With Saturday's 0-0 result against Seattle, FC Dallas' winless streak continued to nine matches.

Players are frustrated. Coaches are frustrated. Fans are frustrated. The streak has made Dallas go from competing for the top of the table to competing for a playoff spot. I decided to take a look at some passing charts and see if I could notice any trends.

BigDSoccer's Jason Poon looked at the passing data and drew the conclusion that Mauro Diaz should play more out wide compared to what he has been playing right now.

I drew a different conclusion from looking at the data Sunday.

Here is the success pass chart in the Seattle game:

FC Dallas team completed passing chart vs Seattle (9/16/2017)

I think we all know that FC Dallas runs their offense through their wings; Michael Barrios is one of the premier assist-men in the league, 4th in the league with 13 assists. However, the concern I have is the lack of presence in the middle of the attacking third. Only five passes were completed by Mauro Diaz in that attacking third. Since I don't have access to a heat map, I decided to look at his incomplete passes to see where he was making these passes from and whether he was going to the middle of the park.

Mauro Diaz passing chart vs Seattle (9/16/2017)

Most of Diaz's passes came from the right side, which is where most of FC Dallas' attack comes from. There isn't much of an attack in the middle of the park. It reminds me of the United States in the Gold Cup and their 'Pulisic sized gap' in the middle of the park. Here is a heat map from Paul Carr from the semi-final against Costa Rica in July.

The two maps look similar when it comes to the middle of the park. It looks as if FC Dallas has become one-dimensional of sorts, not using other avenues for attack and only pumping balls into the box from the right side. Diaz is given a lot of freedom to roam around the park and FC Dallas' formation is relatively fluid. We see Lamah and Barrios switch sides throughout matches, Acosta filling in for Diaz higher up the pitch when Diaz was in the defensive third.

I took one of FC Dallas' better results last season, a 4-0 win over Orlando City, and tracked Diaz's passing chart. The formation was the same; a 4-3-3 but with Fabian Castillo on the wing, before he left for Turkey.

You don't see Diaz drop as far back as he did against Seattle to receive the ball. Instead, you see him playing balls into the box from the midfield of the attacking third. I really do think Diaz needs to be focused on the middle in order for Dallas to achieve more success. It may have worked in the past, but it looks like teams have figured out Dallas and their wing play.

My solution would be to give a little more structure to the formation. Force Carlos Gruezo to play more of a holding role and have him strictly in that role, much like Jeff Larentowitcz does for Atlanta.

Jeff Larewentowicz passing chart vs Orlando (9/16/2017)

Have him be the blanket in front of the defense, Kellyn Acosta be the box to box midfielder as he is, and Diaz to focus on the middle of the attacking third. Acosta is quality at his role of the box to box connector, as he plays that role for the United States alongside Michael Bradley. If Gruezo cannot do it, put Victor Ulloa in there, who seems to play his role of a holding mid quite well in the times he has come on to close the match.

I do expect Dallas to end this winless streak soon, but playing one-dimensional won't work for the side for now. They need a changeup, something new, to march on for a playoff spot.