France Football has revealed its rankings for the 2017 Ballon d’Or from a 30-player shortlist, with Cristiano Ronaldo earning a fifth trophy ahead of Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Related: Ronaldo moves level with Messi after capturing 5th Ballon d’Or
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric made up the remainder of the top five, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
Sergio Ramos and Kylian Mbappe finished just outside a top-five spot at sixth and seventh.
There were a couple of surprises Thursday – Toni Kroos didn’t move up from 17th, the spot he earned last year, while Antoine Griezmann fell from third in 2016 to 18th in 2017. Isco, Edinson Cavani, Harry Kane, and N’Golo Kante were high-risers in 2017, finishing 12th, 10th, and eighth, respectively, despite not even making the shortlist last year.
Under the NFL’s definition of a catch, the league was right to take away what looked to be a game-winning Jesse James touchdown catch at the end of Sunday night’s Patriots-Steelers game. There are still unanswered questions — notably, if the call was as easy as the explanations of Alberto Riveron and Tony Corrente have suggested, why it took what felt like 10 minutes to overturn the call — but everyone on the league side of things seems to agree that the review was processed properly and led to the correct call.
A dramatic ending to the Steelers-Patriots matchup turned controversial after officials overruled what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown catch by the Steelers tight end Jesse James — a decision derided by James and several of his teammates.
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Here’s the problem, though: just about everyone who has watched a football game before also thinks James caught that football. Watch the replay. The Patriots defenders who surround James after the play aren’t arguing it’s incomplete. Bill Belichick, who would have been pictured frantically gesturing on camera in the case he thought it was a drop, isn’t depicted. Jim Nantz says “there’s no doubt it’s going to hold up,” as he and Tony Romo spend two minutes watching replays before it even occurs to them that the ball spun slightly as James hit the ground.
The rule was interpreted correctly, but the rule is bad. There are plenty of problems with the NFL right now, but many of them are either intractable or downright unfixable. The catch rule is not one of them. The NFL has to fix it, and that might require a totally radical sort of solution. Let’s make arguments for three very different types of changes to the much-hated catch rule.
Option 1: The evolution
While the NFL’s catch rules certainly aren’t perfect, they’ve evolved the way they have for a reason. Tangible in-game examples (like the Bert Emanuel rule) have driven practical changes to the laws over time. They’re never going to fix the problem and make everyone happy all the time, but no rule on paper is ever going to address every possible in-game catch situation. As a result, the league needs to be proactive about monitoring how the rule is impacting games and be comfortable making changes every year or two accordingly.
With that in mind, the league’s catch rule isn’t really all that bad over the first 99.9 yards of the field. Most of the complaints we’ve seen over the past few years, starting most memorably with the Dez Bryant catch, revolve around touchdowns and would-be touchdowns. Those plays are always going to stand out in the mind because of their importance, but they’re also where the current rules seem to fall apart.
The Calvin Johnson rule, so-called for taking a touchdown away from one of the league’s star wide receivers in Week 1 of the 2010 season, simply doesn’t work. It leaves too much up for interpretation and offers little clarity into what receivers actually need to do to ensure a touchdown. James’s catch fell short because he failed to, as Corrente described, “survive the ground.” The ball moved slightly as James hit the ground, but independent of the rulebook, it’s clear that James caught the ball, only for it to budge slightly as he leaned forward to try to push ahead of the plane.
Tight end Jesse James finished with two catches for 7 yards, and his go-ahead touchdown in the final minute was called off. AP Photo/Don Wright
To improve matters, let’s get rid of the surviving the ground rule and stop taking away touchdown catches for balls that narrowly drop slightly after a player’s established contact. Runners can score touchdowns just by flashing the ball over the plane of the goal line, but receivers currently need to complete their catch to the ground to become runners and qualify for touchdowns. Under our rule change, a player becomes a runner as soon as he catches it and gets two feet (or one knee or elbow or cheek, as Damiere Byrd exhibited Sunday) inbounds.
This rule isn’t perfect, but it’s an improvement. We don’t have to go back to the “football move” conundrum with this change. He doesn’t have to turn upfield or hold onto the football until his teammates have started their synchronized celebration. If the receiver bobbles the ball on the way to the ground and never actually makes a firm catch, that’s an incomplete pass. Otherwise, if he catches the ball on his feet (or back) and establishes himself inbounds, it’s a catch.
To go along with it, let’s fix the actual worst rule in football, when a fumble through the pylon becomes a turnover and a touchback for the other team. Nobody likes this rule outside of the one game every three or four seasons in which it benefits their team. The problem is that the solution of simply giving the ball back to the offense on the one-yard line basically gives offensive players a free opportunity to reach for the pylon with no repercussions, given that a swatted ball near the pylon is almost always going to go out of bounds.
Fortunately, Twitter fixed that for us. I asked about possible solutions to this problem back in October and certified genius @chiefdog10 solved our crisis with what he called the “self-touchback.” I like “reverse touchback,” but the idea’s his. When the ball is fumbled out of bounds through the pylon, don’t turn the ball over. Just push it back to the 20-yard line. I’ll add that the down should count, so the reverse touchback basically costs you 19-plus yards of field position but otherwise lets you keep the football. You’re punished for fumbling, but it’s not the eight-point swing (including the missing touchdown and the possession given to the other team) which comes with the current rule.
These changes don’t solve the catch rule problem, but they eliminate the most frustrating and confusing plays we complain about on Sundays. James’s catch would have been ruled a completion and then a momentary fumble as he hit the ground and stretched forward, which he would have then recovered. The Steelers wouldn’t have been awarded a touchdown, but they would have been able to get back on the ball at the one-inch line.
Option 2: The de-evolution
The league’s catch rule is too complicated, and all the changes we’ve made have turned it into something like an overfit model. We’re asking a lot of refs on a weekly basis as they deal with an increasingly speedy game. The current replay system makes it so that referees often rule a big play a turnover or a touchdown on the field, which creates an automatic review but one inherently likely to lead to those decisions being upheld, given that ties go to the call on the field. The widespread unpopularity and confusion surrounding the catch rule means we have to start over.
So, let’s go with what Larry Fitzgerald suggested should be the new rule two years ago. If a receiver catches the ball and gets two feet, a knee, an elbow, or a cheek on the ground, it’s a catch. If he stays upright and the ball is stripped out of his hands or he bobbles it, the ball becomes a live fumble.
Doesn’t that feel refreshingly simple and comprehensible? We still need to come up with a clear definition of “catch,” but let’s try to keep that to the shortest possible definition. Maybe it becomes a catch at the moment when the receiver grabs the ball in his hands without bobbling it. Perhaps you put a timeframe on it, like the receiver cradles the ball for a half-second or a full second.
This will unquestionably increase fumbles, which will be fodder for the tiresome and flimsy arguments about how football has always been great and is now suddenly worse. That’s fine. The league’s turnover rate has been dropping steadily for decades. Fumbles are fun plays. Everyone loves to point. Players will also adapt and begin to protect the football earlier through the catch process. It will also mean more catches, but how often do you hear people complaining that something was ruled a catch when it shouldn’t have been? We’re living in a Golden Age of receivers. Let’s reward Antonio Brown and Julio Jones for being amazing.
Ben Roethlisberger had 281 passing yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Photo by Philip G. Pavely/USA TODAY Sports
So, if you know whether something’s a catch or not from watching a play in context, let’s use our eyes to decide. And since this is my idea, we’re not turning things over to a head referee to watch on video. Let me introduce you to The Committee.
Whenever there’s an NFL game going on, a committee of 50 ex-NFL players will assemble in New York (or California or some other central location). The committee will consist of 25 former receivers and 25 defensive backs. You can change the numbers however you want — maybe it’s 10 at each position or 32 players and each team can nominate a wide receiver or a defensive back in alternating years — but the idea is the same.
These players have one job: whenever there is a question about a catch which is challenged via the coach’s flag or any of the automatic review situations, they get 60 seconds to watch replays of the catch and then vote “Yes” or “No.” They will be provided with whatever catch rules the NFL wants to suggest, but at the end of the day, they have one principle which overrides that concept: if they think it’s a catch, our voting panel should vote “Yes.” If not, they should vote otherwise.
And yes, before you ask: this should be treated like an episode of Who Wants to be A Millionaire. We should see the votes update in real-time on the screen, although the individual votes should be kept anonymous to the public. There should be a bunch of cameras in the room. Shine a light on each player as we get to the final few and the vote’s at 24-24 so we can watch Wes Welker and Jabari Greer agonize over their decision. Imagine the crowd roaring as they see the vote count rising in their favor on the jumbotron. This could be great television.
Players should be allowed to remain on the committee for up to 10 years, but we want to eventually find a consensus on what isn’t a catch. As a result, while the votes should remain anonymous to the public, the league should keep track of the individual votes and prevent the five players who differed from the majority most frequently from joining the committee in the future. (This would be bad if the consensus was wrong, but the consensus should be pretty in line with popular opinion with a large enough sample.
No, this won’t be cheap, and it wouldn’t be a perfect solution. I suspect referees might not take kindly to giving away this element of power. It would also make for great television, and we would have far fewer controversial calls than we do now. We’re never going to fix the catch rule. Let’s at least have some fun with it and think outside of the box for a compelling and possibly entertaining solution instead.
The draw for the 2017-18 Champions League round of 16 was conducted in Nyon, Switzerland on Monday, and delivered some herculean matchups to look forward to in the new year.
Real Madrid was punished for its second-placed finish in Group H with two legs against much-fancied Paris Saint-Germain, while another standout tie will be contested between Chelsea and Barcelona.
The first fixture pulled out was the inaugural European meeting of Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur, which many will tip to be a tight affair.
Here are the full results of the round of 16 draw:
Juventus vs. Tottenham Hotspur
FC Basel vs. Manchester City
FC Porto vs. Liverpool
Sevilla vs. Manchester United
Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Roma
Chelsea vs. Barcelona
Bayern Munich vs. Besiktas
The first legs will be contested on Feb. 13-14 and 20-21, with the return legs slated for March 6-7 and 13-14.
Aaron Rodgers tried to tone down the buzz surrounding his return from a broken collarbone this week by insisting that he’s not coming back to “save” the Green Bay Packers.
But what about your fantasy team?
Chances are, you have a much tougher decision to make this week than the Packers, who won’t hesitate to throw Rodgers right back into their starting lineup. You’ve probably got an all-or-nothing playoff matchup and a good backup quarterback who helped get you there.
ESPN’s fantasy experts have faith in Rodgers, though. He is ranked among the top five quarterbacks this week. And ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky offered a history lesson this week that should provide hope.
As Demovsky wrote, Rodgers came back strong from a similar hiatus in 2013, when he missed seven games with a broken collarbone in his non-throwing shoulder (this time it has been eight weeks, and it’s his throwing shoulder). Rodgers completed 25 of 39 passes for 318 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in his first game back last time.
Before Aaron Rodgers got hurt, Jordy Nelson had an NFL-leading six TDs in the first five games. AP Photo/Mike Roemer
“I know it was four years ago, but [that game] should give us a good idea of how he’ll operate,” Demovsky said. “Mike McCarthy did a masterful job playcalling, getting the ball out of Rodgers’ hands quickly. It meant a lot of screens, hitches and dumpoffs, but they kept the chains moving and it added up to a 318-yard, two-touchdown day.
“Yes there was some rust; Rodgers threw two early interceptions. But he got better as the game went on.”
Back in 2013, Nelson’s numbers also dipped significantly while Rodgers was hurt. Then, he caught 10 passes for 161 yards in Rodgers’ first game back.
“I know there’s a lot of juice left in 87. I’d like to fill that up this week,” Rodgers said of Nelson this week — unprompted when he was actually being asked about fellow Packers receiver Davante Adams.
Last, but not least, is rookie Packers running back Jamaal Williams, who has broken out with 545 total yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns during the last five weeks.
“I think we’re finally safe to say that Jamaal Williams is the guy,” Demovsky said of the question as to whether Williams or fellow rookie Aaron Jones would be the lead back when both were healthy.
The Packers won’t stop running the ball just because Rodgers is back. In fact, the run game and short passing game should be his best friends.
Life without Wentz:
On the flip side, the NFC-leading Philadelphia Eagles now must try to survive without their MVP candidate quarterback, Carson Wentz, who tore his ACL this past Sunday.
Fortunately, the Eagles have an experienced backup in Nick Foles. But ESPN Eagles reporter Tim McManus said in this week’s Insider fantasy Q&A with Mike Clay that Alshon Jeffery and the outside receivers could take the biggest hit from the QB change, since Foles is less mobile than Wentz and will be operating behind a banged-up offensive line. McManus predicts more steady work for slot receiver Nelson Agholor and tight end Zach Ertz on short and intermediate routes.
McManus also wrote Friday that he sees this as the perfect time to break out running back Jay Ajayi, who has played a dynamic but limited role since the Eagles acquired him in a trade from the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. Ajayi is averaging 7.0 yards per carry in five games with Philadelphia, but he has only 44 total carries in that span. This past week, he ran 15 times for 78 yards in a 43-35 thriller over the Los Angeles Rams — the first time he had reached double-digit carries since joining Philly.
“With Wentz sidelined … they’ll need to maximize the talent at their disposal to help compensate for the major loss,” McManus wrote. “Ajayi has been without question the team’s most untapped resource to date.”
Life without McCown:
Josh McCown’s season-ending hand injury will also hurt some fantasy owners. Not only does he rank 13th among quarterbacks in ESPN’s fantasy scoring this year, but New York Jets receivers Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse both rank in the top 25. Anderson ranks ninth among receivers in fantasy scoring since Week 6.
ESPN Jets reporter Rich Cimini wrote that there will definitely be a drop-off from McCown to new QB Bryce Petty, but he stressed that “it would be wrong to totally dismiss Anderson as a fantasy option” because of his history with Petty. Cimini said Anderson was Petty’s “go-to receiver” last year in four starts and two relief appearances, with more targets than any player on the teams, including Brandon Marshall.
Of course, Cimini pointed out that four of those targets turned into interceptions for Petty, so don’t expect perfectly smooth sailing.
Worth a click:
Drew Brees has been good this year (on pace for the highest completion percentage in NFL history and just seven interceptions). But as I wrote this week as the ESPN New Orleans Saints reporter, the Saints need to hope Brees’ best is yet to come. He is on pace for his lowest yards per game and passing TDs since he joined New Orleans in 2006, and he’s coming off an ill-advised interception in the final minutes of last week’s 20-17 loss at Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Michael Thomas, who is on pace for a franchise-record 105 receptions, should become the Saints’ first Pro Bowl receiver in the Brees-Payton era.
ESPN Baltimore Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley asked whether Alex Collins has been proving that he is the team’s running back of the future. The 23-year-old ranks tenth in the NFL with 825 rushing yards this season. He finally scored his first touchdown last month — then rattled off a total of five in a three-game span. And he rushed for a career-high 120 yards against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers on the road this past Sunday night.
A few more questions that were dissected by ESPN’s NFL Nation reporters this week: Does Rams RB Todd Gurley need more touches? What’s wrong with Raiders QB Derek Carr? And is Jacksonville QB Blake Bortles playing “like Tom Brady?” (No, but he is more confident, and he’s on a roll).
His mind clear, Detroit’s Eric Ebron has been one of the NFL’s top tight ends since the trade deadline.
Tyreek Hill is proving he’s worthy of being the Chiefs’ No. 1 wide receiver.
Jets tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins is unhappy with his slump, but he remains hopeful.
