theScore’s Gianluca Nesci takes a deep dive into the ratings from the newly released FIFA 18 video game.
F | MF | D | GK | FUT Icons
Defender
Club
Rating
Sergio Ramos
Real Madrid
90
Giorgio Chiellini
Juventus
89
Leonardo Bonucci
AC Milan
88
Thiago Silva
Paris Saint-Germain
88
Mats Hummels
Bayern Munich
88
Diego Godin
Atletico Madrid
88
Jerome Boateng
Bayern Munich
88
Marcelo
Real Madrid
87
Gerard Pique
Barcelona
87
Alex Sandro
Juventus
86
“Sergio Ramos? He’s the best defender in the world.”
Leonardo Bonucci clearly isn’t the only one who thinks so.
The AC Milan centre-back anointed his Spanish peer as the world’s premier player in his position this past summer, and the FIFA 18 ratings reflect that claim; Ramos stands atop the heap, barely edging Bonucci’s compatriot and former Juventus teammate, Giorgio Chiellini.
An injury-plagued 2017 sees Jerome Boateng take the biggest hit from last year’s edition, though the imposing defender’s well-rounded skill set, alongside that of countryman Mats Hummels, still makes Bayern Munich’s backline a daunting unit to break down.
Further down the list, the retirement of longtime kingpin Philipp Lahm makes room for Real Madrid’s afro-clad star to assume the mantle as the game’s best full-back; Marcelo, who plays with the attacking flair of a No. 10, is well worth his rating, while fellow Brazilian left-back Alex Sandro isn’t far behind after a marvellous season dominating the flank for Juventus.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Larry Johnson once was where Kareem Hunt is now, a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs who developed into a premier player seemingly overnight. Johnson rushed for more than 100 yards in his first three games after becoming Kansas City’s featured back in 2004.
Johnson’s coming-out party wasn’t as spectacular as that of Hunt, a rookie who, heading into this weekend’s games, leads the NFL in rushing yards with 401 and is tied for the lead in touchdowns with six.
But it was more than strong enough to get the attention of the Chiefs’ opponents the remainder of that season and beyond. That makes Johnson an excellent person to offer Hunt some friendly advice about what’s ahead.
“If I was him, I’d enjoy this now,” Johnson said. “Nobody around the league knows what he can do. He’s seeing what I saw when I first got started.
“I knew, especially in that 400-carry season (2006), every team was going to put eight men [at the line of scrimmage] against me. He’s not seeing that yet. Trust me, after another few games he’s going to start seeing corner blitzes, safety blitzes, linebacker blitzes. They’re going to really test him now just to keep him in the pocket so he’s not a receiving threat. They’re going to test his toughness by bringing more guys to the [line]. That’s how it was for me. You have to mentally prepare yourself for teams to game-plan for you.
“Let me tell you, that’s not easy. The longer you do it, the tougher it gets.”
Hunt has been the biggest star for the Chiefs, who are 3-0 heading into Monday night’s game against Washington (8:30 ET, ESPN) at Arrowhead Stadium. He has at least 100 yards from scrimmage in every game. The only rookies in NFL history to begin their seasons with more than three such games are Adrian Peterson (five) in 2007, LaDainian Tomlinson (four) in 2001 and Billy Sims (four) in 1980.
That’s great company for Hunt, a third-round pick. Keeping that pace or merely staying close will get more difficult, as Johnson and Chiefs coach Andy Reid suggest, because the bull’s-eye Hunt soon will be wearing during games tends to get heavy.
After bursting onto the scene with more than 100 yards in each of his first three games, Kareem Hunt won’t be sneaking up on opponents any more. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
“He’s young in this, not only in age and experience, but he’s young in the season here,” Reid said. “The challenges are going to be answering the bell every week, physically and mentally.”
Hunt did nicely with a big workload in college at Toledo. He got the ball more than 850 times in four seasons and was productive throughout, averaging 6.3 yards per carry.
“I played the whole college season and I felt like I got better as the season went on too,” Hunt said. “You’ve got to keep going through it and keep taking care of your body each and every day. Do the most that you can do. Live in the training room, do little things to take care of your body.
“It starts now, just taking care of your body every day and just doing little things. Even when you’re not that sore, you’ve just got to keep working to get your body all the way back together, so you’ve got to take it day by day and week by week.”
The NFL is different than college, with more games and bigger and faster players. There’s also a mental and physical aspect to succeeding over the long haul.
That’s something another former great Chiefs back, Priest Holmes, can speak to.
“Running back is a position I call the ‘Warrior Position’ because of the amount of hits you’re taking during a game,” Holmes said. “Just to wake up on Monday morning and feel the way you do and then to know what the week ahead is going to bring, that can be difficult for a lot of players. You have to have something special to handle that, to anticipate being successful.
“I’m sure [Hunt] can do that. He looks like a special player.”
One of the assistant coaches during much of Martin’s time in New York was Bob Sutton, now the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator. All these years later, Sutton marvels at how Martin could withstand the punishment and come back week after week for more.
“Curtis was one of the most unique people I’ve ever been around,” Sutton said. “He had unbelievable focus. I don’t know if I’ve seen anybody have the focus he has and the great ability to control his own mind. I saw him get ready to play against Buffalo with two high-ankle sprains. He played and he played well. That’s supposed to be an injury that keeps you out however many weeks.
“He had great skills, great talent. He was a great runner. He was powerful for not a really big man. But he was just an unbelievable individual when he was getting ready for a game. To me, that defined Curtis. That made him different than a lot of backs in our league. Nothing else mattered to him than getting ready to play. Not many people can do that on a consistent basis.”
Reid said Hunt will be helped by working daily with running backs coach Eric Bieniemy, a former NFL player.
“He’s got [Bieniemy] in his hip pocket, right?” Reid said. “He does a phenomenal job with him. He’s been there as a player. He understands the challenges of that position. To have somebody like Eric is an important part of this.”
Bieniemy might help, but to hear Holmes and Johnson talk, much of the ability to handle the burden of being an NFL running back has to come from within. Either Hunt has the ability or he doesn’t.
“What drove me to answer that bell every week was crossing that goal line,” said Holmes, who led the NFL in touchdowns in 2002 (24) and 2003 (27). “I could make 70,000 people love me or I could make 70,000 people hate me just by scoring a touchdown, depending on whether we were home or away.
“That’s unique and different for every player. It’s not the same thing that’s going to get everybody ready for the call. But you have to have a prize, a goal, something to have your sights on. For me, it was always crossing that goal line, whether it took one play to do it or 10 plays or 20 plays.”
Johnson had a different ritual.
“I would watch a lot of tape of my runs, but I didn’t watch tape of the 2- and 3-yard runs,” he said. “I would watch the runs that were 10 yards and over. That built my confidence. I would watch tape of my runs against teams with tough defensive fronts. That built my confidence knowing and seeing those defenses could be hurt, that it was just a matter of time, that I could be successful against those defenses.”
Things worked out well for Holmes, who was able to sustain great success from the time he joined the Chiefs in 2001 until an injury in 2004 pushed his career into a decline.
Johnson didn’t manage as well for a long period, but was spectacular in 2005 and 2006 with more than 1,700 yards in each season.
Hunt looks poised to join Holmes and Johnson as great backs in Chiefs history. He’s got 13 more regular-season games this season to show he can handle the pressure and defensive attention that is sure to come his way.
“He’s a pretty humble kid,” Reid said. “With his makeup, he’ll be fine doing it.”
theScore’s Gianluca Nesci takes a deep dive into the ratings from the newly released FIFA 18 video game.
F | MF | D | GK | FUT Icons
Midfielder
Club
Rating
Toni Kroos
Real Madrid
90
Luka Modric
Real Madrid
89
Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City
89
Thiago Alcantara
Bayern Munich
88
Mesut Ozil
Arsenal
88
Marco Verratti
Paris Saint-Germain
87
N’Golo Kante
Chelsea
87
Paul Pogba
Manchester United
87
Arturo Vidal
Bayern Munich
87
Christian Eriksen
Tottenham
87
Marek Hamsik
Napoli
87
David Silva
Manchester City
87
Ivan Rakitic
Barcelona
87
Andres Iniesta
Barcelona
87
Radja Nainggolan
AS Roma
86
Isco
Real Madrid
86
Cesc Fabregas
Chelsea
86
James Rodriguez
Bayern Munich
86
Sergio Busquets
Barcelona
86
Franck Ribery
Bayern Munich
86
Marco Reus
Borussia Dortmund
86
Casemiro
Real Madrid
85
Blaise Matuidi
Juventus
85
Miralem Pjanic
Juventus
85
Ilkay Gundogan
Manchester City
85
Real Madrid’s dominance in last season’s Champions League was largely the product of the Spanish club’s otherworldly midfield being vastly superior to its competition, so it’s no surprise that Los Blancos boast the two highest-rated midfielders in FIFA 18.
Toni Kroos‘ sumptuous passing skills are unmatched, while Luka Modric is the greatest all-around, box-to-box midfielder in world football today.
Given that the ability to unlock a backline with inch-perfect passes from anywhere on the pitch is arguably the most coveted midfield talent, it’s no surprise that the four superstars who follow Kroos and Modric on this list are all renowned for their slick passing. Kevin De Bruyne, Thiago Alcantara, Mesut Ozil, and Marco Verratti all combine superlative vision with splendid playmaking traits.
Marek Hamsik, Christian Eriksen, and Isco earned significant ratings boosts. The three creative wizards were long among the most underrated players in the world, and are finally getting their due in the game (both real and video).
Meanwhile, Dele Alli just misses out on the top 25. At just 21 years old and already boasting an 84 overall rating, though, he is well positioned to continue climbing up the ranks, and quickly.
Look out for Marco Asensio, too. The future is bright.
LAS VEGAS — Former football legend O.J. Simpson became a free man Sunday after serving nine years for a botched hotel room heist in Las Vegas that brought the conviction and prison time he avoided in the killings of his ex-wife and her friend after his 1995 acquittal in the “trial of the century” in Los Angeles.
Simpson was released at 12:08 a.m. PT from Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada, state prisons spokeswoman Brooke Keast told The Associated Press. She said she did not know the driver who met Simpson upon his release and didn’t know where Simpson was immediately headed in his first hours of freedom.
“I don’t have any information on where he’s going,” said Keast, who watched as Simpson signed documents and was let go. Her department released video on social media of Simpson being told to “come on out” by a prison staffer, exiting through an open door. He could be seen responding “OK” as he left, wearing a ball cap, denim jacket, jeans and white tennis shoes.
Tom Scotto, a close friend of Simpson who lives in Naples, Florida, said by text message that he was with Simpson following his release. Scotto didn’t respond to questions about where they were going or whether Simpson’s sister, Shirley Baker of Sacramento, California, or his daughter, Arnelle Simpson of Fresno, California, were with him.
The three had attended Simpson’s parole hearing in July at the same prison where Simpson spent his prison term and was released just minutes into the first day a parole board set for his possible release.
Simpson has said he wanted to move back to Florida, where he lived before his armed robbery conviction in Las Vegas in a September 2007 confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers.
Neither Simpson’s attorney, Malcolm LaVergne in Las Vegas, nor state Parole and Probation Capt. Shawn Arruti, who has been handling Simpson’s case, immediately responded to messages.
Keast said the dead-of-night release from the prison about 90 miles east of Reno, Nevada, was conducted to avoid media attention.
“We needed to do this to ensure public safety and to avoid any possible incident,” Keast added, speaking by telephone. She spoke from Lovelock, where she said she witnessed Simpson signing documents to be released.
The 70-year-old Simpson gains his freedom after being granted parole at a hearing in July. Unlike the last time he went free, 22 years ago, he will face restrictions — up to five years of parole supervision — and he’s unlikely to escape public scrutiny as the man who morphed from charismatic football hero, movie star and TV personality into suspected killer and convicted armed robber.
Simpson was looking forward to reuniting with his family, eating a steak and some seafood and moving back to Florida, LaVergne said recently.
Simpson also plans to get an iPhone and get reacquainted with technology that was in its infancy when he was sent to prison in 2008, his attorney said.
The Florida Department of Corrections, however, said officials had not received a transfer request or required documents, and the attorney general said the state didn’t want him.
“The specter of his residing in comfort in Florida should not be an option,” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on Friday. “Our state should not become a country club for this convicted criminal.”
Simpson lost his home near Miami to foreclosure in 2012. But two of his children, Justin and Sydney, also live in Florida.
He could live at least temporarily in Las Vegas, where a friend let Simpson use his home for five weeks during his robbery trial.
His five years of parole supervision could be reduced with credits for good behavior.
It’s a new chapter for the one-time pop culture phenomenon whose fame was once again on display when the major TV networks carried his parole hearing live.
He told officials that leading a group of men into a 2007 armed confrontation was an error in judgment he would not repeat.
He told the parole board that he led a “conflict-free life,” an assertion that angered many who believe he got away with killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles in 1994.
Simpson was once an electrifying running back dubbed “Juice” who won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s best college football player for USC in 1968 and became one of the NFL’s all-time greats with the Buffalo Bills.
Handsome and charming, he also provided commentary on “Monday Night Football,” became the face of Hertz rental-car commercials and built a movie career with roles in the “Naked Gun” comedies and other films.
Simpson fell from grace when he was arrested in the slayings, after a famous “slow-speed” Ford Bronco chase on California freeways. His subsequent trial became a live-TV sensation that fascinated viewers with its testimony about a bloody glove that didn’t fit and unleashed furious debate over race, police and celebrity justice.
A jury swiftly acquitted him, but two years later, Simpson was found liable in civil court for the killings and ordered to pay $33.5 million to survivors, including his children and Goldman’s family.
He is still on the hook for the judgment, which now amounts to about $65 million after the addition of interest and court costs, according to a Goldman family lawyer.
On Sept. 16, 2007, he led five men he barely knew to the Palace Station casino in Las Vegas in an effort to retrieve items that Simpson insisted were stolen after his acquittal in the 1994 slayings. Two of the men with Simpson in Las Vegas carried handguns, although Simpson still insists he never knew anyone was armed. He says he only wanted to retrieve personal items, mementoes and family photos.
He went to prison in 2008, receiving a stiff sentence that his lawyers said was unfair.
If the nation’s Simpson obsession waned for a while, it resurged last year with the Emmy-winning FX miniseries, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” and the Oscar-winning documentary “O.J.: Made in America.”
