AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
Gaps in action can kill home-field edge.(NFL)(football)
When I played for the Eagles in 1992, we went to Dallas for a divisional playoff game. I played left guard, and though I was right near him, I never heard Randall Cunningham call a signal all day. The Dallas crowd was so noisy, the best I could do was keep one eye on the ball, the other on the tackle I had to block, and wait for the snap. We scored 10 points and lost.
Don't let anyone tell you home field doesn't matter in the playoffs. It does, especially to offensive linemen. When you can't hear, you lose the advantage of knowing the snap count. You're slower off the ball, and you're not as strong as you'd like because you start every play with some indecision and doubt. You're never really in attack mode.
Psychologically, the crowd can be such a boost for the home team. The roar gets the adrenaline pumping so much that you feel like you have a reserve energy tank. If you're the visitor, the crowd can sap some of that energy out of you.
I'm well aware that home-field advantage doesn't always translate to wins. I've seen the Bucs win in Philadelphia, the Patriots win in Pittsburgh and the Falcons win in Minnesota the past few years.
There are reasons for this recent trend. One is parity. With the talent level of teams more even than it used to be, one big play is more likely to turn a game around. Joe Jurevicius' long sideline reception was that kind of play for the Bucs during the NFC championship game in Philly last year. The emotion in the Vet escaped like air from a balloon.
A bigger reason is stopping play--particularly commercials and instant replay, which wasn't even an issue not long ago. Any time the action stops, fans are taken out of the game. They get tired of getting up and down. Instant replay can be a real crowd killer. Some reviews drag on so long that I think coaches sometimes use a challenge to deflate the crowd. It's like a coaching strategy.
Having the 12th man is great, but with all the breaks in the action, it ain't what it used to be.