MONTREAL -- It wasnt pretty or convincing, but it was a win and the Montreal Impact will take it. Felipe Martins scored in the 15th minute and the Impact held on for a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union on a rainy Saturday afternoon for their first win of the Major League Soccer season. It was the Impacts (1-4-3) first victory in 10 league games since a 2-1 triumph over Philadelphia on Oct. 19 last season and their first clean sheet since a 5-0 thumping of Houston last Aug. 24. "We did a great job of fighting for every ball," said Felipe, who got his team-leading second goal of the season. "But the most important thing was the three points. "We waited for this a long time and its very nice to be back with a win." The Union (1-3-5) are winless in their last seven games and havent scored in their last two. It was Montreals first home game on the grass field at Saputo Stadium -- after playing three times indoors at Olympic Stadium -- but the stands were only half full in chilly, wet weather, although attendance was listed at 19,075. Felipe scored when Patrice Bernier stole the ball from Sheanon Williams and took a long shot that Zac MacMath blocked, only to fall to the Brazilian who banged in the rebound. The Impact and goalkeeper Troy Perkins spent the next 75 minutes holding off the Union, who outshot them 17-7 and wasted some glittering chances. "We have to grow and improve because we didnt play a good game for 90 minutes," said centreback Matteo Ferrari. "Some parts were good. "But it was very important to get the three points. For us, it wasnt a moment to play well but it was a moment to get points." It was the first meeting between the teams since the Impact sent Andrew Wenger to the Union for Jack McInerney in a swap of strikers three weeks ago. Wenger was dangerous all afternoon, taking four shots, including two on goal. He missed the net by a long margin in the 22nd minute, but five minutes later forced Perkins to stretch out a hand to save a shot from the edge of the penalty area. "The whole teams been dangerous lately but we havent been able to put the ball in the back of the net," said Wenger, who has one goal in four games since the trade. "Thats whats frustrating. "We knew they were dangerous on counterattack, like they were today, but we had the better of the play going forward. We couldnt translate that into goals and thats something me and some other guys have to figure out." McInerney had a glittering chance in the 54th, but MacMath dove to get a hand on the shot. The striker known as Jack Mac said it was fun to play his former teammates. "Whenever Id walk by someone there would always be a little comment made, but at the end, it was business," he said. "Every tackle had a little something extra in it." It was also a first Impact win for former Chicago Fire coach Frank Klopas, who replaced the fired Marco Schallibaum in December. There had been grumbling among fans and the media that Klopas and sporting director Nick De Santis should be let go if the teams record winless run to start a season continued, although De Santis met with the media during the week to give his third coach in as many MLS seasons a vote of confidence. The discontent showed when their staunchest supporters who cluster behind the west goal held up banners that read: "3 years, 3 coaches, 1 De Santis." "It felt really good," Klopas said of the win. "Some games are not going to be pretty soccer and you have to find ways to compete. "It gives us confidence. You can do things in training, but its important to get results. You have more enthusiasm." The Impact would probably wish to play again as soon as possible, but they are entering a bye week and dont play again until May 7 when they face either Ottawa or Edmonton in a Voyageurs Cup semifinal. Their next league game is at home May 10 against Kansas City. The Impact are 4-1-2 against Philadelphia in two-plus seasons in MLS, including 4-0-0 in Montreal. Fullback Hassoun Camara was shown the yellow card for clotheslining Fabinho in the 37th minute. It was his fifth caution of the season and he will be suspended for Montreals next MLS game. The Union play next week at Seattle. Notes: Fullbacks Camara and Jeb Brovsky were back in the starting 11 for Montreal as Eric Miller and Maxim Tissot saw action as substitutes. Calum Mallace, who started last week, was back on the bench as McInerney started. . . Conor Casey and Crisitian Maidana were on the bench for Philadelphia while Fabinho started. Vapormax Plus Clearance . Wade is posting a short film on his website next week, with a sneak preview scheduled to come out Wednesday. Vapormax Plus White Cheap . - Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick. http://www.airmaxplusstoresale.com/air-max-plus-97-cheap.html . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Tns Black Cheap . The question all fans want to know heading into this light heavyweight affair is will Rua display his true potential. Working with UFC welterweight fighter Demian Maias team in Sao Paulo Brazil and having training partners such as fellow UFC stand outs Fabio Maldonado and Daniel Sarafian, the 32-year old feels very well prepared for Friday nights encounter. Vapormax Plus White Sale . The stakes were higher, the competition more fierce and the atmosphere was that of a playoff game - something the young, upstart Raptors have five weeks to better prepare themselves for or the result will be eerily similar.It is somewhat amazing that within 24 hours of one of the best NFL Sundays in memory, six head coaches (and likely most of their staffs) are unemployed. Think about this though: Mike Shanahan leaves with $7 million in his pocket, while Greg Schiano and Rob Chudzinski had three more years on their contracts, and will be paid out handsomely. I realize not all are as fortunate, but the majority of the time if you reach the head coaching level in the NFL, your bills are paid and debts are nonexistent. Its not the financial blow that hurts. It is more of a punch to the ego and a humbling moment. When you realize your mission is not going to be accomplished, that is taken personally, and its hard to take. Now, full disclosure – in general, I am not a fan of football coaches. I have no doubt that is because my experience with most coaches was not very good. Most were anything but teachers. The majority of my coaches were experts at applying pressure and then dis-associating from the players when that tactic did not work or their own skill set did not provide an alternative. There are some great coaches in football – no doubt – but in my experience I have also seen a level of incompetence that is shocking. And it is prevalent at all levels. I often get asked why I dont coach, and I always answer with, "why should I?" Being a former player doesnt qualify me to be a coach, a teacher. That being said, there are a lot of good coaches without jobs today, and there are other teams still wavering on a decision. DECISION IN DALLAS In Dallas, I think they need to keep Jason Garret and stay the course. Look at Ron Rivera in Carolina and Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati. Logic may have dictated coaching changes for those teams in recent years, but they stuck with their people and now the Panthers are the NFC South winner and the Bengals are tops in the AFC North. Patience can pay off and too many teams dump good coaches too early. Take a close look at Dallas and you will see that almost getting to the playoffs was actually a pretty good accomplishment. Football teams are built around controllable programs that the coaches put in place, but much of their success comes down to pure luck. Things like drafting, teaching, developing and capitalizing on the "window of opportunity" are all relatively controllable. But luck can get in the way, especially when it comes to injuries. If you can keep your 22 starters completely healthy and on the field for a whole year – thats good luck, not good coaching. And Dallas was destroyed by bad luck for the second year in a row when it comes to injuries. This was highlighted Sunday when they had to play a winner-take-the-division game against Philadelphia without their best player on offence (QB Tony Romo) and their leader on defence (LB Sean Lee). Good coaching kept the controllable parts moving effectively, though, and Garrett almost got the Cowboys to the playoffs despite the injuries. KELLYS HEROES On the opposite side, how about the job Chip Kelly did with the Eagles? Hes an endearing personality and he "did it his way." Kelly is known as an offensive guy, but one of the most impressive examples of his coaching ability was reflected in the development of linebacker Mychal Kendricks, a second year player out of the University of California. Great linebackers have to know what is going to happen before it actually happens, and Kendricks has developed that ability. That is not just a natural talent – its partly a matter of studying and learning about your opponent in advance, which is a controllable issue – a coaching issue. There is no luck involved in his development under Chip Kelly. NEVERMORE We will see a new Super Bowl champion now that Baltimore failed to make the playoffs – something you could feel coming. After three narrow victories down the stretch, the Ravens lost by 34 to New England and then were dominated in Cincinnati on Sunday in a must-win game despite making four interceptions. I have all the respect in the world for Joe Flacco, but his body language on the bench sure seems to reflect disinterest. Compare his demeanor with Philip Rivers of the Chargers – there is no comparison! It makes you wonder if the Ravens were suffering from burn out. It is never expected but it does happen in many occupations, and following their success last year, they sure looked burned out in Deecember to me.dddddddddddd DEAD MONEY DANGER In Oakland, they played the 2013 season with an astounding amount of dead money (roughly $45 million). Thats money they had to pay former players – all of which counted against their salary cap. With the dead money off the books for 2014, the Raiders are suddenly cap rich. This is very dangerous as rarely can a football team be bought. Teams have to be developed, and the Raiders need to remember that they are exhibit A in that discussion. So how do they use that money wisely and successfully? Well if youre going to overpay somebody, than overpay a good quarterback. That is obvious. But depth players are critical. Your fifth defensive lineman, your sixth offensive lineman, those fourth and fifth receivers who can push for starting spots. On a 53 man roster, you have to project that the bottom third will eventually be your starters. Some may have to step in sooner than later because injuries always happen in football, so these players need to be ready and able. This off-season for the Raiders is critical for making decisions on these key personnel. They need to find a quarterback and then build a roster that can develop over time into a winning team around that quarterback. They cant shoot for the moon all at once. Ask Washington owner Dan Snyder how that works out. Speaking of the Redskins, Snyder has an interesting dilemma with quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins. With RG3 shut down for the season, Cousins played well against Atlanta, was okay against Dallas and not so good against the Giants. There is no doubt that RG3 will be the starter next year, but what does the team do with Cousins? Do you keep him as an above average back-up or test his increasing value on the open market? Just one of many problems facing the Redskins. KEEP CUTLER Marc Trestman has a similar problem with the Bears. He inherited a 10-6 team from Lovie Smith and finished 8-8. But under Trestman, the Bears offence flourished . Receiver Brandon Marshall is already a star, and Alshon Jeffery looks like another one. Matt Forte is a Pro Bowl back. Kyle Long and Jordon Mills played 16 games as rookies and played well. Jermon Bushrod and Matt Slauson earned their free agent value. The problem is what to do with the quarterback position after two players did well in the role. Jay Cutler is a pending free agent and after the big money has been thrown at Brees , Manning, Rogers, Flacco and Romo, he will looking for his fair value. Can the Bears afford his expensive ticket, and the mistakes that come with his gun-slinging ways? Especially when the much-cheaper Josh McCown was so good while Cutler was hurt? I think its a no-brainer for both sides. The Bears need to bring Cutler back, and he needs to re-sign fast. With all the weapons in Chicagos arsenal, and Trestman to guide the way, its a great fit. Especially because of Terstmans ability as a developer of quarterbacks. He may deserve a critical comment or two about the way the Bears defence folded, but he was brought in to turn the offence around and he succeeded in spades. Look for the Bears to go after defensive help in the off-season, something that is easier and cheaper to find than offensive skills players. REX STILL KING I usually watch the NFL Network for an hour a day to keep updated, and when I saw Woody Johnson announce that Ryan was to be back next year as coach of the Jets, I expected mild applause and pats on the back. What I saw instead was a unique reaction of adulation and sincere appreciation. That surprised me. Maybe Ryan is better in dealing with motivating and generating positive energy than I could understand, but that reaction said a lot of positive things about him. So from 32 teams starting the season as Super Bowl hopefuls, we are down to 12. All logic says it will be Seattle and Denver in New York come the 2nd of February, but if I had to pick to surprise participants, I like the Eagles and the 49ers. And finally, I always have to take a moment and remember that for 20 teams, the season is over. For the players, that means going from complete structure to no structure at all. No meetings, no practices, no games, no responsibility. Its a great feeling and dangerous time wrapped up into one. For these players, next season starts now. And off-season responsibility is step one to a championship. ' ' '