Orlando Rage

Last updated

Orlando Rage
Orlando rage logo.png
Founded2001
Folded2001;24 years ago (2001)
Based in Orlando, Florida
Home stadium Citrus Bowl
Head coach Galen Hall
General manager Tom Veit
League XFL
DivisionEastern
ColorsRed, navy blue, gold, white [1]
    
Division titles1 (2001)

The Orlando Rage was an American football team based in Orlando, Florida as part of the XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation and by NBC, a major television network in the United States.

Contents

History

The team's colors were scarlet, yellow, navy blue and white with jersey numbers in a unique jagged font. They played their home games at Orlando's Florida Citrus Bowl, which was configured so that the upper deck was closed off and all fans were seated in the lower bowl to give a better appearance for television (a move that was effective, as the Rage had one of the stronger fan bases in the league, with average attendance at over two-thirds of the lower bowl's capacity; the team sold out all 36,000 lower bowl seats for its home opener). [2] The team's General Manager was Tom Veit a former Major League Soccer Vice-president and were coached by former Florida Gators head coach Galen Hall. They were in the XFL's Eastern Division with the NY/NJ Hitmen, Chicago Enforcers and Birmingham Thunderbolts.

The Rage were one of the two teams who opted not to don nicknames on the back of their jerseys. In the Rage's case, the decision was made by a majority vote of the players (despite the objections of starting quarterback Jeff Brohm, who openly embraced the XFL's approach to sports entertainment and wanted to wear "J Bro" on his jersey). [3]

Jeff Brohm, at the time also under contract to the Cleveland Browns, was the quarterback of the Rage for most of the regular season, amassing a 6–0 record as starter during his first time at the helm. The team looked to be the league's powerhouse franchise under Brohm and was on pace for a perfect season (coincidentally, Orlando's next professional football team, the Florida Tuskers, would also win their first six games in a row before losing the seventh). He showed his toughness after he suffered an injury from a devastating hit by at the hands of Memphis Maniax defensive end Shante Carver in Week 5. Despite suffering a concussion in the hit and doctors' advice not to play, Brohm came back a week later against Las Vegas, giving a rousing speech stating that he was returning because it was the XFL and he still had a pulse. [3] The following week he suffered a shoulder injury against the Los Angeles Xtreme and his season (and playing career) was done for good. It led to him being replaced by Brian Kuklick after six games. While Kuklick filled in the role of quarterback acceptably, the team lost a valuable leader on offense. The team went 2–2 in Kuklick's care; Kuklick, despite only starting four games, led the league in interceptions with 10.

The team finished their only regular season with an 8–2 record, the best in the league, but were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the 5–5 San Francisco Demons. Orlando had an early 16–0 advantage but allowed San Francisco to pull ahead and take a 26–16 lead by the fourth quarter. Using the XFL's newly introduced three-point conversion rule on a subsequent touchdown, the Rage got within one point but the Demons successfully ran out the clock and won 26–25. San Francisco would go on to lose the XFL Championship Game versus Los Angeles 38–6. Many in the league were disappointed, hoping for a match-up against the two division champions. NBC dropped the XFL after the first season (2001) due to dismal ratings, and the league folded soon afterward.

XFL returns to Florida

In December 2018, the revival of the XFL announced that it would return to Florida. Because the Alliance of American Football's Orlando Apollos already laid claim to the Orlando market, the XFL opted to place the new team in Tampa, Florida, 80 miles (130 km) southwest of Orlando and connected to that city by way of Interstate 4. The league was exploring relocating the Vipers to Orlando shortly before the league suspended operations and went bankrupt in April 2020. [4] In 2022, the league, under new ownership, announced that the New York Guardians would relocate to Orlando as the Orlando Guardians. The team took the field on February 18, 2023. Following the XFL merger with the USFL that was the last season in Orlando

Season-by-season

Season records
SeasonWLTFinishPlayoff results
20018201st EasternLost Semifinals (San Francisco)
Totals830(including playoffs)

Schedule

Regular season

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenue
1February 3 Chicago Enforcers W 33–291–0 Florida Citrus Bowl
2February 10 San Francisco Demons W 26–142–0Florida Citrus Bowl
3February 18at New York/New Jersey Hitmen W 18–123–0 Giants Stadium
4February 24 Birmingham Thunderbolts W 30–64–0Florida Citrus Bowl
5March 4at Memphis Maniax W 21–195–0 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
6March 10 Las Vegas Outlaws W 27–156–0Florida Citrus Bowl
7March 18at Los Angeles Xtreme L 6–316–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
8March 25New York/New Jersey HitmenW 17–127–1Florida Citrus Bowl
9March 31at Birmingham ThunderboltsW 29–248–1 Legion Field
10April 8at Chicago EnforcersL 6–238–2 Soldier Field

Post-season

RoundDateOpponentResultRecordVenue
Semi-finalApril 14San Francisco DemonsL 25–260–1Florida Citrus Bowl

Personnel

Staff

2001 Orlando Rage staff

Front office

  • Vice president/general manager – Tom Veit
  • Director of player personnel – Will McClay

Head coaches

  • Head coach/director of football operations – Galen Hall

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Mike Kelly
  • Wide receivers – Mike Jones
  • Tight ends – Les Moss
  • Offensive line – Whitey Jordan
  • Quality control/offense – Matt Moore
Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator/linebackers – Charlie Bailey
  • Defensive line – Mickey Mays
  • Secondary – Steve Carson
  • Quality control/defense – Tom Silvanic

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Andy Cox


Source: [5]

Roster

2001 Orlando Rage roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
, 8 practice squad

Standings

Eastern Division
TeamWLTPCTPFPASTK
Orlando Rage 820.800207162L1
Chicago Enforcers 550.500163178W1
New York/New Jersey Hitmen 460.400110145W1
Birmingham Thunderbolts 280.200131217L7

Source: [6]

Statistical leaders

Legend
Led the league

Passing

Passing statistics
NAMEGPGSRecordCmpAttPctYdsTDIntRtg
Brian Kuklick 532–16812255.799461064.7
Jeff Brohm 776–16911958.89939399.9
Totals 10108–213724156.81,987151382.1

Rushing

Rushing statistics
NAMEAttYdsAvgLngTD
Derrick Clark 943954.2197
Michael Black833203.9200
Brian Shay 361985.528t2
Brian Kuklick 17311.891
Jeff Brohm 16674.233t1
Mario Bailey 2157.5110
Totals 2481,0264.13311

Receiving

Receiving statistics
NAMERecYdsAvgLngTD
Dialleo Burks 3465919.481t7
Kevin Swayne 2740014.851t2
Mario Bailey 2737914.049t3
Derrick Clark 121099.1380
Lawrence Hart 121048.7261
Shannon Culver 1016516.549t1
Terrance Huston55110.2290
Tony Gaiter 46215.5220
Mike Black33110.3140
Brian Shay 3279.012t1
Totals 1371,98714.58115

Scoring

12-30 (40.0)% on extra point conversion attempts [7]

Total Scoring
NAMERushRecReturnXPMFGMPTS
Derrick Clark 7005047
Dialleo Burks 0702044
Mario Bailey 0312026
Jay Taylor 0000721
Brian Shay 2100018
Kevin Swayne 0201013
Shannon Culver 010107
Jeff Brohm 100006
Omar Brown 001006
Sedric Clark 001006
Bill Duff 001006
Lawrence Hart 010006
Brian Kuklick 100006
Mike Black000101
Totals 11154127213

Awards and honors

Awards

SeasonCoachAward
2001 Galen Hall Coach of the Year [8]

Honors

SeasonPlayerPositionHonor
2001 Jeff Brohm QB All-XFL team [9]
James Burgess LB
Jason Gamble G

References

  1. "Orlando Rage Logo Sheet". SSUR.org. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  2. Simmons, Roger (January 25, 2018). "XFL, fast-paced and fan-friendly, returning in 2020; Orlando interested in getting team". Orlando Sentinel.
  3. 1 2 Carmin, Mike (July 27, 2017). "Jeff Brohm's XFL mic drop moment follows him to Purdue". Gannett News Service. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  4. Fischer, Ben (April 17, 2020). "Last Call for the XFL". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  5. 2001 Orlando Rage Media Guide. XFL. pp. 4–12.
  6. "XFL Standings". USA Today . May 12, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  7. "2001 Rage Final Regular Season Stats".
  8. "Orlando's Hall Picked As Coach Of The Year". Orlando Sentinel . April 20, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  9. "3 Rage Players Named To All-XFL Team". Orlando Sentinel. April 28, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2011.