Baltimore Brigade

Baltimore Brigade
The current logo for the Baltimore Brigade
Founded:	2017
Arena:	Royal Farms Arena
Location:	Baltimore, Maryland
Team Colors:	Navy Blue, Silver, Light Blue, White
Owner(s):	Ted Leonsis
Current Head Coach:	Omarr Smith
Division Titles:	0
Championships:	0

The Baltimore Brigade is a franchise primarily recognized by the Arena Football League. It is one of two teams owned by Ted Leonsis, president of Monumental Sports and Entertainment, to make its debut during the 2017 season.

Brigade's Beginnings (2017-Present)

The Brigade's foundation came into place rather late into the offseason, thus the franchise didn't get quite as much time to prepare for the season as other teams. That didn't stop the Brigade from making some admirable signings to bolster its roster, including defensive backs Josh Victorian and Varmah Sonie, and wide receiver Reggie Gray. What may have been the most prominent addition was in head coach Omarr Smith, who led the dwindling Los Angeles KISS to a surprising 7-9 record the year prior. While few may have expected great results from the first-year franchise, it had the pieces to be respectable.

For the first game of the 2017 season, the Brigade started Chase Cartwright at quarterback; after an abysmal start to the game, he was promptly benched for a rookie in Shane Carden. Promise would not translate to wins, as the Brigade 1-4 in its first five weeks, with its only win against the Cleveland Gladiators in Week 2. The next win would come, once again, against the Gladiators in a 63-60 shoot-out, before losing the next two games, both by double-digit points. After picking up their third win against the Washington Valor, Baltimore became the only team the entire season to beat the then-undefeated Philadelphia Soul, by a score of 49-42. It would be the second-least amount of points the Soul offense would score against a team the entire season. The Brigade would close out the season with a four-game losing streak, including another match-up against the Soul, where they were destroyed 21-70—additionally, starter Shane Carden went down with an injury that would land him on injured reserve. Despite a regular season record of 4-10, it was enough to guarantee them the lowest-seed playoff spot after finishing better than the Washington Valor. Their playoff run wouldn't last long, as they were defeated by the Philadelphia Soul 54-69.

The current uniforms for the Baltimore Brigade.

The 2018 season for Baltimore would prove a lot more optimistic at the forefront than the previous year. Such enthusiasm was directly attributed to the signing of former-MVP quarterback Randy Hippeard, along with key additions such as Quentim Sims, Kendrick Ings, and Virgil Gray—all of whom were greatly productive in years past. Incumbent starter at quarterback Shane Carden retired shortly before the regular season began. With a revamped team, Baltimore headed into the season with much higher expectations. In their first game against a Nick Davila-led Washington Valor team, they would win 61-56. After a loss to the defending champions in the Philadelphia Soul, the Brigade would win six of their next seven games, bringing their record to 7-2, the best record in the league. The success wouldn't last, as their season ended the same way their last one did: with a multi-game losing streak. With a 7-5 record, they entered the playoffs as the second-seed.

As the second seed, the team would face the third seed Philadelphia Soul in the playoffs in a new postseason system that had teams face each other twice in a point-aggregate system. Whichever team accumulated the most points in both games would advance to the Arena Bowl, no matter the outcome to the games. The Brigade would have little trouble with the Soul, winning both games against them by a combined twenty-four points, bringing them to their first ArenaBowl game in their short franchise history. They would face their sibling franchise in the Washington Valor in a battle of Leonsis-owned teams. Baltimore would lose against the Valor in a 55-69 rout.

Roster (As of 7/22/2019)

Quarterbacks
Shane Boyd
Shane Morris

Fullbacks
Rory Nixon

Wide Receivers
Deniko Carter
Romond Deloatch
Ervin Philips
Rod Windsor
Milton Williams
Kenyarris Garrett ►
Frank Stephens ►
Joe Hills ▼
Maurice Morgan ▼
Brandon Collins ▲
Brandon Thompkins ▲
Phazahn Odom ▼
Caylon Weathers ▲

Offensive Linemen
Wilson Bell
Jarell Broxton
Kyron Samuels
Wayne Tribue
Jeremiah Warren
Ian Park ▼
Rodney Austin ▲
Antoine Everett ▲
Kaleb Johnson ▲
Colin Madison ▲
Gavin Wiggins ▲

Defensive Linemen
Darryl Cato-Bishop
Royce Lafrance
Justin Lawrence
Javon Rolland-Jones ►
Robert Barber ▼
Garrett Hughes ▼
Tashon Smallwood ▼
Christopher Lee ▲

Linebackers
Dexter Jackson
Robert Hayes
Joe Goosby ▲

Defensive Backs
Nias Martin
Justin Moody
Joe Powell
Jamal Robinson
Joel Ross
SaQwan Edwards ▼
Josh Victorian ▼
Kenric Young ▼

Kickers
Lane Clark

[▲ - Injured List; ▼ - Suspended List; ► - Refused to Report]

Overall Statistics

Overall Record	20-22
Home Record	13-8
Away Record	7-14
Overtime Record	0-0
Playoff Record	2-2
Total Seasons in AFL	3
Most Points Scored in a Game	72 (6/15/18)
Least Points Scored in a Game	21 (7/29/17)
Best Single-Season Record	7-5 (2018-19)
Worst Single-Season Record	4-10 (2017)
Longest Winning Streak	4
Longest Losing Streak	5
Longest Home Winning Streak	5
Longest Road Winning Streak	2