The 2011 Arena Football League season was the 24th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 11, 2011 and ended on July 23, 2011. The Jacksonville Sharks, in their second year of existence, defeated the Arizona Rattlers 73–70 in ArenaBowl XXIV on August 12, 2011 to conclude the playoffs.
League business
Teams Three franchises that competed in the 2008 season, the Philadelphia Soul, San Jose SaberCats, and Kansas City Command (formerly the Kansas City Brigade), returned to competition in the 2011 season, after an announcement made on June 19, 2010.
Two teams that competed in 2010 relocated and have assumed the history of former AFL franchises. It was announced on August 21, 2010 that the Alabama Vipers would become the Georgia Force, and on September 14, 2010 it was revealed that the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings would become the New Orleans VooDoo.
The Milwaukee Iron officially changed its name to the Milwaukee Mustangs on January 27, 2011, taking the name of the original franchise.
The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was awarded an expansion team on August 20, 2010. The team, named the Pittsburgh Power, was the first AFL team to call Pittsburgh home since the Pittsburgh Gladiators, one of the league's four original franchises. The Gladiators moved to Tampa, Florida and became the Tampa Bay Storm after the 1990 season.
The only team that did not return from the 2010 season was the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. Owner Phil Miller made the announcement on October 21, 2010, citing an inability to find minority investors as one reason for the decision to not compete.
Realignment With several teams relocating, returning, or leaving, the AFL announced the divisional alignment for 2011 on October 21, 2010. Both conferences each had nine teams placed in two divisions.
Conference Division Teams American East Cleveland Gladiators, Milwaukee Mustangs, Philadelphia Soul, Pittsburgh Power South Georgia Force, Jacksonville Sharks, New Orleans VooDoo, Orlando Predators, Tampa Bay Storm National Central Chicago Rush, Dallas Vigilantes, Iowa Barnstormers, Kansas City Command, Tulsa Talons West Arizona Rattlers, San Jose SaberCats, Spokane Shock, Utah Blaze
Regular season schedule Each team played an 18-game regular season with two bye weeks over the course of 20 weeks, making it the longest schedule in the history of the league. The first game of the season was played on March 11, 2011. The Pittsburgh Power began their inaugural season against the Philadelphia Soul, who played their first game since winning ArenaBowl XXII in 2008.
On July 9, the Spokane Shock and Utah Blaze played in a game billed as the "Joe Albi Stadium Summer Classic". The game was played outdoors at Joe Albi Stadium under normal arena football rules.
Regular season standings American Conference East DivisionTeam(2) Cleveland Gladiators1089048424–26–57–23–6Pittsburgh Power998709724–25–65–44–5Milwaukee Mustangs7118728671–53–84–53–6Philadelphia Soul6129149693–35–64–52–7 South DivisionTeam(1) Jacksonville Sharks14411589088–012–08–16–3(3) Georgia Force11710079315–37–55–46–3(4) Orlando Predators11710019334–48–46–35–4Tampa Bay Storm7118029932–64–84–53–6New Orleans VooDoo31582610171–72–100–93–6 National Conference Central DivisionTeam(2) Chicago Rush1359578336–29–37–26–3(3) Dallas Vigilantes117106110076–27–56–35–4Tulsa Talons8108948993–54–74–54–5Kansas City Command6128549743–54–94–42–7Iowa Barnstormers51391611162–65–74–51–8 West DivisionTeam(1) Arizona Rattlers16211148365–19–28–18–1(4) Spokane Shock99105710273–36–57–22–7Utah Blaze99108211172–44–77–22–7San Jose SaberCats711102210802–44–76–31–8 Eight teams qualify for the playoffs: four teams from each conference, of which two are division champions and the other two have the best records of the teams remaining. Green indicates clinched playoff berth Blue indicates division champion Gray indicates division champion and conference's best record
Tie-breakers Georgia clinched the No. 3 seed in the American Conference based on their greater point differential in head-to-head competition with Orlando. Spokane clinched the No. 4 seed in the National Conference based on their greater point differential in head-to-head competition with Utah.
Statistics Final statistics2011 Arena Football League Extended Individual Statistics
Passing Player Comp. Att. Comp% Yards TD's INT's RatingNick Davila, ARZ 427 604 70.7% 4,916 117 10 127.6Aaron Garcia, JAX 402 562 71.5% 4,953 116 17 125.4Nick Hill, ORL 387 578 67.0% 4,758 97 17 119.5Tommy Grady, UTA 383 583 65.7% 4,368 107 12 119.1Dan Raudabaugh, DAL 360 587 64.6% 4,741 90 17 118.3
Rushing Player Car. Yards Avg. TD's LongDerrick Ross, DAL 167 622 3.7 39 37Nick Hill, ORL 391 275 4.9 9 39Johnnie Kirton, CHI 366 209 3.2 14 15Bobby Reid, TUL 31 314 10.1 13 39Bernard Morris, PIT 46 312 6.8 4 43
Receiving Player Rec. Yards YPG TD's LongAnthony Jones, DAL 171 2,232 124.0 42 43Donovan Morgan, PHI 168 1,959 122.4 37 46Jesse Schmidt, IOW 130 2,171 120.6 55 43Troy McBroom, TUL 121 1,747 116.5 31 44Rod Windsor, ARZ 156 1,830 114.4 36 44
Awards
All-Arena team
OffensePositionFirst teamSecond teamQuarterbackAaron Garcia, JacksonvilleNick Davila, ArizonaFullbackDerrick Ross, DallasChad Cook, San JoseCenterRandy Degg, JacksonvilleBrennan Carvalho, ArizonaOffensive linemanAdam Tadisch, ClevelandRichard Ranglin, Kansas CityMark Lewis, San JoseDevin Clark, ArizonaWide receiverRod Windsor, ArizonaAnthony Jones, DallasJesse Schmidt, IowaMaurice Purify, GeorgiaDonovan Morgan, PhiladelphiaReggie Gray, Chicago DefensePositionFirst teamSecond teamDefensive linemanAnttaj Hawthorne, ArizonaTim McGill, Tampa BayCaesar Rayford, UtahDusty Bear, DallasDerrick Summers, JacksonvilleMike Lewis, UtahMiddle linebackerCliff Dukes, Tampa BayTim Cheatwood, ClevelandJack linebackerKelvin Morris, ChicagoMarlon Moye-Moore, OrlandoDefensive backRayshaun Kizer, OrlandoMicheaux Robinson, JacksonvilleVic Hall, ChicagoAndre Jones, MilwaukeeVirgil Gray, ArizonaJ.C. Neal, Tulsa Special teamsPositionFirst teamSecond teamKickerCarlos Martinez, GeorgiaFabrizio Scaccia, ArizonaKick returnerPJ Berry, New OrleansVirgil Gray, Arizona
All-Ironman team On August 8, 2011, the All-Ironman team was announced, with P. J. Berry of the New Orleans VooDoo being named the Ironman of the Year.
Player Position Team P. J. Berry WR/KR New Orleans VooDoo Reggie Gray WR/KR Chicago Rush Jeff Hughley WR/KR Jacksonville Sharks C.J. Johnson WR/KR Georgia Force Marlon Moye-Moore FB/LB Orlando Predators Jason Simpson DB/KR Chicago Rush
Playoffs
Conference semifinals Conference Date Kickoff Away Home Final score Game site Recap American July 29 8:00 p.m. EDT Orlando Predators Jacksonville Sharks Jacksonville, 63–48 Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena National July 29 8:30 p.m. EDT Dallas Vigilantes Chicago Rush Chicago, 54–51 Allstate Arena National July 29 10:00 p.m. EDT Spokane Shock Arizona Rattlers Arizona, 62–33 US Airways Center American July 31 3:00 p.m. EDT Georgia Force Cleveland Gladiators Georgia, 50–41 Quicken Loans Arena
Conference finals Conference Date Kickoff Away Home Final score Game site Recap National August 6 10:00 p.m. EDT Chicago Rush Arizona Rattlers Arizona, 54–48 US Airways Center American August 8 8:00 p.m. EDT Georgia Force Jacksonville Sharks Jacksonville, 64–55 Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
ArenaBowl XXIV Date Kickoff Away Home Final score Game site Recap August 12 8:30 p.m. EDT Jacksonville Sharks Arizona Rattlers Jacksonville, 73–70 US Airways Center
References