The 2007 Rhein Fire season was the 13th and final season for the franchise in the NFL Europa League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Rick Lantz in his first year, and played its home games at LTU arena in Düsseldorf, Germany. They finished the season in fourth place with a record of four wins and six losses. The National Football League (NFL) announced the closure of its European branch on June 29, ending the team's 13-year existence.[1]
2007 Rhein Fire season | |
---|---|
General manager | Sammy Schmale |
Head coach | Rick Lantz |
Home field | LTU arena |
Results | |
Record | 4–6 |
Division place | 4th |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Offseason
editFree agent draft
editDraft order | Player name | Position | College | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Choice | |||
1 | 4 | Troy Reddick | T | Auburn |
2 | 10 | Wally Dada | CB | Washington State |
3 | 15 | Jesse Boone | C | Utah |
4 | 22 | Aaron Harris | LB | Texas |
5 | 27 | Erik Jensen | TE | Iowa |
6 | 34 | DeJuan Skinner | T | West Texas A&M |
7 | 39 | Calvin Carlyle | S | Oregon State |
8 | 46 | Ryan Hoffman | DE | Shippensburg State |
9 | 51 | Scott Farley | S | Williams |
10 | 58 | Earvin Johnson | TE | UNLV |
11 | 63 | Derrick Strong | DE | Illinois |
12 | 70 | Zach Ville | DE | Missouri |
13 | 75 | Brennan Schmidt | DT | Virginia |
14 | 82 | Jimmy Dixon | FB | Georgia Tech |
15 | 87 | Chris Hawkins | CB | Marshall |
16 | 94 | Taylor Schmidt | C | San Diego State |
17 | 99 | Steve Franklin | G | Syracuse |
18 | 106 | Michael Franklin | RB | San Diego State |
19 | 111 | Jeff Green | DE | Florida A&M |
20 | 118 | Quentin Swain | LB | Florida Atlantic |
21 | 123 | John Glass | T | Rutgers |
22 | 130 | Cal Murray | RB | Miami (OH) |
23 | 131 | Mike Andrews | LB | Youngstown State |
Personnel
editStaff
editFront office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
editQuarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
National players
|
Schedule
editWeek | Date | Kickoff [n 1] | Opponent | Results | Game site | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Final score | Team record | ||||||
1 | Saturday, April 14 | 7:00 p.m. | Berlin Thunder | L 3–15 | 0–1 | LTU arena | 30,355 |
2 | Friday, April 20 | 8:00 p.m. | at Amsterdam Admirals | W 16–10 | 1–1 | Amsterdam ArenA | 14,611 |
3 | Saturday, April 28 | 7:00 p.m. | Cologne Centurions | L 6–14 | 1–2 | LTU arena | 21,347 |
4 | Sunday, May 6 | 4:00 p.m. | at Hamburg Sea Devils | L 9–34 | 1–3 | AOL Arena | 19,347 |
5 | Saturday, May 12 | 7:00 p.m. | Frankfurt Galaxy | W 27–24 | 2–3 | LTU arena | 27,349 |
6 | Saturday, May 19 | 6:00 p.m. | at Cologne Centurions | L 17–20 | 2–4 | RheinEnergieStadion | 22,154 |
7 | Saturday, May 26 | 7:00 p.m. | at Frankfurt Galaxy | L 10–23 | 2–5 | Commerzbank-Arena | 32,789 |
8 | Sunday, June 3 | 4:00 p.m. | Amsterdam Admirals | W 41–38 | 3–5 | LTU arena | 20,355 |
9 | Friday, June 8 | 7:00 p.m. | at Berlin Thunder | W 24–17 | 4–5 | Olympic Stadium | 12,114 |
10 | Saturday, June 16 | 7:00 p.m. | Hamburg Sea Devils | L 13–17 | 4–6 | LTU arena | 22,980 |
Standings
editNFL Europa League | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Home | Road | STK |
Hamburg Sea Devils | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 231 | 176 | 4–1 | 3–2 | W4 |
Frankfurt Galaxy | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 254 | 179 | 5–0 | 2–3 | W1 |
Cologne Centurions | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 205 | 172 | 2–3 | 4–1 | L1 |
Rhein Fire | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 166 | 212 | 2–3 | 2–3 | L1 |
Amsterdam Admirals | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 194 | 250 | 3–2 | 1–4 | W1 |
Berlin Thunder | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 146 | 207 | 0–5 | 2–3 | L6 |
Game summaries
editWeek 1: vs Berlin Thunder
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Berlin | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 15 |
Rhein | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Date: Saturday, April 14
- Game time: 7:06 p.m. CEST
- Game weather: 71 °F (21.7 °C), sunny
- Game attendance: 30,355
- Referee: Carl Cheffers
- TV announcers (NFL Network): Scott Graham and Doug Graber
Week 2: at Amsterdam Admirals
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhein | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 16 |
Amsterdam | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Date: Friday, April 20
- Game time: 8:05 p.m. CEST
- Game weather: 59 °F (15.0 °C), partly cloudy
- Game attendance: 14,611
- Referee: Terry Brown
- TV announcers (NFL Network): Rich Ackerman and Jon Ritchie
Week 3: vs Cologne Centurions
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cologne | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Rhein | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Date: Saturday, April 28
- Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 21,347
- [17]
Week 4: at Hamburg Sea Devils
editWeek 5: vs Frankfurt Galaxy
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhein | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
Frankfurt | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Date: Saturday, May 12
- Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 27,349
- [19]
Week 6: at Cologne Centurions
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhein | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
Cologne | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 20 |
at RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany
- Date: Saturday, May 19
- Game time: 6:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 22,154
- [20]
Week 7: at Frankfurt Galaxy
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhein | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Frankfurt | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 23 |
at Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany
- Date: Saturday, May 26
- Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 32,789
- [21]
Week 8: vs Amsterdam Admirals
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amsterdam | 10 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 38 |
Rhein | 14 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 41 |
at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Date: Sunday, June 3
- Game time: 4:06 p.m. CEST
- Game weather: 66 °F (18.9 °C)
- Game attendance: 20,355
- Referee: Carl Cheffers
- TV announcers (NFL Network): Chris Carrino and Jerry Porter
Week 9: at Berlin Thunder
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhein | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
Berlin | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany
- Date: Friday, June 8
- Game time: 7:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 12,114
- [22]
Week 10: vs Hamburg Sea Devils
editHonors
edit- Danny Baugher, All-NFL Europa League team selection
- Blake Costanzo, All-NFL Europa League team selection
- Jamar Enzor, Defensive Player of the Week (Week 9)
- Carlos Hendricks, Defensive Player of the Week (Week 8)
- Derek Rehage, Defensive Player of the Week (Week 6)
- P.K. Sam, Offensive Player of the Week (Week 5)
Notes
edit- ^ All times are in Central European Summer Time (CEST).
References
edit- ^ Kuriloff, Aaron (June 29, 2007). "NFL Folds European League One Week After World Bowl Title Game". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (February 26, 2007). "Famous names called during NFL Europa Free Agent Draft" (Press release). Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ^ Dinich, Heather (January 24, 2009). "BC hires Tranquill as O-coordinator". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ Hendricks, Martin (November 29, 2007). "Taking nothing for granted". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2012-06-25. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (April 10, 2007). "World Bowl Rematch Kicks Off 15th Season" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (April 17, 2007). "Early Start To Week Two" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (April 24, 2007). "Race for NFL Europa glory looks to be crowded" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (May 1, 2007). "Pace-setting Galaxy Visit Admirals; Centurions Lead Chasing Pack" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (May 8, 2007). "Everything To Play For As Season Approaches Halfway Mark" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (May 15, 2007). "Race To Reach World Bowl Closest In League History As All Six Teams Separated By One Game" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (May 22, 2007). "Two Break Clear Of Chasing Pack As Race To Reach World Bowl Intensifies" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (May 29, 2007). "Cologne Within Touching Distance Of World Bowl" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (June 5, 2007). "Galaxy One Win Away From Hosting World Bowl" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ NFL Europa League (June 12, 2007). "Three Teams Eye Two Title Game Spots As Race To Reach World Bowl Goes Down To Final Weekend" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ a b Stolle, Hans (June 18, 2007). "Football: Der Abschied von Rhein Fire" (in German). Rheinische Post. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ "NFL Europa At A Glance". USA Today. June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ^ "American Football – NFL Europa: Frankfurt Galaxy nicht zu stoppen" (in German). Focus. SID. April 28, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ "Football: Sea Devils besiegen Rhein Fire in der AOL-Arena mit 34:9" (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. May 7, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ "Rhein Fire begeisterte 27.349 Fans – Das war beste Werbung für die NFL Europa" (in German). reviersport.de. May 14, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ "NFL Europa: Frankfurt und Köln auf World-Bowl-Kurs" (in German). Rheinische Post. May 19, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ^ "7. Spieltag der NFL Europa: Spitzenkampf zwischen Galaxy und Centurions" (in German). Rheinische Post. May 26, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- ^ "Football: Berlin Thunder enttäuscht" (in German). Der Tagesspiegel. June 9, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Stolle, Hans (June 16, 2007). "10. Spieltag NFL Europa: Galaxy und Sea Devils im Finale um den World Bowl" (in German). Rheinische Post. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ World Bowl XV Media Guide.
- ^ "Honors handed out". NFLEurope.com. June 21, 2007. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2011.