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Repeat winners as Davey, Jackson and Heckenbach earn Player of Week awards

April 20, 2004 - National Football League Europa (NFLE) News Release

THREE players have scooped Player of the Week awards for the second time in the opening month of the 2004 NFL Europe League season following standout performances in Week 3.

Quarterback ROHAN DAVEY (New England Patriots) was named Offensive Player of Week 3 as he led the Berlin Thunder to a 35-31 defeat of the Cologne Centurions by completing 19 of 27 passes for 279 yards and 4 touchdowns for a 127.9 passer rating.

Davey became the first quarterback since KERWIN BELL (Orlando Thunder 1991) to win two Player of the Week awards in the opening three weeks of a season. The Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots in 2003 also earned Player of the Week honors in Week 2 when he led the Thunder to victory in Amsterdam.

Through the opening three games of the 2004 NFLEL season, Davey has compiled a league-leading passer rating of 122.8 - that is the highest mark of any quarterback in NFLEL history through three weeks of play, surpassing the efforts of NFL quarterbacks such as KURT WARNER (105. 7 rating for Amsterdam 1998) and JON KITNA (93.2 for Barcelona 1997).

Thunder head coach RICK LANTZ said: "Rohan Davey is just outstanding and he had a big-time football game against Cologne on Sunday. He is the complete package at quarterback and he is always in command. If he continues to play this way, we will keep winning."

Defensive Player of the Week honors went to Frankfurt Galaxy defensive end COREY JACKSON (Cleveland Browns), who helped his team record a 28-10 victory over the Rhein Fire to go 3-0 for the third year in a row. Jackson - who was named Defensive Player of Week 1 - recorded 4 tackles, 2 sacks and knocked down a pass against the Fire and he now leads NFL Europe with 5 sacks in three games. He has also recorded 10 tackles and forced a fumble.

Amsterdam kicker TODD SIEVERS (Houston Texans) earned Special Teams Player of the Week recognition after his 44-yard field goal gave the Admirals their first win of the 2004 season, 3-0 in Scotland.

Sievers is the leading American kicker in NFL Europe this season, scoring 11 points in three games, having connected on 3 of 6 field goals and 2 of 2 PATs.

For the second week in a row, Berlin Thunder German wide receiver JÖRG HECKENBACH was named National Player of the Week. In helping the Thunder record a 35-31 victory over the Centurions, Heckenbach caught 3 passes for 41 yards and scored on an 8-yard touchdown strike from Davey.

In the first three games of 2004, Heckenbach has scored 3 touchdowns, matching his career total heading into this season. He is the club's all-time leading receiver with 67 catches after adding 5 receptions for 136 yards and 3 touchdowns this season.

Heckenbach - who spent the summer of 2003 in training camp with the Green Bay Packers - has a receiving average of 27.2 yards per catch this season (highest among receivers in NFL Europe with more than one reception).

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National Football League Europa Stories from April 20, 2004

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