Are the Vancouver Whitecaps good again?

With a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Saturday afternoon at BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps vaulted themselves within one point of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

After a dreadful start to the season, this team is back within the realm of what was expected of them. Following a miraculous push to get into the playoffs last season, the playoffs were set as a realistic expectation for 2022, with many hoping that this team could take a step forward beyond that, although expectations of just how good they could be, understandably, varied to some degree.

Now that we are 14 games into the MLS season, three games away from the halfway mark, I find myself asking if we should still…