NFLEL names All-League team, MVPs
May 25, 2006 - National Football League Europa (NFLE) News Release
THE two competing teams in Yello Strom World Bowl XIV in Düsseldorf on Saturday, the Amsterdam Admirals and Frankfurt Galaxy, have picked up prizes as the individual honors for the 2006 NFL Europe League season are handed out.
Admirals quarterback GIBRAN HAMDAN and defensive tackle TONY BROWN have been named as the Offensive and Co-Defensive MVPs respectively, while Galaxy head coach MIKE JONES has been selected as NFLEL Coach of the Year.
And a piece of NFLEL history was made with the Cologne Centurions' French linebacker PHILIPPE GARDENT becoming the first national player to win an MVP award when he was named as Co-Defensive MVP.
The award winners were announced in conjunction with the naming of the 2006 All-NFLEL team, in which Amsterdam led the way with eight representatives, followed by World Bowl rival Frankfurt Galaxy with five, Cologne Centurions and Rhein Fire (four) and Berlin Thunder and Hamburg Sea Devils (three).
Hamdan, in his third season with the Admirals and allocated by the Seattle Seahawks, set an NFLEL record by posting a passer rating of 113.4, leading his team to a 6-1 record before suffering a season-ending injury. He completed 102 of 162 passes for a league-leading 1,629 yards with 12 touchdowns. In the Week 3 contest against Frankfurt he became only the second quarterback in league history to post a perfect 158.3 rating.
Brown, allocated by the Carolina Panthers, became the third player in NFLEL history to win Defensive MVP honors despite not being voted to the All-NFLEL team. Brown posted 4 sacks and 40 tackles during the season.
Gardent, in his fourth season in the NFLEL and second with Cologne, led the league with 70 tackles after winning a spot as a starting linebacker. A former player for the French national champions Argonautes d'Aix en Provence, he was one of two national players to earn places as position players in the All-NFLEL team. The special teams position went to the Admirals' Japanese wide receiver NORIAKI KINOSHITA, who posted a 27.9-yard kickoff return average.
Jones earned his first Coach of the Year prize after a season in which the Galaxy tied the franchise record by posting a 7-3 mark, clinching a World Bowl berth with a Week 10 win against the Berlin Thunder. Jones, who also qualified for World Bowl in 2004, led a Frankfurt team that became only the second in league history to league the lead in both offense and defense.
The All-NFLEL team - voted for by the NFLEL coaching staffs, members of a media panel and fans voting online at NFLEurope.com - saw Amsterdam place five players on offense. As well as Hamdan, there were selections for wide receivers SKYLER FULTON and CHAD LUCAS and offensive linemen TYLER LENDA and JEFF ROEHL.
The position of running back on the team went to Frankfurt's ROGER ROBINSON after setting a single-season NFLEL record with 1,087 rushing yards. The offensive national spot went to Hamburg Sea Devils wide receiver SCOTT McCREADY, who earned his fourth All-NFLEL selection, having been chosen in 2002, 2004 and 2005.
On defense, there were places for Galaxy duo JEROME NICHOLS, who led the league with 6 sacks, and safety BRANDON HAW, the league leader with 5 interceptions. The national positon went to Berlin Thunder defensive end CHRISTIAN MOHR for the second straight season.
All-NFLEL team and award winners follow...
NFL EUROPE LEAGUE HONORS 2006
COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Jones (Frankfurt Galaxy)
OFFENSIVE MVP (Selected by the NFL Europe head coaches)
Gibran Hamdan (QB, Amsterdam Admirals)
CO-DEFENSIVE MVPs (Selected by the NFL Europe head coaches)
Tony Brown (DT, Amsterdam Admirals)
Philippe Gardent (LB, Cologne Centurions)
ALL-NFL EUROPE LEAGUE TEAM
(Selected by the NFLEL coaching staffs, media
and by fans voting online at NFLeurope.com)
OFFENSE DEFENSE
QB Gibran Hamdan (Amsterdam) DE Scott Scharff (Hamburg)
RB Roger Robinson (Frankfurt) DT Jerome Nichols (Frankfurt)
WR Skyler Fulton (Amsterdam) DT Bryan Save (Cologne)
WR Chad Lucas (Amsterdam) DE Derrick Strong (Rhein)
WR Aaron Hosack (Frankfurt) LB Terrence Robinson (Rhein)
TE Aaron Halterman (Rhein) LB Derrick Ballard (Amsterdam)
T Will Svitek (Frankfurt) LB Philippe Gardent (Cologne)
G Erik Pears (Cologne) CB Rayshun Reed (Hamburg)
C Tyler Lenda (Amsterdam) S Brandon Haw (Frankfurt)
G Chad Beasley (Berlin) S Anthony Floyd (Berlin)
T Jeff Roehl (Amsterdam) CB Ronyell Whitaker (Rhein)
Nat. Scott McCready (Hamburg) * Nat. Christian Mohr (Berlin) **
K Ryan Killeen (Amsterdam) P Gabe Lindstrom (Cologne)
ST Noriaki Kinoshita (Amsterdam)
(Nat - National player; ST - Special Teams player)
* Selected in 2002, 2004, 2005
** Selected in 2005
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