With 10 games left in the regular season, the Portland Timbers are on the outside looking in as they currently sit in sixth place on 31 points in the Western Conference; the top five teams make the playoffs. Real Salt Lake currently sits on top of the Western Conference with 42 points. The Seattle Sounders, LA Galaxy, FC Dallas, and Vancouver Whitecaps round out the top five. It's been a roller coaster of a year for the Timbers who started the year failing to live up to any sort of expectations held by the club and fans. The middle portion of the season was riddled with must wins, injuries, and cautious optimism. Fortunately for fans and players alike, the Timbers overcame their rocky start to the season to be well within reach of a spot in the playoffs. Here are 3 keys to the Timbers' success at making another run in the playoffs...

1. A Regular CB Pairing

For the second straight week, coach Caleb Porter started the same backline, consisting of  Michael Harrington and Danny O'Rourke on the wings, with Noberto Paparatto and the Timbers' newest DP, Liam Ridgewell, manning the center positions. The Timbers failed to claim their second shutout in a row thanks to a Charlie Davies finish in the 27th minute; however, it looks as if preseason plans are starting to take light as Paparatto seems to have regained (for now) the starting CB job that he lost earlier in the season. Paparatto was brought in before the season started, along with fellow Argentinian Gaston "La Gata" Fernandez, to solidify the Timbers' already strong core.

A lot of people chalk up Paparatto's wrongdoings to not being able to keep a level head or lack of being a vocal leader on the field, and this led to a lot of Timbers fans blaming him for their defense woes. This very well may be true, as the addition of Paparatto broke up the infamous "Great Wall of Gambia", which consisted of Pah Kah and former Timber Futty Danso. Portland's backline became very unorganized, very quickly, oftentimes giving up the first goal in a game. Fast forward to the summer transfer window and the addition of DP center back Liam Ridgewell. Veteran EPL defender, Ridgewell, instantly became the leader of the Portland Timbers' backline. It seems he may be the piece of the puzzle Caleb Porter was missing.

In the two games Paparatto and Ridgewell have played together one resulted in a shutout. Both are expected to start against the Seattle Sounders on August 24th, which surely will be their toughest test yet. If the two can manage to shut down a potent attack from Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey, Timbers' fans might be able to finally rest easy knowing there's some consistancy at center back.

2. Stay Healthy

To be fair to Mr. Porter, the constant changing of defenders hasn't been entirely his own wrongdoing. The Timbers have had their fair share of bumps and bruises on the backline throughout the year. Michael Harrington and Jack Jewsbury, who started the year on the wings for the Timbers, have both had injuries at some point in the year, which gave other players like Jorge Villafana and Alvas Powell a chance to play as either a right or left back. Villafana, who has tallied one goal, pne assist, and a clean sheat in the ten games he's featured in, is arguably the best and most consistent option the Timbers have as a wing back this year, but Porter seems to be leaning towards O'Rourke for the time being.  Darlington Nagbe, Rodney Wallace, and Maxi Urruti are also players who have missed time due to injury this year.

Rodney Wallace has been an immense help for the Timbers' depth on the wings since returning from his injury in a 0-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City on June 27th. With Wallace back, Porter has options other than Steve Zakuani and Ben Zemanski, who have both looked sub-par at best when on the field this year. Kalif Alhassan also seems to be suffering from a lack of playing time from the return of injured players. After playing in 7 of the first 9 games, Alhassan has played less than 90 minutes total since June 7th. 

With CONCACAF Champions League underway, the Timbers are going to need everyone healthy as their depth is put to the test. With only 10 games left for a lot of teams and the playoff race getting tighter, games will become more physical. If the Timbers can keep their starters healthy there is no reason they shouldn't make the playoffs, especially after Colorado Rapids' captain and defender, Drew Moore, suffered a season ending injury from a 4-2 loss at D.C. United. 

3. Sacrifice from Porter

Earlier in the year, Caleb Porter promised a trophy. He didn't specify any particular trophy, but he did promise the Timbers would have one by the end of the season. The Timbers have two significant chances left to raise a trophy this year, with their participation in the CONCACAF Champions League, and the MLS Cup; however, with the depth already being pushed to the limits and Portland playing catch up, Caleb Porter needs to focus on one competition. He has started to do so by sending some players on the squad to Guyana for the CCL match against Alpha United and sending others back to Portland to prepare for their next regular season match against Seattle. Maxi Urruti, Fenando Adi, and Rodney Wallace are three Timbers' attackers who were sent to Guyana. Urruti was the starter against Alpha United, a game that the Timbers easily won 4-1, with Adi subbing on for him in the 56th minute. It's anyone's guess as to who Porter will favor against Seattle.

The Vancouver Whitecaps are currently 5th place in the Western Conference. The Whitecaps have two points and one game in hand on the Timbers, and they can focus solely on making the playoffs this year due to failure to make the CCL. If Porter wants to ensure they'll be in the playoffs at the end of the year, he'll need to put out his best XI during every regular season match, no matter how far in the CONCACAF Champions League the Timbers may be.