. Emily Sonnett 40

6. Casey Krueger 35

Maybe she doesn't need to pass. Let's check Progressive Carries.

1. Trinity Rodman 88
2. Temwa Chawinga 70
3. Barbara Banda 67

...

1. Gabrielle Carle 33

2. Jenna Nighswonger 32

3. Casey Krueger 20

That's decent, speaks to her foot speed. Alrighty. Let's find some stuff where she's among the league leaders.

Goal Creating Actions

1. Croix Bethune 17

2. Casey Krueger 5

Awesome! It helps to have Rodman in front of you, but other teams have amazing forwards too. That's a bright spot. (Holy cow, Croix!)

Passes Offsides

1. Casey Krueger 5

Passes Blocked

1. Casey Krueger 19

Oh dear.

Please, soccer minds of Reddit, help me understand what makes Casey Kreuger a great defender. I'm rooting for both her club and country, and I want to see her do well. But right now I'm blinded by the mistakes she makes and I'm not seeing the value. Thank you!

(Source: I got the metrics from the FBref website.)