| 2011 Arena Football League season | |
| League: | Arena Football League |
| Sport: | arena football |
| Duration: | March 9 – August 12 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champs: | Arizona Rattlers |
| Mvp: | Nick Davila, ARZ |
| Playoffs: | League postseason |
| Conf1: | American Conference |
| Conf1 Champ: | Jacksonville Sharks |
| Conf1 Runner-Up: | Georgia Force |
| Conf2: | National Conference |
| Conf2 Champ: | Arizona Rattlers |
| Conf2 Runner-Up: | Chicago Rush |
| Finals: | ArenaBowl XXIV |
| Finals Link: | ArenaBowl XXIV |
| Finals Champ: | Jacksonville Sharks |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Arizona Rattlers |
| Finals Mvp: | Aaron Garcia, JAX |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Most valuable player |
| Seasonslist: | List of Arena Football League seasons |
| Seasonslistnames: | AFL |
| Prevseason Link: | 2010 Arena Football League season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2010 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2012 Arena Football League season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2012 |
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.[1] 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.
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.[2]
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,[3] and on September 14, 2010 it was revealed that the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings would become the New Orleans VooDoo.[4]
The Milwaukee Iron officially changed its name to the Milwaukee Mustangs on January 27, 2011, taking the name of the original franchise.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
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.[9]
| American Conference | ||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||
| Team | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) Cleveland Gladiators | 10 | 8 | 904 | 842 | 4–2 | 6–5 | 7–2 | 3–6 | ||
| Pittsburgh Power | 9 | 9 | 870 | 972 | 4–2 | 5–6 | 5–4 | 4–5 | ||
| Milwaukee Mustangs | 7 | 11 | 872 | 867 | 1–5 | 3–8 | 4–5 | 3–6 | ||
| Philadelphia Soul | 6 | 12 | 914 | 969 | 3–3 | 5–6 | 4–5 | 2–7 | ||
| South Division | ||||||||||
| Team | ||||||||||
| (1) Jacksonville Sharks | 14 | 4 | 1158 | 908 | 8–0 | 12–0 | 8–1 | 6–3 | ||
| (3) Georgia Force | 11 | 7 | 1007 | 931 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 6–3 | ||
| (4) Orlando Predators | 11 | 7 | 1001 | 933 | 4–4 | 8–4 | 6–3 | 5–4 | ||
| Tampa Bay Storm | 7 | 11 | 802 | 993 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 4–5 | 3–6 | ||
| New Orleans VooDoo | 3 | 15 | 826 | 1017 | 1–7 | 2–10 | 0–9 | 3–6 | ||
| National Conference | ||||||||||
| Central Division | ||||||||||
| Team | ||||||||||
| (2) Chicago Rush | 13 | 5 | 957 | 833 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 7–2 | 6–3 | ||
| (3) Dallas Vigilantes | 11 | 7 | 1061 | 1007 | 6–2 | 7–5 | 6–3 | 5–4 | ||
| Tulsa Talons | 8 | 10 | 894 | 899 | 3–5 | 4–7 | 4–5 | 4–5 | ||
| Kansas City Command | 6 | 12 | 854 | 974 | 3–5 | 4–9 | 4–4 | 2–7 | ||
| Iowa Barnstormers | 5 | 13 | 916 | 1116 | 2–6 | 5–7 | 4–5 | 1–8 | ||
| West Division | ||||||||||
| Team | ||||||||||
| (1) Arizona Rattlers | 16 | 2 | 1114 | 836 | 5–1 | 9–2 | 8–1 | 8–1 | ||
| (4) Spokane Shock | 9 | 9 | 1057 | 1027 | 3–3 | 6–5 | 7–2 | 2–7 | ||
| Utah Blaze | 9 | 9 | 1082 | 1117 | 2–4 | 4–7 | 7–2 | 2–7 | ||
| San Jose SaberCats | 7 | 11 | 1022 | 1080 | 2–4 | 4–7 | 6–3 | 1–8 | ||
Final statistics[11]
| Player | Comp. | Att. | Comp% | Yards | TD's | INT's | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 427 | 604 | 70.7% | 4,916 | 117 | 10 | 127.6 | ||
| 402 | 562 | 71.5% | 4,953 | 116 | 17 | 125.4 | ||
| 387 | 578 | 67.0% | 4,758 | 97 | 17 | 119.5 | ||
| 383 | 583 | 65.7% | 4,368 | 107 | 12 | 119.1 | ||
| 360 | 587 | 64.6% | 4,741 | 90 | 17 | 118.3 |
| Player | Car. | Yards | Avg. | TD's | Long | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 167 | 622 | 3.7 | 39 | 37 | ||
| 391 | 275 | 4.9 | 9 | 39 | ||
| 366 | 209 | 3.2 | 14 | 15 | ||
| 31 | 314 | 10.1 | 13 | 39 | ||
| 46 | 312 | 6.8 | 4 | 43 |
| Player | Rec. | Yards | YPG | TD's | Long | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 171 | 2,232 | 124.0 | 42 | 43 | ||
| 168 | 1,959 | 122.4 | 37 | 46 | ||
| 130 | 2,171 | 120.6 | 55 | 43 | ||
| 121 | 1,747 | 116.5 | 31 | 44 | ||
| 156 | 1,830 | 114.4 | 36 | 44 |
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.[12]
| Player | Position | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WR/KR | New Orleans VooDoo | ||
| WR/KR | Chicago Rush | ||
| WR/KR | Jacksonville Sharks | ||
| C.J. Johnson | WR/KR | Georgia Force | |
| FB/LB | Orlando Predators | ||
| DB/KR | Chicago Rush |
| 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 | [13] | |
| National | July 29 | 8:30 p.m. EDT | Dallas Vigilantes | Chicago Rush | Chicago, 54–51 | Allstate Arena | [14] | |
| National | July 29 | 10:00 p.m. EDT | Spokane Shock | Arizona Rattlers | Arizona, 62–33 | US Airways Center | [15] | |
| American | July 31 | 3:00 p.m. EDT | Georgia Force | Cleveland Gladiators | Georgia, 50–41 | Quicken Loans Arena | [16] |
| 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 | [17] | |
| American | August 8 | 8:00 p.m. EDT | Georgia Force | Jacksonville Sharks | Jacksonville, 64–55 | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena | [18] |