2007 Rhein Fire season

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
Head coach	Rick Lantz
General manager	Sammy Schmale
Home field	LTU arena
Results
Record	4–6
Division place	4th
Playoff finish	did not qualify

Offseason

Free agent draft

2007 Rhein Fire NFLEL free agent draft selections

Draft 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

[2]

Personnel

Staff

2007 Rhein Fire staff

	Front office General Manager – Sammy Schmale Head coaches Head Coach – Rick Lantz Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Don Eck Quarterbacks – Gary Tranquill National Coach/Running Backs/Special Teams – Sascha Gehloff Wide Receivers – Nate Poole Tight Ends – Vince Marrow			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line – Larry New Linebackers – Bernardo Harris Defensive Backs – Stan Davis Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Nick Kolb

[3] [4]

Roster

2007 Rhein Fire roster

	Quarterbacks  5 Brett Elliott  3 Cody Pickett  4 Brian Wrobel Running backs 27 Charles Anthony 47 Jimmy Dixon FB 20 Michael Franklin 22 Taurean Henderson 24 Jacque Lewis 21 Gerald Riggs, Jr. 33 John David Washington Wide receivers 87 Cedric Bonner 81 J. J. Outlaw 83 Daunta Peterson 14 P. K. Sam 82 Lauren Williams Tight ends 85 Erik Jensen 80 Sean Mulcahy		Offensive linemen 79 Jesse Boone T 50 Jonathan Clinkscale C 71 Steve Franklin G 70 John Glass T 74 Peter Heyer G 78 Jimmy Martin T 75 Albert Toeaina T 76 Tavares Washington G Defensive linemen 98 Michael Bozeman DT 73 Ernest Jones DT 90 Matthew Rice DE 96 Brennan Schmidt DT 97 Derrick Strong DE 95 Zach Ville DE		Linebackers 44 Craig Bailey 45 Blake Costanzo OLB 57 Jamar Enzor OLB 52 Aaron Harris MLB 56 Travis Harris 55 Richard Koonce OLB 58 Derek Rehage Defensive backs 23 Calvin Carlyle S 26 Wale Dada CB 28 Jermaine Hardy S 31 Carlos Hendricks CB 25 Andrew Pace S Special teams  2 Danny Baugher P  9 Mark Brubaker K  6 Connor Hughes K 48 Brian Jordan LS		National players 86 Marvin Allen WR 54 Eduardo Castaneda LB 89 Iiro Luoto TE 92 Christian Mohr DE 66 David Odenthal C 91 Salomon Solano DT 40 Richard Yancy S Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	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

[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

Standings

NFL 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

[16]

Game summaries

Week 1: vs Berlin Thunder

Week One: Berlin Thunder at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	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

Week Two: Rhein Fire at Amsterdam Admirals – Game summary

	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

Week Three: Cologne Centurions at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	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

Week Four: Rhein Fire at Hamburg Sea Devils – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	3	6	0	9
Hamburg	7	10	14	3	34

at AOL Arena, Hamburg, Germany

• Date: Sunday, May 6
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 19,347
• [18]

Week 5: vs Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Five: Frankfurt Galaxy at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	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

Week Six: Rhein Fire at Cologne Centurions – Game summary

	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

Week Seven: Rhein Fire at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary

	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

Week Eight: Amsterdam Admirals at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	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

Week Nine: Rhein Fire at Berlin Thunder – Game summary

	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

Week Ten: Hamburg Sea Devils at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hamburg	3	7	7	0	17
Rhein	0	10	0	3	13

at LTU arena

• Date: Saturday, June 16
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 22,980
• [15][23]

Honors

• 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)

[24] [25]

Notes

1. All times are in Central European Summer Time (CEST).

References

1. Kuriloff, Aaron (June 29, 2007). "NFL Folds European League One Week After World Bowl Title Game". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
2. NFL Europa League (February 26, 2007). "Famous names called during NFL Europa Free Agent Draft" (Press release). Retrieved June 28, 2011.
3. Dinich, Heather (January 24, 2009). "BC hires Tranquill as O-coordinator". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
4. Hendricks, Martin (November 29, 2007). "Taking nothing for granted". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2012-06-25. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
5. NFL Europa League (April 10, 2007). "World Bowl Rematch Kicks Off 15th Season" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
6. NFL Europa League (April 17, 2007). "Early Start To Week Two" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
7. NFL Europa League (April 24, 2007). "Race for NFL Europa glory looks to be crowded" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
8. NFL Europa League (May 1, 2007). "Pace-setting Galaxy Visit Admirals; Centurions Lead Chasing Pack" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
9. NFL Europa League (May 8, 2007). "Everything To Play For As Season Approaches Halfway Mark" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. NFL Europa League (May 29, 2007). "Cologne Within Touching Distance Of World Bowl" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
13. NFL Europa League (June 5, 2007). "Galaxy One Win Away From Hosting World Bowl" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
14. 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.
15. Stolle, Hans (June 18, 2007). "Football: Der Abschied von Rhein Fire" (in German). Rheinische Post. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
16. "NFL Europa At A Glance". USA Today. June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
17. "American Football – NFL Europa: Frankfurt Galaxy nicht zu stoppen" (in German). Focus. SID. April 28, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
18. "Football: Sea Devils besiegen Rhein Fire in der AOL-Arena mit 34:9" (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. May 7, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
19. "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.
20. "NFL Europa: Frankfurt und Köln auf World-Bowl-Kurs" (in German). Rheinische Post. May 19, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
21. "7. Spieltag der NFL Europa: Spitzenkampf zwischen Galaxy und Centurions" (in German). Rheinische Post. May 26, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
22. "Football: Berlin Thunder enttäuscht" (in German). Der Tagesspiegel. June 9, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
23. 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.
24. World Bowl XV Media Guide.
25. "Honors handed out". NFLEurope.com. June 21, 2007. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2011.