2005 Rhein Fire season

The 2005 Rhein Fire season was the 11th season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Pete Kuharchek in his fifth year, and played its home games at the newly built LTU arena in Düsseldorf, Germany. They finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of three wins and seven losses.

2005 Rhein Fire season
Head coach	Pete Kuharchek
General manager	Sammy Schmale
Home field	LTU arena
Results
Record	3–7
Division place	6th
Playoff finish	did not qualify

Offseason

Free agent draft

2005 Rhein Fire NFLEL free agent draft selections

Draft order		Player name	Position	College
Round	Overall
1	2	Jason Rader	TE	Marshall
2	8	Jesse Mitchell	DT	Mississippi
3	17	Sean Guthrie	DE	Boston College
4	20	Brandon Rager	LB	San Diego State
5	29	Jeremy Phillips	T	Lenoir–Rhyne
6	32	Clarence LeBlanc	S	Louisiana State
7	41	Travis Carroll	LB	Florida

[1]

Personnel

Staff

2005 Rhein Fire staff

	Front office General Manager – Sammy Schmale Head coaches Head Coach – Pete Kuharchek Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Scott Milanovich Running Backs – Kevin O’Neal Wide Receivers – Alvin Harper Offensive Line – Jan Quarless			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs/Special Teams – Adrian White Defensive Line – Ken Clarke Linebackers – E. J. Junior National Coach/Defensive Backs – Sascha Gehloff Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Juney Barnett

Roster

2005 Rhein Fire roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Jason Fife  9 Andy Hall  7 Scott McBrien Running backs 30 Dahrran Diedrick 46 Joe Hall FB 28 Adam Matthews 21 Brandon Miree FB 37 Joe Smith Wide receivers 82 Nathan Black 88 Cedric Bonner 83 Cedric James 87 Glenn Martinez 81 Jeris McIntyre Tight ends 85 T. J. Cottrell 88 Marcus Helfman 45 Jason Rader		Offensive linemen 68 Bryan Anderson G/C 79 Brendan Darby T 76 Shawn Draper G/T 77 Matt Hill T 72 Matt Miller G 64 Steve Morley G/T 75 Morgan Pears T 62 Jeremy Phillips G 70 A. J. Ricker C Defensive linemen 91 Eddie Freeman DT 99 Sean Guthrie DE 95 Justin Montgomery DT 93 Greg Scott DT 97 Doug Sims DT 90 Derrick Strong DE 92 Demetrios Walker DE		Linebackers 54 Josh Buhl MLB 55 Travis Carroll OLB 50 Tony Gilbert MLB 52 Terrence Robinson OLB 57 Cabel Rohloff OLB 59 Edward Thomas OLB Defensive backs 24 Blue Adams CB 26 Jonathan Cox CB 41 Clarence Curry CB 29 Chris Day CB 35 Clarence LeBlanc S 25 Chazz Moore S 43 Keyon Nash S Special teams 13 Nick Setta K 15 Travis Dorsch P 89 Danny Young LS		National players 56 Richard Adjei LB 80 Alejandro Gamez WR 74 Peter Heyer G 44 Joakim Holm FB 71 Patrice Majondo-Mwamba DT 22 Laurent Marceline RB 27 Onoh Ozongwu S  2 Gustavo Tella WR 40 Richard Yancy S 94 Ulrich Winkler DE Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Kickoff [n 1]	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
				Final score	Team record
1	Saturday, April 2	7:00 p.m.	at Amsterdam Admirals	L 14–24	0–1	Amsterdam ArenA	10,234
2	Sunday, April 10	4:00 p.m.	Cologne Centurions	L 10–23	0–2	LTU arena	25,304
3	Saturday, April 16	7:00 p.m.	at Hamburg Sea Devils	L 24–31	0–3	AOL Arena	19,865
4	Saturday, April 23	7:00 p.m.	Berlin Thunder	L 28–30	0–4	LTU arena	20,399
5	Saturday, April 30	7:00 p.m.	at Frankfurt Galaxy	L 20–23	0–5	Waldstadion	27,439
6	Saturday, May 7	7:00 p.m.	Hamburg Sea Devils	W 24–19	1–5	LTU arena	18,632
7	Saturday, May 14	6:00 p.m.	at Berlin Thunder	L 15–24	1–6	Olympic Stadium	16,695
8	Saturday, May 21	7:00 p.m.	Frankfurt Galaxy	L 13–20	1–7	LTU arena	28,124
9	Sunday, May 29	4:00 p.m.	at Cologne Centurions	W 28–16	2–7	RheinEnergieStadion	32,521
10	Saturday, June 4	7:00 p.m.	Amsterdam Admirals	W 27–14	3–7	LTU arena	20,203

Standings

NFL Europe League
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	STK
Berlin Thunder	7	3	0	.700	241	191	4–1	3–2	L1
Amsterdam Admirals	6	4	0	.600	265	204	5–0	1–4	L1
Cologne Centurions	6	4	0	.600	188	212	3–2	3–2	W1
Hamburg Sea Devils	5	5	0	.500	213	196	4–1	1–4	W1
Frankfurt Galaxy	3	7	0	.300	163	246	2–3	1–4	L2
Rhein Fire	3	7	0	.300	203	224	2–3	1–4	W2

[2]

Game summaries

Week 1: at Amsterdam Admirals

Week One: Rhein Fire at Amsterdam Admirals – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	3	3	8	14
Amsterdam	7	0	3	14	24

at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands

• Date: Saturday, April 2
• Game time: 7:07 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 55 °F (12.8 °C), roof open, clear skies
• Game attendance: 10,234
• Referee: Walt Anderson

Week 2: vs Cologne Centurions

Week Two: Cologne Centurions at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cologne	6	3	7	7	23
Rhein	0	3	0	7	10

at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany

• Date: Sunday, April 10
• Game time: 4:04 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 48 °F (8.9 °C), roof closed
• Game attendance: 25,304
• Referee: Jerome Boger

Week 3: at Hamburg Sea Devils

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	0	7	17	24
Hamburg	10	21	0	0	31

at AOL Arena, Hamburg, Germany

• Date: Saturday, April 16
• Game time: 7:06 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 59 °F (15.0 °C), clear skies
• Game attendance: 19,865
• Referee: Alberto Riveron

Week 4: vs Berlin Thunder

Week Four: Berlin Thunder at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Berlin	7	7	0	16	30
Rhein	7	7	7	7	28

at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany

• Date: Saturday, April 23
• Game time: 7:04 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 58 °F (14.4 °C), roof open, sunny with clouds
• Game attendance: 20,399
• Referee: Carl Cheffers

Week 5: at Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Five: Rhein Fire at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	7	6	0	7	20
Frankfurt	0	7	9	7	23

at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany

• Date: Saturday, April 30
• Game time: 7:07 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 73 °F (22.8 °C), sunny
• Game attendance: 27,439
• Referee: Gerald Austin

Week 6: vs Hamburg Sea Devils

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hamburg	0	6	7	6	19
Rhein	7	7	10	0	24

at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany

• Date: Saturday, May 7
• Game time: 7:06 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 45 °F (7.28 °C), roof closed
• Game attendance: 18,632
• Referee: Craig Wrolstad

Week 7: at Berlin Thunder

Week Seven: Rhein Fire at Berlin Thunder – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	12	3	0	15
Berlin	0	10	7	7	24

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

• Date: Saturday, May 14
• Game time: 6:05 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C), cloudy with rain
• Game attendance: 16,695
• Referee: Gene Steratore

Week 8: vs Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Eight: Frankfurt Galaxy at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Frankfurt	7	10	3	0	20
Rhein	0	0	3	10	13

at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany

• Date: Saturday, May 21
• Game time: 7:06 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 61 °F (16.24 °C), cloudy
• Game attendance: 28,124
• Referee: Jerome Boger

Week 9: at Cologne Centurions

Week Nine: Rhein Fire at Cologne Centurions – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	14	7	7	28
Cologne	0	0	7	9	16

at RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany

• Date: Sunday, May 29
• Game time: 4:06 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 72 °F (22.4 °C), mostly cloudy
• Game attendance: 32,521
• Referee: Walt Coleman

Week 10: vs Amsterdam Admirals

Week Ten: Amsterdam Admirals at Rhein Fire – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Amsterdam	0	0	0	14	14
Rhein	0	10	3	14	27

at LTU arena, Düsseldorf, Germany

• Date: Saturday, June 4
• Game time: 7:08 p.m. CEST
• Game weather: 68 °F (20.16 °C), roof closed
• Game attendance: 20,203
• Referee: Gene Steratore

Notes

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

References

1. NFL Europe League (February 14, 2005). "NFL allocates record 265 to NFLEL" (Press release). Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
2. "2005 NFLE Standings". The Football Database. Retrieved March 10, 2013.