2007 Hamburg Sea Devils season

The 2007 Hamburg Sea Devils season was the third and final season for the franchise in the NFL Europa League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Vince Martino in his first year, and played its home games at AOL Arena in Hamburg, Germany. They finished the regular season in first place with a record of seven wins and three losses. Hamburg won the first championship in team history by defeating the Frankfurt Galaxy 37–28. The National Football League (NFL) announced the closure of its European branch on June 29.[1]

2007 Hamburg Sea Devils season
General managerKathrin Platz
Head coachVince Martino
Home fieldAOL Arena
Results
Record7–3
Division place1st
Playoff finishWorld Bowl XV champions
Frankfurt at Hamburg, June 9, 2007

Offseason

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Free agent draft

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2007 Hamburg Sea Devils NFLEL free agent draft selections
Draft order Player name Position College
Round Choice
1 2 Quentin Griffin RB Oklahoma
2 8 Michael Harden CB Missouri
3 17 Cliff Washburn T Citadel
4 20 Gary Gibson DT Rutgers
5 29 Rashaun Woods WR Oklahoma State
6 32 Marcus Lawrence LB South Carolina
7 41 Bryan Watje TE San Jose State
8 44 Vernell Brown CB Florida
9 53 Mike Pinkard TE Arizona State
10 56 Javon Nanton DE Miami
11 65 Byron Hardmon LB Florida
12 68 Shawn Mayer S Penn State
13 77 Nick Hagemann T South Dakota
14 80 Michael Ford CB Duquesne
15 89 Tony Hollings RB Georgia Tech
16 92 Thomas Smith DT Pittsburgh
17 101 Justin Jenkins WR Mississippi State
18 104 Adam O’Connor G William & Mary
19 113 Robert Durham CB Tuskegee
20 116 Jason Peterson DE North Dakota
21 125 Ryan Hamby TE Ohio State
22 128 Charles Hall CB Southeastern Louisiana
23 132 Ezra Landry WR Southern
24 134 Kenny Kern LB Delaware State

[2]

Personnel

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Staff

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2007 Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europe) staff

Front office

  • General manager – Kathrin Platz

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Quarterbacks – Ron Hudson
  • Running backs – Shuan Fatah
  • National coach/wide receivers – Patrick Esume
  • Offensive line – Mike Malano
Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator/defensive backs – Dan Daniel
  • Defensive line – Mike Sinclair
  • Linebackers – Charles Jones
  • Assistant defensive backs – Dexter Davis

Special teams coaches

  • National coach/special teams coordinator – Patrick Esume

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Brent Rogers


Roster

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2007 Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europe) roster
Quarterbacks
  • 16 Mike McGann

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

  • 86 Mike Pinkard
Offensive linemen
  • 57 Adam O’Connor T
  • 74 Rod Olds G

Defensive linemen

  • 93 Nathaniel Adibi DE
  • 98 Thomas Smith DT
Linebackers
  • 58 James Hargrave OLB
  • 52 Kenny Kern MLB
  • 56 Barry Robertson MLB

Defensive backs

  • 39 Davon Telp CB
  • 28 John Walker S

Special teams

  • 17 Adam Anderson P
  • 89 Jacob Rice LS
National players
  • 77   Carl-Johan Blomvall C
  • 31   Ryota Hori S
  • 48   Jonathan Hurtado OLB


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 6:00 p.m. Cologne Centurions L 18–24 0–1 AOL Arena 20,887
2 Sunday, April 22 4:00 p.m. at Berlin Thunder W 16–7 1–1 Olympic Stadium 30,657
3 Saturday, April 28 7:00 p.m. at Frankfurt Galaxy L 17–20 1–2 Commerzbank-Arena 29,091
4 Sunday, May 6 4:00 p.m. Rhein Fire W 34–9 2–2 AOL Arena 19,347
5 Saturday, May 12 6:00 p.m. Amsterdam Admirals W 24–17 3–2 AOL Arena 15,271
6 Friday, May 18 8:00 p.m. at Amsterdam Admirals L 31–41 3–3 Amsterdam ArenA 9,384
7 Saturday, May 26 6:00 p.m. Berlin Thunder W 17–7 4–3 AOL Arena 18,337
8 Saturday, June 2 6:00 p.m. at Cologne Centurions W 21–7 5–3 RheinEnergieStadion 10,221
9 Saturday, June 9 6:00 p.m. Frankfurt Galaxy W 36–31 6–3 AOL Arena 30,528
10 Saturday, June 16 7:00 p.m. at Rhein Fire W 17–13 7–3 LTU arena 22,980
World Bowl XV
11 Saturday, June 23 7:00 p.m. Frankfurt Galaxy W 37–28 8–3 Commerzbank-Arena 48,125

[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

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

[16]

Game summaries

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Week 1: vs Cologne Centurions

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Week One: Cologne Centurions at Hamburg Sea Devils – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cologne 0 14 3724
Hamburg 6 0 6618

at AOL Arena, Hamburg, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, April 14
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 20,887
  • [17]

Week 2: at Berlin Thunder

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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: at Frankfurt Galaxy

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Week Three: Hamburg Sea Devils at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Hamburg 0 0 61117
Frankfurt 7 3 01020

at Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, April 28
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 29,091
  • [18]

Week 4: vs Rhein Fire

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Week Four: Rhein Fire at Hamburg Sea Devils – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rhein 0 3 609
Hamburg 7 10 14334

at AOL Arena, Hamburg, Germany

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

Week 5: vs Amsterdam Admirals

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Week Five: Amsterdam Admirals at Hamburg Sea Devils – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Amsterdam 0 0 14317
Hamburg 7 10 0724

at AOL Arena, Hamburg, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, May 12
  • Game time: 6:05 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 15,271
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad

Week 6: at Amsterdam Admirals

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Week Six: Hamburg Sea Devils at Amsterdam Admirals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Hamburg 0 10 71431
Amsterdam 7 20 7741

at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Date: Friday, May 18
  • Game time: 8:04 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 9,384
  • Referee: Alberto Riveron

Week 7: vs Berlin Thunder

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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
  • [20]

Week 8: at Cologne Centurions

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Week Eight: Hamburg Sea Devils at Cologne Centurions – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Hamburg 7 0 7721
Cologne 0 0 707

at RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, June 2
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 10,221
  • [21]

Week 9: vs Frankfurt Galaxy

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Week Nine: Frankfurt Galaxy at Hamburg Sea Devils – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Frankfurt 14 7 3731
Hamburg 10 14 3936

at AOL Arena, Hamburg, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, June 9
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 30,528
  • [22]

Week 10: at Rhein Fire

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Week Ten: Hamburg Sea Devils at Rhein Fire – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Hamburg 3 7 7017
Rhein 0 10 0313

at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, June 16
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 22,980
  • [13][23]

World Bowl XV

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World Bowl XV: Hamburg Sea Devils vs Frankfurt Galaxy – Game Summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Hamburg 13 10 7737
Frankfurt 0 14 14028

at Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany

Honors

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Throughout the course of the 10-week regular season, eight players earned player of the week accolades: Adam Anderson (special teams, Week 7), Casey Bramlet (offense, Week 4), Gary Gibson (defense, Week 4), Byron Hardmon (defense, Week 5), Ben Ishola (national, Weeks 2 and 8), Justin Jenkins (offense, Week 3), Scott McCready (national, Weeks 1, 4 and 10), and Rich Parson (special teams, Week 3).

After the completion of the regular season, the All-NFL Europa League team was selected by the NFLEL coaching staffs, members of a media panel and fans voting online at NFLEurope.com.[24] Overall, Hamburg had eight players selected. The selections were:

Head coach Vince Martino was named NFLEL Coach of the Year after leading his team to a first title game appearance in team history. Additionally, quarterback Casey Bramlet earned World Bowl MVP honors.

Notes

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  1. ^ All times are 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. ^ a b Stolle, Hans (June 18, 2007). "Football: Der Abschied von Rhein Fire" (in German). Rheinische Post. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  14. ^ NFL Europa League (June 18, 2007). "World Bowl XV Preview" (Press release). Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  15. ^ Carlson, Mike (June 24, 2007). "NFL Europe: Hamburg wins World Bowl". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  16. ^ "NFL Europa At A Glance". USA Today. June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  17. ^ "Hamburg Sea Devils vs. Cologne Centurions" (in German). schaudichan.com. April 14, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  18. ^ "American Football – NFL Europa: Frankfurt Galaxy nicht zu stoppen" (in German). Focus. SID. April 28, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  19. ^ "Football: Sea Devils besiegen Rhein Fire in der AOL-Arena mit 34:9" (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. May 7, 2007. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  20. ^ "7. Spieltag der NFL Europa: Spitzenkampf zwischen Galaxy und Centurions" (in German). Rheinische Post. May 26, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  21. ^ "American Football – NFL Europa: Galaxy nach Aufholjagd fast sicher im World Bowl" (in German). Focus. SID. June 2, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  22. ^ "American Football – NFL Europa: Hamburg Sea Devils übernehmen Tabellenspitze" (in German). Focus. SID. June 9, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 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. ^ "Honors handed out". NFLEurope.com. June 21, 2007. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2011.