NFL Europe: Rhein Fire Lose - Dallas Cowboys Forum

Hostile · 05-16-2004

**For those paying attention to our QB over there.**

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Thunder book spot in World Bowl XII

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May 16, 2004
NFL Europe

Berlin Thunder 33 Rhein Fire 20
Olympia Stadion, Berlin, Germany
Attendance: 15,429

Rohan Davey's two first half touchdown passes put Berlin on track to claim a World Bowl berth. photo: photo-stock.co.uk

Berlin became the first team in NFL Europe League history to clinch a World Bowl berth as early as Week 7 as they defeated the Rhein Fire 33-20 in another outstanding offensive performance.

The Thunder overcame their first loss of the season 28-27 in Week 6 against the Cologne Centurions with a faultless first half. Berlin scored 24 unanswered points to open the game, with quarterback Rohan Davey tossing two first half touchdowns before giving way to David Rivers at halftime.

Davey completed 16 of 27 passes for 242 yards, while Rhein's Chad Hutchinson hit on 26 of 42 passes for 305 yards. In a pass-oriented game, the two teams combined for 616 yards through the air. The Thunder also got 88 important yards from Eric McCoo, starting his first game of the season in place of Ray Jackson.

Berlin's aggressive defensive approach caused three Rhein Fire turnovers, and the Thunder capitalized on all of them.

The Fire scored a late touchdown on an 87-yard kickoff return by Green Bay Packers allocated wide receiver Shockmain Davis - his second of the year for Rhein.

The Thunder started the game looking like a team who knew that their destiny lay in their own hands. Davey drove his team fluidly downfield, completing his first four passes before Heinz Quast came on to the field to kick a 21-yard field goal for a 3-0 Berlin lead.

The Fire looked set to match Berlin's opening drive, making their way to the Thunder 32 yard line. However, the first real pressure of the game by the Thunder defensive front caused Hutchinson to fumble, with Corey Smith knocking the ball out of the Dallas Cowboys' hand and T.J. Bingham following up to recover the turnover.

The Thunder threatened to increase their lead early in the second quarter. After trying numerous deep throws against the right side of Rhein's secondary early in the game, Davey finally hooked up with Richard Alston on a 51-yard completion to take that ball inside the Fire 10 yard line. However, three incomplete passes meant that kicker Jonathan Ruffin was called into action, and a misunderstanding between kicker and holder on the field goal attempt meant that the Thunder squandered the scoring chance entirely.

The home team finally managed to make it into the end zone with five minutes remaining in the first half. Davey capped a seven play, 55 yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Pinkard to give the Thunder a 10-0 lead.

The Thunder took the game by the throat in the final minute of the second quarter. Davey got them inside the Fire 10 yard line with a 28-yard pass to Chas Gessner, and followed that by finding his fellow New England Patriots allocated player in the end zone for a score to make it 17-0 with one minute left on the clock.

The Fire managed to move the ball to the Berlin 34 in that time, but Mike Shafer's 51-yard field goal attempt fell short to preserve the Thunder's 17 point advantage at halftime. By the time two quarters had been played in this aerial assault the two teams had combined for 356 passing yards to just 13 yards on the ground.

The emphasis on the passing game continued on Rhein's opening drive of the second half. Hutchinson went to the air immediately, completing three straight passes before being picked off by Berlin cornerback James Thornton to hand possession to the Thunder.

Looking to even the imbalance between the rushing and passing stats, the Thunder kept it on the ground for the majority of their next drive, without losing any of their offensive spark. Eric McCoo had a 31-yard run to put the ball in Rhein territory, but the drive was finished through the air, with David Rivers in the game at quarterback hitting Aaron Boone for an 8-yard score to put them 24-0 ahead.

Rhein finally got onto the scoreboard when Joffrey Reynolds bowled into the end zone from a yard away to end a 59-yard drive that featured four completions from Hutchinson to his receivers. Ingo Andrebrugge's extra point made the score 24-7 to the Thunder.

National kicker Heinz Quast kicked four field goals for the Thunder. photo: photo-stock.co.uk
Berlin almost added to their lead on the next series engineered by David Rivers. First LaShaun Ward dropped a pass in the end zone, and then Jonathan Ruffin was wide left on a 44-yard field goal. However, they soon got the ball back after Brenden Givan forced and recovered a fumble by Shockmain Davis at Rhein's 38 yard line. From there the Thunder increased their lead to 27-7 with a successful 21-yard field goal by national kicker Quast with 11 minutes remaining.

Rhein struck back quickly to ensure that they stayed in the game. A beautifully flighted 37-yard completion from Hutchinson to Adam Herzing down the right sideline put the ball on the Thunder 4 yard line, and the Cowboys' quarterback rifled a score to tight end Daniel Wilcox to make it 27-13. Anderbrugge's extra point attempt was blocked by leaping national defensive end Christian Mohr.

Berlin's next drive ended in another Quast field goal as Rhein defense proved incapable of slowing them, and when the Dane kicked his fourth field goal with 1:48 remaining to make it 33-13, the game, and Berlin's World Bowl XII berth, seemed secure.

However, Shockmain Davis finally provided a spark for the Fire, taking the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for his second kickoff return touchdown of the season to make it 33-20, and the Fire recovered an onside kick to keep it exciting until the final gun.

TheHustler · 05-16-2004

26 of 42, 305 yards, at least 1 TD and 1 Int. not good enough....

sam · 05-16-2004

knocked the ball from Hutch's hands ,hem.

jdnalls · 05-16-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHustler

26 of 42, 305 yards, at least 1 TD and 1 Int. not good enough....

Cya Hutch. Let's face it you're not even an NFLE caliber Qb.

genghiskhan · 05-16-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHustler

26 of 42, 305 yards, at least 1 TD and 1 Int. not good enough....

The completion percentage and yards are pretty good. The fumble is a big, big problem, one that at this point I'm highly skeptical he'll ever correct. If he threw 3 or 4 touchdowns, we might be able to overlook it. But it seems he's still posting his typical 1 touchdown a game. As you said, not good enough.

My Problem Is Obvious · 05-16-2004

Hutch fumbles more than Edward Scissorhands in a ball bearing factory.

Hutch fumbles more than an octopus learning to juggle.

Hutch fumbles more than Captain Hook playing shortstop.

AdamJT13 · 05-16-2004

Hutchinson looked pretty good today (better than Davey, I thought). The interception Hutch threw skimmed through a receiver's hands and went right to a defensive back. On his fumble, a guy reached out and batted the ball out of his hands. It wasn't like most of his fumbles in 2002, when he'd drop the ball almost anytime he got hit. He took some shots in the game and never fumbled. Since his first couple of NFLE games, he has vastly improved at holding onto the ball when he gets hit. Throwing the ball, he looked as good as ever. And he was pretty good at moving around in the pocket, rolling out of the pocket and throwing on the run.

Erik_H · 05-16-2004

deleting this one

Erik_H · 05-16-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julius Jones

Hutch fumbles more than Edward Scissorhands in a ball bearing factory.

Hutch fumbles more than an octopus learning to juggle.

Hutch fumbles more than Captain Hook playing shortstop.

Not bad

Quote:

The Fire looked set to match Berlin's opening drive, making their way to the Thunder 32 yard line. However, the first real pressure of the game by the Thunder defensive front caused Hutchinson to fumble, with Corey Smith knocking the ball out of the Dallas Cowboys' hand and T.J. Bingham following up to recover the turnover.

I think this paragraph may just be the final nail in the Hutch coffin. I will admit to being hopeful last summer that he could get the problem corrected. I will also admit to giving up any thought that Hutch would be any good for us while watching him fumble in the pre-season against the Cards.

I had still held out hope that he could improve enough that we would be able to get SOMETHING in trade for him.

After reading this article, I have come to the final conclusion that he is a total waste of space.

Hostile · 05-16-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamJT13

Hutchinson looked pretty good today (better than Davey, I thought). The interception Hutch threw skimmed through a receiver's hands and went right to a defensive back. On his fumble, a guy reached out and batted the ball out of his hands. It wasn't like most of his fumbles in 2002, when he'd drop the ball almost anytime he got hit. He took some shots in the game and never fumbled. Since his first couple of NFLE games, he has vastly improved at holding onto the ball when he gets hit. Throwing the ball, he looked as good as ever. And he was pretty good at moving around in the pocket, rolling out of the pocket and throwing on the run.

Thanks for the report Adam. Because I have not seen the game myself I was curious. 26 of 42 for 305 doesn't sound bad at all.

My Problem Is Obvious · 05-16-2004

Hutch fumbles more than the Headless Horseman playing hot potato.

Hutch fumbles more than George W. Bush looking for evil-doers.

Hutch fumbles more than Tiki Barber at the WD-40 Company Flag Football Game.

jumanji · 05-16-2004

unlike most people who have already made up their mind on hutch, its nice to hear an objective point of view

Rack Bauer · 05-16-2004

Quote:

the first real pressure of the game by the Thunder defensive front caused Hutchinson to fumble

"Nobody it worth fumbles" - Bill Parcells.

Goodbye, Hutch. Not like you had a chance to make the roster this year anyway. I hope we can at least get a 7th for him.

Rude · 05-16-2004

Poor hutch, I was hoping he did good not for trade value but as a "decent" backup for the cowboys. And to think a lot of people here were thinking hutch was the second coming of Elway

Erik_H · 05-16-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamJT13

Hutchinson looked pretty good today (better than Davey, I thought). The interception Hutch threw skimmed through a receiver's hands and went right to a defensive back. On his fumble, a guy reached out and batted the ball out of his hands. It wasn't like most of his fumbles in 2002, when he'd drop the ball almost anytime he got hit. He took some shots in the game and never fumbled. Since his first couple of NFLE games, he has vastly improved at holding onto the ball when he gets hit. Throwing the ball, he looked as good as ever. And he was pretty good at moving around in the pocket, rolling out of the pocket and throwing on the run.

Thanks for the eyewitness report.

I read "hit and fumbled" and I just blank everyhting else out. thanks for the clarification.