SaintPauly

A Call To Arms
Doug Miller, NewOrleansSaints.com
Jan 10, 2007 – 5:40 pm


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If experts say home-field advantage in the NFL is worth three points even before kickoff, what does a rowdy and wild Louisiana Superdome give the Saints in the playoffs when the passion of the fans turns to noise and the roof rises to new heights?

Opposing quarterbacks, coaches and defenders agree that it's not something that can be duplicated in practice or prepared for. From inside their headsets to inside their helmets, the world gets noisy and uncomfortable when the Superdome is rocking, and there is no relief until the final gun.

For quarterbacks, it is not a casual day on the Bayou. Not a stroll down Bourbon Street. In essence, it's not a fun place to be. Period.


Will You Be There?
Michael C. Hebert
When asked what playing in the Superdome is like, 20-year veteran NFL quarterback Vinny Testaverde laughed and said, "For a quarterback, it is as unpleasant as it gets. It's really three-fold, and I am not sure how many people realize it, but the first really difficult element you face is when you are in the huddle and you have to talk so loud, really you have to yell, and it's always in the back of your mind that you are worried that the other 10 guys aren't getting the call or the snap count."

"Some places just get loud when you get to the line of scrimmage, but in New Orleans, they understand that when you are in the huddle, you are trying to communicate and call that play," Testaverde continued. "And then you get up to the line of scrimmage and you try to call out adjustments or audibles, but you know that the guys are going to have a really hard time hearing you. And that makes you uneasy and edgy. The tackles and tight ends are the most affected, I think, because they have to wait. Lastly, all that yelling that you have to do becomes really tiring and it wears on you. It leaves you exhausted because you can prepare your body to play in games by lifting weights, and running and conditioning, but you never really practice yelling at the top of your lungs for the better part of three hours."

Beginning with the Monday Night game on September 25, opposing players and coaches have talked about the challenge of playing in one of the loudest venues, if not the loudest stadium, in the National Football League.

"It was definitely the loudest crowd I've ever played in front of," said Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick following the Saints' 23-3 victory.

The emotions of the night were not only obvious to those wearing the white jerseys and gold helmets, though. Vick said he definitely felt the impact of the crowd's excitement. "They were fired up - both the fans and the Saints. You could just tell tonight the appreciation the fans have for their team and the effort they gave."

Former Falcons coach Jim Mora, on the sideline for Atlanta for the Sept. 25 contest and a Saints assistant under his father from 1992-96 was also impacted and felt the emotional impact the crowd played in the Saints' victory.


How Loud Can The Crowd Make It?
Michael C. Hebert
"It reminded me of the early '90s and the late '80s," Mora said, recalling his time on the home sideline in the Superdome. "Late in the game I heard a little "Who Dat!" It's a special place. These people are special, resilient, tough, and proud of their city, proud of their football team. I think it really showed tonight. If you have spent any time here you understand why this is home and they love it here."

That feeling, however, wasn't universal throughout the season. For whatever reason, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb didn't notice the decibels. Following the Saints' 27-24 victory, he said the crowd's efforts to make a difference didn't play a part in the outcome.

"We prepared all week for the crowd noise," said McNabb. "It wasn't that big of a factor. We were able to deal with it pretty well considering."

It begs the questions: Did the Saints fans not like the noon start, or perhaps was the crowd a non-factor for the visitors that day.

And if so, will the red-hot 'Birds from Philly get the same kid gloves treatment this week?

Brian Billick, the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, though stated the impact the Superdome had on the game between the Saints and Ravens earlier this season. And, despite walking away with a victory, Billick felt otherwise. "Now having been here," he said, "there is no question this is the hardest place right now to win in the NFL. I give them a great deal of credit for creating that atmosphere in the way that they play, the fans, just everything about it."

With opinions varying on the degree the Superdome crowd, we posed the question to a few of the NFL's most dynamic visible members, Hall of Fame passer Steve Young and former pass rushing demon Chris Doleman, for their unbiased views. As well as former 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci and former offensive lineman Kevin Gogan.

All of the personnel experienced games on the Saints' home field and we asked them their opinions as to what to make of the Superdome crowd's impact.

Steve Young: "There is no place harder to play and I had Rickey Jackson and Pat Swilling in my ear hole, which made it even harder. You just can't underestimate the noise level. There is no question that dome teams playing at home are much more than people think. It gets so loud in there and becomes very difficult especially for the offensive linemen."

"You really just try to keep it simple. You do everything you can to get the crowd out of it early. If you can do that then the game becomes manageable. If you go three and out and they score and you go three and out again then it gets really tough. If the game stays tight or you're losing it starts to run down hill pretty fast in New Orleans."


Chris Doleman, a swift defensive end/linebacker experienced the 'dome from a different perspective, that of a defender: "It is extremely loud in the Superdome. With that concrete ceiling the noise just hammers straight down on you like a blow horn. It really becomes a visual game because you are literally playing like you can't hear anything. That gives the Saints defense a great advantage."

"Those people are going to be going crazy which will make it even louder than it already is. It won't be like a regular season game where the crowd settles down. They will be juiced up from beginning to end, ready to raise some hell."

Steve Mariucci: "It gets really hard when things aren't going well because it gets so loud in there. It really makes it difficult for the team to communicate on the field, especially for the quarterback and sometimes in there, it's even difficult to communicate on the sidelines."

Kevin Gogan: "Oh man that place is incredible. You get 70,000 screaming fans in there and there's always shade more alcohol involved in New Orleans. I played in Baton Rouge and I played in the Superdome and those crazy Cajun fans are special. I always loved good fans even if they were against you and the fans in New Orleans were great."

"It's incredibly difficult for the offensive line to play in that environment. The further you get away from the quarterback the harder it gets because you really can't hear anything. The tight ends don't really block anyone so it's not that big a deal for them and the receivers can just watch the ball. It's really hard on the tackles."

So which is it? A brutal stadium to play in, or one that's "not much of a factor" for opponents?

26DEUCE26

I don't really beleive anything that McNabb says, he is just Andy Reid's puppet. He didn't want to make it seem like they weren't ready for the noise.It's true crowd noise is the hardest thing to try to simulate during practice. Teams use huge speakers pumping AC/DC music, or whatever, but the truth is you cannot account for 70,000 ragin' cajuns who have been drinking all day for an 8:00 game to watch their team play in an ever elusive playoff game. We're hungry, we want this more than ever, and the Eagles are going to find out the hard way, "Don't come a knockin', when the dome is rockin'!!!"

Brann

McNabb's just mad because he had to watch his team's momentum drift away in the last nine minutes of the previous game against the Saints. I expect the crowd to be louder on Saturday than they've ever been.

Bobaganoosh

The fact that its a night game only makes things worse for the Eagles. Saints fans are loud at noon, but you have no idea how loud they are when they have been drinking all day long and the game doesnt start till 7. Like i said earlier, God help the Eagles if the Saints score early. The crowd will take the game over and things could snowball from there.

Saintsfan4ever

I wonder if McNabb`s mom will be in the stands this game with her custom-made T-shirt she wore last meeting that said something like "Who dat? Eagles dats who".