State of the Sounders: A glimpse of life after Clint Dempsey?

The Sounders leave this week for a two-match road trip on the East Coast, first against the New England Revolution on Saturday in Boston, followed by a mid-week match on Wednesday against DC United. Clint Dempsey and Nelson Valdez are on international duty and will miss both matches, among a few others depending on how their countries do in Copa America. Sigi Schmid also told the media after training on Tuesday that Oalex Anderson suffered a hamstring strain against the Colorado Rapids and won’t be available for the East Coast trip.

So that’s three attacking players out for at least two matches. Sure, Valdez and Anderson are only occasional starters at this point in the season, but it affects Seattle’s depth, especially when it will have two matches in four days. How will the team cope in their absence?

Related: No easy answers for Sounders after 1-0 loss to Colorado

The lack of Dempsey is obviously the biggest hole to fill, but in the long run it could be better for Seattle to learn how to play without him. Jordan Morris is obviously the future of the Sounders’ attack, and getting him minutes in the best position will likely be helpful to his development. Dempsey probably has a few more years left in him, but the Sounders are going to have to stop relying on him as soon as possible. He might be the most talented, experienced guy on the roster, but at 33 he’s not getting any younger.

For now, and especially for the next couple matches, the Sounders must rely on Morris and Herculez Gomez up top. The two have played fairly well together, and I know that Morris sees the veteran as a bit of a mentor. While Morris has scored four goals this season, Gomez has yet to score one. But playing them together against two of the Eastern Conference’s weaker sides could help galvanize the partnership.

It’s likely that we’ll see a combination of Aaron Kovar, Andreas Ivanschitz, and Joevin Jones (Schmid said he could push Jones to the wing and bring in Dylan Remick at LB) around the strikers, or likely shifting Gomez or Morris out to the wing to better fit Schmid’s current 4-3-3 gameplan. Those players have had their moments, but none of have really found consistency in producing goals yet this season.

But just as with Gomez and Morris, those players could get a chance to find some form against a couple of weaker sides, and if relying on Dempsey has been a crutch it could be finally help the Sounders get past that reliance. Instead of putting Dempsey in midfield, Sigi can finally play three true midfielders. Instead of forcing Morris to play wide so that Dempsey can play center forward, the youngster can be in the middle. A player of Dempsey’s talent just has to be shoehorned in, especially because of how much Seattle is paying him.

I like Dempsey and I unequivocally think he is the most talented player that the Sounders have — he’s one of the most talented players in American soccer history. But over-reliance on an older player, no matter how talented, can hold a team back from its true potential. By letting Morris and the other young players express themselves and discover their game as a professional, the Sounders could benefit in the long run.

These next few matches will be a nice peek into life without Dempsey in Seattle.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.