2004 Berlin Thunder season
General managerMichael Lang
Head coachRick Lantz
Home fieldOlympic Stadium
Results
Record9–1
Division place1st
Playoff finishWorld Bowl XII champion

The 2004 Berlin Thunder season was the sixth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Rick Lantz in his first year, and played its home games at Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. They finished the regular season in first place with a record of nine wins and one loss. In World Bowl XII, Berlin defeated the Frankfurt Galaxy 30–24. The victory marked the franchise's third World Bowl championship.

Offseason

Free agent draft

2004 Berlin Thunder NFLEL free agent draft selections
Draft order Player name Position College
Round Choice
1 1 James Thornton CB Morris Brown
2 7 T. J. Bingham DE Ouichita Baptist
3 18 Yubrenal Isabelle LB Virginia
4 19 Troy Andrew G Duke
5 30 DeShaun Hill S USC
6 31 DeVonte Peterson DT Catawba
7 42 Dwayne Pierce G LSU
9 43 Mike Malan FB Brown
9 54 Oliver Celestin S Texas Southern
10 55 Keith Heyward-Johnson CB Oregon State
11 66 Jeff Grzeskowiak T Akron
12 67 Michael Jennings WR Florida State

[1]

Personnel

Staff

2004 Berlin Thunder staff
Front office
  • General manager – Michael Lang

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Martin Streight

Roster

2004 Berlin Thunder roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers
  • 54 Kevin DeRonde OLB
  • 53 Lawrence Flugence OLB
  • 56 Brenden Givan MLB
  • 57 Jason Kazar OLB

Defensive backs

Special teams

National players


Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week Date Kickoff [n 1] Opponent Results Game site Attendance
Final score Team record
1 Sunday, April 4 4:00 p.m. Scottish Claymores W 20–14 1–0 Olympic Stadium 14,257
2 Saturday, April 10 7:00 p.m. at Amsterdam Admirals W 28–17 2–0 Amsterdam ArenA 10,763
3 Sunday, April 18 4:00 p.m. Cologne Centurions W 35–31 3–0 Olympic Stadium 12,036
4 Saturday, April 24 7:00 p.m. at Rhein Fire W 14–10 4–0 Arena AufSchalke 20,242
5 Sunday, May 2 4:00 p.m. Amsterdam Admirals W 33–29 5–0 Olympic Stadium 12,909
6 Saturday, May 8 7:00 p.m. at Cologne Centurions L 27–28 5–1 RheinEnergieStadion 10,164
7 Sunday, May 16 4:00 p.m. Rhein Fire W 33–20 6–1 Olympic Stadium 15,429
8 Saturday, May 22 7:00 p.m. at Frankfurt Galaxy W 31–27 7–1 Waldstadion 30,812
9 Saturday, May 29 2:00 p.m. at Scottish Claymores W 27–19 8–1 Hampden Park 9,153
10 Sunday, June 6 4:00 p.m. Frankfurt Galaxy W 41–0 9–1 Olympic Stadium 19,175
World Bowl XII
11 Saturday, June 12 6:00 p.m. Frankfurt Galaxy W 30–24 10–1 Arena AufSchalke 35,413

[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Standings

NFL Europe League
Team W L T PCT PF PA Home Road STK
Berlin Thunder 9 1 0 .900 289 195 5–0 4–1 W4
Frankfurt Galaxy 7 3 0 .700 212 192 4–1 3–2 L1
Amsterdam Admirals 5 5 0 .500 173 191 3–2 2–3 W2
Cologne Centurions 4 6 0 .400 191 201 3–2 1–4 W1
Rhein Fire 3 7 0 .300 161 178 3–2 0–5 L4
Scottish Claymores 2 8 0 .200 128 197 1–4 1–4 L2

[13]

Game summaries

Week 1: vs Scottish Claymores

Week One: Scottish Claymores at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Scotland 0 7 0714
Berlin 0 10 7320

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Sunday, April 4
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 14,257
  • Referee: Gerald Austin

Week 2: at Amsterdam Admirals

Week Two: Berlin Thunder at Amsterdam Admirals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Berlin 0 7 14728
Amsterdam 0 10 0717

at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Date: Saturday, April 10
  • Game time: 7:07 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 10,763
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers

Week 3: vs Cologne Centurions

Week Three: Cologne Centurions at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cologne 7 14 3731
Berlin 21 7 7035

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Sunday, April 18
  • Game time: 4:06 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 12,036
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich

Week 4: at Rhein Fire

Week Four: Berlin Thunder at Rhein Fire – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Berlin 0 0 01414
Rhein 7 3 0010

at Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, April 24
  • Game time: 7:04 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 20,242
  • Referee: Gene Steratore

Week 5: vs Amsterdam Admirals

Week Five: Amsterdam Admirals at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Amsterdam 0 7 71529
Berlin 0 12 71433

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Sunday, May 2
  • Game time: 4:06 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 12,909
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli

Week 6: at Cologne Centurions

Week Six: Berlin Thunder at Cologne Centurions – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Berlin 7 7 01327
Cologne 14 0 7728

at RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, May 8
  • Game time: 7:04 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 10,164
  • Referee: John Parry

Week 7: vs Rhein Fire

Week Seven: Rhein Fire at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Rhein 0 0 71320
Berlin 3 14 7933

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Sunday, May 16
  • Game time: 4:06 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 15,429
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers

Week 8: at Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Eight: Berlin Thunder at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Berlin 10 7 7731
Frankfurt 0 20 7027

at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, May 22
  • Game time: 7:08 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 30,812
  • Referee: Gerald Austin

Week 9: at Scottish Claymores

Week Nine: Berlin Thunder at Scottish Claymores – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Berlin 0 6 71427
Scotland 10 3 3319

at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland

  • Date: Saturday, May 29
  • Game time: 2:05 p.m. BST
  • Game attendance: 9,153
  • Referee: Walt Anderson

Week 10: vs Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Ten: Frankfurt Galaxy at Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Frankfurt 0 0 000
Berlin 3 17 71441

at Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany

  • Date: Sunday, June 6
  • Game time: 4:15 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 19,175
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich

World Bowl XII

Main article: World Bowl XII
World Bowl XII: Frankfurt Galaxy vs Berlin Thunder – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Frankfurt 3 7 01424
Berlin 7 3 13730

at Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, June 12
  • Game time: 6:06 p.m. CEST
  • Game weather: 60 °F (15.6 °C), roof closed
  • Game attendance: 35,413
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (FOX): Curt Menefee and Brian Baldinger

Notes

  1. ^ All times local to where the game was played.

References

  1. ^ NFL Europe League (February 8, 2004). "Thornton first selection in Free Agent Draft" (Press release). Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  2. ^ NFL Europe League (March 29, 2004). "Champs kick off 12th season" (Press release). Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  3. ^ NFL Europe League (April 7, 2004). "NFLEL season rolls on as Week 1 winners face teams looking for first victory of new campaign" (Press release). Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  4. ^ NFL Europe League (April 13, 2004). "Unbeaten rivals clash in Week 3" (Press release). Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  5. ^ NFL Europe League (April 20, 2004). "Thunder and Galaxy look to break free from pack" (Press release). Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  6. ^ NFL Europe League (April 27, 2004). "Undefeated Thunder on top as season approaches halfway point" (Press release). Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  7. ^ NFL Europe League (May 4, 2004). "Galaxy, Thunder clear of chasing pack as season's second half kicks off" (Press release). Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  8. ^ NFL Europe League (May 11, 2004). "Thunder one victory away from World Bowl berth" (Press release). Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  9. ^ NFL Europe League (May 18, 2004). "Thunder clinches World Bowl berth" (Press release). Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  10. ^ NFL Europe League (May 25, 2004). "Galaxy reaches World Bowl for sixth time" (Press release). Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  11. ^ NFL Europe League (June 1, 2004). "World Bowl foes meet in regular season finale" (Press release). Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  12. ^ NFL Europe League (June 7, 2004). "Thunder, Galaxy bid to make NFLE history on 'Night of the Last Fight'" (Press release). Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  13. ^ "2004 NFLE Standings". The Football Database. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
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