2007 Berlin Thunder season

The 2007 Berlin Thunder season was the ninth and final season for the franchise in the NFL Europa League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach John Allen in his first year, and played its home games at Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. They finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of two wins and eight losses. The National Football League (NFL) announced the closure of its European branch on June 29.[1]

2007 Berlin Thunder season
General managerJoe Cealera
Head coachJohn Allen
Home fieldOlympic Stadium
Results
Record2–8
Division place6th
Playoff finishdid not qualify

Offseason

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Free agent draft

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2007 Berlin Thunder NFLEL free agent draft selections
Draft order Player name Position College
Round Choice
1 1 Chris Thompson CB Nicholls State
2 7 Lauvale Sape DT Utah
3 18 Seante Williams DE Jacksonville State
4 19 Jabari Levey T South Carolina
5 30 Chris Harrell CB Penn State
6 31 Matt Henshaw TE Florida State
7 42 Steve Paris S Iowa State
8 43 Damien Rhodes RB Syracuse
9 54 Keon Raymond CB Middle Tennessee
10 55 Quartez Vickerson DT Grand Valley State
11 66 Steven Vieira G UCLA
12 67 Samario Houston LB Catawba
13 78 Jameel Dumas LB Syracuse
14 79 Jay McCareins CB Princeton
15 90 Robin Meadow T Washington
16 91 Sha-Ron Edwards RB Illinois State
17 102 Bernard Opoku S Jacksonville
18 103 Bobby Payne DE Middle Tennessee
19 114 Daniel Martz C Alabama
20 115 Jason Flowers CB Toledo
21 126 Tim Clarke LB Lenoir–Rhyne
22 127 Mike Mendenhall DE Temple
23 133 Scott Mitchell WR Kentucky

[2]

Personnel

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Staff

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2007 Berlin Thunder staff

Front office

  • General manager – Joe Cealera

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • National coach/special teams coordinator – Wanja Müller

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Mike Berezowski


Roster

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2007 Berlin Thunder roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  • 34 Sha-ron Edwards
  • 25 Cal Murray
  • 32 Damien Rhodes

Wide receivers

  • 84 Rich Musinski

Tight ends

  • 49 Alex Shor
Offensive linemen
  • 65 Tyler McMeans G
  • 76 Steven Vieira T

Defensive linemen

  • 98 Jason Peterson DE
  • 99 Bryant Shaw DT
  • 96 Quartez Vickerson DT
Linebackers
  • 45 Tim Clarke OLB
  • 41 Tim Goodwell OLB
  • 58 Mike Mendenhall MLB
  • 55 Samario Houston OLB
  • 57 Dominique Sims LB

Defensive backs

  • 24 Dennis Davis CB
  • 22 Jason Flowers CB
  • 28 Steve Paris S
  • 31 Gerard Washington CB

Special teams

  • 40 Matt Guardia LS
  •  6 Andrew Jacas K
National players
  • 92   Patrick Finke DE
  • 29   Oliver Flemming S
  • 88   Alejandro Gamez WR
  • 66   Juan Garcia G
  • 18   Gustavo Tella WR


Rookies in italics

Schedule

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Week Date Kickoff [n 1] Opponent Results Game site Attendance
Final score Team record
1 Saturday, April 14 7:00 p.m. at Rhein Fire W 15–3 1–0 LTU arena 30,355
2 Sunday, April 22 4:00 p.m. Hamburg Sea Devils L 7–16 1–1 Olympic Stadium 30,657
3 Saturday, April 28 6:00 p.m. Amsterdam Admirals L 10–14 1–2 Olympic Stadium 11,942
4 Saturday, May 5 6:00 p.m. at Cologne Centurions W 31–28 2–2 RheinEnergieStadion 10,084
5 Sunday, May 13 4:00 p.m. Cologne Centurions L 10–24 2–3 Olympic Stadium 11,995
6 Sunday, May 20 5:00 p.m. at Frankfurt Galaxy L 7–35 2–4 Commerzbank-Arena 30,125
7 Saturday, May 26 6:00 p.m. at Hamburg Sea Devils L 7–17 2–5 AOL Arena 18,337
8 Saturday, June 2 6:00 p.m. Frankfurt Galaxy L 22–25 2–6 Olympic Stadium 11,882
9 Friday, June 8 7:00 p.m. Rhein Fire L 17–24 2–7 Olympic Stadium 12,114
10 Friday, June 15 8:00 p.m. at Amsterdam Admirals L 20–21 2–8 Olympic Stadium 11,893

[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Standings

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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

[14]

Game summaries

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Week 1: at Rhein Fire

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Week One: Berlin Thunder at Rhein Fire – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Berlin 0 4 4715
Rhein 0 3 003

at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany

Week 2: vs Hamburg Sea Devils

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Week Two: Hamburg Sea Devils at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Hamburg 0 10 3316
Berlin 0 0 077

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Sunday, April 22
  • Game time: 4:02 p.m. CEST
  • Game weather: 64 °F (17.8 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 30,657
  • Referee: Don Carey
  • TV announcers (NFL Network): Scott Graham and Doug Graber

Week 3: vs Amsterdam Admirals

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Week Three: Amsterdam Admirals at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Amsterdam 7 0 0714
Berlin 0 0 10010

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, April 28
  • Game time: 6:06 p.m. CEST
  • Game weather: 76 °F (24.4 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 11,942
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (DirecTV): Scott Graham and DeAngelo Hall

Week 4: at Cologne Centurions

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Week Four: Berlin Thunder at Cologne Centurions – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Berlin 0 14 31431
Cologne 14 14 0028

at RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, May 5
  • Game time: 6:07 p.m. CEST
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22.2 °C), mostly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 10,084
  • Referee: John Parry

Week 5: vs Cologne Centurions

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Week Five: Cologne Centurions at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cologne 7 3 14024
Berlin 3 0 0710

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Sunday, May 13
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 11.995
  • [15]

Week 6: at Frankfurt Galaxy

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Week Six: Berlin Thunder at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Berlin 0 7 007
Frankfurt 14 14 7035

at Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany

  • Date: Sunday, May 20
  • Game time: 5:00 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 30,125
  • [16]

Week 7: at Hamburg Sea Devils

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Week Seven: Berlin Thunder at Hamburg Sea Devils – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Berlin 3 4 007
Hamburg 0 3 01417

at AOL Arena, Hamburg, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, May 26
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 18,337
  • [17]

Week 8: vs Frankfurt Galaxy

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Week Eight: Frankfurt Galaxy at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Frankfurt 3 0 02225
Berlin 7 0 8722

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, June 2
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 11,882
  • [18]

Week 9: vs Rhein Fire

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Week Nine: Rhein Fire at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rhein 14 10 0024
Berlin 7 10 0017

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Friday, June 8
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 12,114
  • [19]

Week 10: at Amsterdam Admirals

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Week Ten: Berlin Thunder at Amsterdam Admirals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Berlin 3 10 7020
Amsterdam 0 7 01421

at Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Date: Friday, June 15
  • Game time: 8:07 p.m. CEST
  • Game weather: 70 °F (21.1 °C), partly cloudy, light rain
  • Game attendance: 11,893
  • Referee: Tom Symonette
  • TV announcers (NFL Network): Michael Reghi and Doug Graber

Honors

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  • Chris Barclay, Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 4)
  • Carlton Brewster, All-NFL Europa League team selection
  • Andrew Jacas, Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 1)
  • Chris Thompson, Defensive Player of the Week (Week 10)

[20] [21]

Notes

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

References

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  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. ^ NFL Europa League (April 10, 2007). "World Bowl Rematch Kicks Off 15th Season" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  4. ^ NFL Europa League (April 17, 2007). "Early Start To Week Two" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  5. ^ NFL Europa League (April 24, 2007). "Race for NFL Europa glory looks to be crowded" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  6. ^ NFL Europa League (May 1, 2007). "Pace-setting Galaxy Visit Admirals; Centurions Lead Chasing Pack" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  7. ^ NFL Europa League (May 8, 2007). "Everything To Play For As Season Approaches Halfway Mark" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ NFL Europa League (May 29, 2007). "Cologne Within Touching Distance Of World Bowl" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  11. ^ NFL Europa League (June 5, 2007). "Galaxy One Win Away From Hosting World Bowl" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Berlin Thunder verpasst fünften Platz" (in German). Rheinische Post. June 16, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  14. ^ "NFL Europa At A Glance". USA Today. June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  15. ^ "NFL Europa: Fire schlägt Galaxy" (in German). Rheinische Post. May 12, 2007. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  16. ^ "NFL Europa: Frankfurt und Köln auf World-Bowl-Kurs" (in German). Rheinische Post. May 19, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  17. ^ "7. Spieltag der NFL Europa: Spitzenkampf zwischen Galaxy und Centurions" (in German). Rheinische Post. May 26, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  18. ^ "Berlin Thunder vs. Frankfurt Galaxy" (in German). football-aktuell.de. May 26, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "Football: Berlin Thunder enttäuscht" (in German). Der Tagesspiegel. June 9, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  20. ^ World Bowl XV Media Guide.
  21. ^ "Honors handed out". NFLEurope.com. June 21, 2007. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2011.