2011 AFL Season Recap

The 2011 AFL season was one for the record books due to the new 18-game schedule and incredible team and individual performances. With all of the new records set this season, the most impressive feat was from 17-year AFL veteran Aaron Garcia and the Jacksonville Sharks. At the age of 40, Garcia had one of his best regular seasons, throwing 116 touchdowns, one away from the AFL record previously set by Chris Griesen in 2010 and Nick Davila this season. In Week 8, Garcia connected with Jeron Harvey on a 9-yard pass that earned him 1,000 touchdown passes in his AFL career. That achievement had never been accomplished by any quarterback in professional football. The Sharks also made history by topping the single season win streak record with 13 consecutive victories, passing San Jose’s mark in 2002 who had won 12 straight.  Jacksonville held the top spot in the Coaches’ Poll for nine consecutive weeks and dominated American Conference opponents, going 12-0.

With all that being said about the Sharks, the Arizona Rattlers finished the season with a better record and appeared to be the favorites heading into the playoffs. Rattlers quarterback Nick Davila showcased precise and big play ability during the regular season, after leading the League in pass efficiency (127.6) and tossing a League leading and AFL-tying 117 touchdown passes. The Rattlers finished the regular season at 16-2 with a great mixture of a consistent and playmaking offense and ball swarming defense. Arizona also featured DB/KR Virgil Gray in the return game who showcased big play ability that made Arizona nearly impossible to beat. 

The 2011 season also displayed some incredible individual performances in all areas of the game.  Kick return specialist and wide receiver PJ Berry broke the previous all purpose yards record in a season, after recording 3,708. The mark was previously held by Antonio Chatman in 2003 with Chicago. Fullback Derrick Ross passed a number of rushing records in only his rookie season. Ross rushed for 39 touchdowns and 622-yards in a League that depends heavily on passing.  Cornerbacks Vic Hall and Rayshaun Kizer earned first and second place for Most Interceptions in a Season. In Kizer’s final game in the regular season, he notched his 16^th interception of the year. Hall recorded 15 interceptions, but due to injuries, only played 13 games during the regular season. Jacksonville Sharks cornerback Micheaux Robinson also recorded an incredible season after setting a new AFL record with 46 pass breakups. The receiver position also featured some top notch individual efforts in 2011. 38 receivers collected over 1,000 receiving yards, while eight teams featured three receivers with over 1,000-yards in the season. Both milestones were League records.  

While many individual records were broken in 2011, a number of team accomplishments were reached. The Chicago Rush broke the Single Season Record for takeaways at 55 and interceptions with 41. The Rattlers, SaberCats and Blaze all shattered the First Down Single Season record, previously held by Cleveland. San Jose recorded 427 first downs, while Arizona and Utah finished with 425 during the regular season. The Tampa Bay Storm franchise also set a new mark after notching 40 sacks. Storm defensive lineman Cliff Dukes was the catalyst on defense, leading the League in sacks for the entire season. The Mustangs finished the 2011 regular season with a disappointing 7-11 record, but did manage to tally 10 interceptions for touchdowns, which is a new AFL record.

Another reason for an exciting 2011 season was due to the high level of competition throughout the League.  Both playoff races in each conference came down to the wire with exciting finishes. The Sharks finished the regular season at 14-4 and earned home field advantage throughout the American Conference Playoffs. The Cleveland Gladiators closed out their regular season with a 10-8 record and their first ever East Division title. The division crown came down to a Week 19 matchup between the Gladiators and Pittsburgh Power in Cleveland. Bernard Morris and the Power fought valiantly, but fell short 67-55. The two wild cards in the American Conference came out of the South Division, with the 11-7 Georgia Force and Orlando Predators. The seeding came down to the final week, with the Force owning the tiebreaker due to a better point differential in their head-to-head matchups. While these four teams had very successful seasons, other American Conference teams struggled and did not live up to expectations. The Tampa Bay Storm, who reached last year’s ArenaBowl, struggled in 2011. The Storm finished the regular season 7-11 and fourth within their division. Another team with a lot of hype heading into the season was the Philadelphia Soul. The Soul were returning to the AFL after winning the ArenaBowl in 2008. However a mixture of injuries and inconsistent play led the Soul to a 6-12 record.

The National Conference also had incredible teams and matchups during the regular season. The Central Division race came down to the wire with the Chicago Rush and Dallas Vigilantes battling it out for the title. Due to a Week 19 Rush victory, Chicago earned the Central Division title with a 13-5 record. Chicago featured a number of different quarterbacks throughout the season, but was able to stay consistent. The Dallas Vigilantes also played very well during the regular season, with impressive performances from rookie quarterback Dan Raudabaugh and veteran wide receiver Tiger Jones. The Vigilantes ended the season at 11-7 and earned the number three seed heading into the postseason. Going into the final few weeks, the race for the four seed in the National Conference displayed four teams with a decent chance of reaching the postseason. However, the defending ArenaBowl Champions, Spokane Shock, squeaked into the playoffs with a 9-9 record. The Shock were plagued with injury issues throughout the entire season, but a late season run pushed them into playoff mode. The Utah Blaze barely missed the playoffs after going 9-9, losing the tiebreaker to the Shock. The Tulsa Talons and San Jose SaberCats also finished very close to the playoffs but fell short.

The 2011 AFL season also had some interesting coaching story lines as well. Head Coaches such as Vigilantes Clint Dolezel, Power’s Chris Siegfried and Rush’s Bob McMillen all stepped in to new coaching roles and succeeded in the first season. Other coaches were not able to find success and struggled during the 2011 season.

Even with the troubling times for certain teams, the 2011 season was full of excitement because of the high level of competition. The League always prided itself on consistent competition and unpredictable moments throughout games and keeps those same aspirations for the future.