The Atlanta Vultures were a professional indoor football team and a member of American Indoor Football (AIF) that played part of the 2016 season. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the Vultures were to play their home games at the Georgia International Convention Center.

Atlanta Vultures
Established 2015
Folded 2016
Played in Georgia International Convention Center
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta Vultures
League/conference affiliations
American Indoor Football (2016)
  • Southern Division (2016)
Current uniform
Team colorsCharcoal, gray, silver, blue, white
         
Personnel
Owner(s)Barrington Young
Janice Strong
PresidentBarrington Young
General managerBarrington Young
Head coachCedric Roach
Team history
  • Atlanta Vultures (2016)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home arena(s)

The Vultures are Atlanta's second AIF team, following the Atlanta Sharks who began play in 2014 and folded during the 2015 season.[1]

The Vultures ran into operational issues when they found their home arena lacked quality playing turf. The Vultures would end up cancelling all home games and played three road games during the season, winning two of the three games. However, after winning the third game against the Savannah Steam on April 17, the AIF ruled that the Vultures had played the game using illegal players and reversed the score of the game (essentially making it a forfeit). The Vultures folded and took down their website later that week.[2]

Roster

edit
Atlanta Vultures roster
Quarterbacks
  • -- Sherrod Murray
  • -- Patrick Riley

Running backs

  • -- Chris Anderson
  • -- Austin Blackshear
  • -- Derrick Thomas

Wide receivers

  • -- Christopher Crosby
  • -- Jordan Ellison
  • -- Julius Eppinger
  • -- Rico King
  • -- Moshiah Lightburn
  • -- Rashad Tukes
  • -- Luke Williamson
Offensive linemen
  • -- Tremaine Byrd
  • -- DeQuan Murray
  • -- Tino Roland
  • -- John Whitehead

Defensive linemen

  • -- Deonte Cruse
  • -- Craig Neece
  • -- Eddie Verrett
Linebackers
  • -- James McGoogan
  • -- Trent Newton
  • -- Blayke Spears

Defensive backs

  • -- Kendall Connor
  • -- Juwan King
  • -- Sammy Roach
  • -- Aldrickious Shumake
  • -- John Strickland

Kickers

  • currently vacant
Injured reserve
  • currently vacant

Exempt list

  • currently vacant

Practice squad

  • currently vacant
  • rookies in italics
  • Roster updated February 2, 2016
  • 27 Active, 0 Inactive

Staff

edit
Atlanta Vultures staff
Front office
  • Owners - Barrington Young & Janice Strong
  • General manager – Barrington Young
 

Head coach

  • Head Coach - Cedric Roach

Assistant coaches

  • Defensive coordinator – Robert Sims
  • Linebackers - Terrance Saturday
  • Fullbacks/Special Teams - Ronald Thomas

Statistics and records

edit

Season results

edit
Season League Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2016 AIF Southern folded 1 5 0

Head coaches' records

edit
Name Term Regular Season Playoffs Awards
W L T Win% W L
Cedric Roach 2016 1 2 0 .333

2016 season

edit
2016 Atlanta Vultures season
OwnerBarrington Young
Janice Strong
General managerBarrington Young
Head coachCedric Roach
Home fieldGeorgia International Convention Center
2000 Convention Center Concourse
Atlanta, GA 30337
Results
Record1–5
Division place7th
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Key:   Win   Tie   Loss   Bye

Exhibition

edit

All start times were local to home team

Week Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location
Score Record
1 Sunday March 6 3:05pm at West Michigan Ironmen L 29–63 0–1 L. C. Walker Arena
2 Sunday May 22 7:05pm South Carolina Ravens Georgia International Convention Center

Regular season

edit

All start times were local to home team

Week Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location
Score Record
1 BYE
2 BYE
3 BYE
4 Sunday March 20 4:00pm Savannah Steam Cancelled Georgia International Convention Center
5 Saturday March 26 7:00pm at Georgia Firebirds W 40–38[3] 1–0 Albany Civic Center
6 Sunday April 3 7:05pm Florida Tarpons Cancelled Georgia International Convention Center
7 Saturday April 9 7:05pm at Columbus Lions L 8–65[4] 1–1 Columbus Civic Center
8 Sunday April 17 7:05pm at Savannah Steam L 19–32[a] 1–2 Savannah Civic Center
9 BYE
10 Sunday May 1 7:05pm Myrtle Beach Freedom Georgia International Convention Center
11 Saturday May 7 7:05pm Central Florida Jaguars Georgia International Convention Center
12 Monday May 16 7:00pm at Myrtle Beach Freedom Myrtle Beach Convention Center
13 BYE
14 BYE
  1. ^ The Atlanta Vultures actually won this game 32–19, however, the AIF ruled they had used illegal players and reversed the score instead of just changing the game to a forfeit. The Vultures would fold later that week. Remaining games were all considered 0–2 losses by forfeit in the AIF standings

Standings

edit
Team W L PCT
yColumbus Lions 8 0 1.000
xFlorida Tarpons 7 1 .875
xMyrtle Beach Freedom 4 4 .500
xSavannah Steam 3 5 .375
Georgia Firebirds 3 5 .375
Central Florida Jaguars 2 6 .250
Atlanta Vultures 1 7 .125

References

edit
  1. ^ "Atlanta Vultures to Take Flight in 2016". American Indoor Football. June 23, 2015. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  2. ^ "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". OurSports Central. May 2, 2016.
  3. ^ Time Morse (March 26, 2016). "Georgia Firebirds show improvement but fall 40-38". www.albanyhearald.com. Albany Herald. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Dana Barker (April 9, 2016). "Columbus Lions remain undefeated with rout of Atlanta". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
edit