Gillette crowd noise: is it a problem?

H78

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Love that Carroll pointed out how Gillette is not "nuts" during games.

Been saying since I went to the Indy and Denver road games last year that the Gillette crowds don't come remotely close to what other NFL stadium crowds deliver on game day. And it's not because of the stadium.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Love that Carroll pointed out how Gillette is not "nuts" during games.

Been saying since I went to the Indy and Denver road games last year that the Gillette crowds don't come remotely close to what other NFL stadium crowds deliver on game day. And it's not because of the stadium.
Last nights crowd was horrible. The stadium doesn't help but large swaths of that stadium are bad. Last night was one of the worst crowds, not including the Bills game, in awhile.

The biggest plays of the game got basically golf claps. Many fans not even clapping never mind standing on big 3rd downs. No idea why on a huge prime time game. It was almost embarrassing with the Seattle fans around who probably wondered if Pats fans were unable to speak or standup.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Last nights crowd was horrible. The stadium doesn't help but large swaths of that stadium are bad. Last night was one of the worst crowds, not including the Bills game, in awhile.

The biggest plays of the game got basically golf claps. Many fans not even clapping never mind standing on big 3rd downs. No idea why on a huge prime time game. It was almost embarrassing with the Seattle fans around who probably wondered if Pats fans were unable to speak or standup.
The red seats are brutal. Third deck was a great crowd last night. It's so hard to judge loudness of the whole stadium, but it clearly never affects the opposing QB.
 

genoasalami

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Love that Carroll pointed out how Gillette is not "nuts" during games.

Been saying since I went to the Indy and Denver road games last year that the Gillette crowds don't come remotely close to what other NFL stadium crowds deliver on game day. And it's not because of the stadium.
It's a wine and cheese crowd. The diehards have been priced out of the lower bowl and are way upstairs. Plus, the fans have been ridiculously spoiled over the years. Anything but domination is met with a shrug.
 

Toe Nash

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People always complain about the crowd at Gillette but somehow they are like 200-1 at home this century, so maybe the crowd noise doesn't matter a whole lot.
 

jsinger121

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It's a wine and cheese crowd. The diehards have been priced out of the lower bowl and are way upstairs. Plus, the fans have been ridiculously spoiled over the years. Anything but domination is met with a shrug.
Been saying the same thing for years. the real fans are gone especially the ones I used to tailgate with.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Been saying the same thing for years. the real fans are gone especially the ones I used to tailgate with.
For the most part this is true. The last straw for many was when they threw out the season ticket holders who had the first 22 rows of the end zone to put in the Optum club. We have one who was in our section last year after being "relocated". They haven't been back this year. They were pissed about being relocated after having tickets for like 40 years.

Look at the prices for last night. I think it was $249 per ticket in the 100's and ours in 200's were $171. That's an expensive ass ticket.

Contributing to it last night was that it was an night game. Many season ticket holders sell off their tickets because they're sick of night games and destroying your entire next day.
 

Salem's Lot

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For the most part this is true. The last straw for many was when they threw out the season ticket holders who had the first 22 rows of the end zone to put in the Optum club. We have one who was in our section last year after being "relocated". They haven't been back this year. They were pissed about being relocated after having tickets for like 40 years.

Look at the prices for last night. I think it was $249 per ticket in the 100's and ours in 200's were $171. That's an expensive ass ticket.

Contributing to it last night was that it was an night game. Many season ticket holders sell off their tickets because they're sick of night games and destroying your entire next day.
Another issue is that if you actually buy tickets to a game in the 100 level & have the audacity to actually stand up, some asshole behind you is yelling that his kid/wife/mother etc can't see. Then they threaten to call security/ get your friend who you bought the seats from tickets pulled. The atmosphere sucks.
 

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People always complain about the crowd at Gillette but somehow they are like 200-1 at home this century, so maybe the crowd noise doesn't matter a whole lot.

This. People love to blame the crowd because it somehow makes them feel better as real fans, but that's bullshit. The Pats' winning % at home is about .930. The crowd wasn't to blame on Sunday night, the atrocious defense and coaching was.
 

Ale Xander

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For the most part this is true. The last straw for many was when they threw out the season ticket holders who had the first 22 rows of the end zone to put in the Optum club. We have one who was in our section last year after being "relocated". They haven't been back this year. They were pissed about being relocated after having tickets for like 40 years.

Look at the prices for last night. I think it was $249 per ticket in the 100's and ours in 200's were $171. That's an expensive ass ticket.

Contributing to it last night was that it was an night game. Many season ticket holders sell off their tickets because they're sick of night games and destroying your entire next day.
Yeah when you see tv commercials for season tickets being available, you know it's over.
It's going to be 1/4 empty once Tom goes
 

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Yeah when you see tv commercials for season tickets being available, you know it's over.
It's going to be 1/4 empty once Tom goes
We're getting night games because the team is historically good. You know who gets lots of day games? Jacksonville.

I get that it's tough to go to all the night games, Lord knows I don't go. But complaining about them missing the point that they're a direct result of historical dominance.
 

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This. People love to blame the crowd because it somehow makes them feel better as real fans, but that's bullshit. The Pats' winning % at home is about .930. The crowd wasn't to blame on Sunday night, the atrocious defense and coaching was.
It was a very close game; more crowd noise might have made the difference.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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No it wouldn't have, especially since crowd noise at the very end would have been a detriment to the Pats getting into the end zone.

The crowd complaints are tired and silly. Crowd noise isn't going to turn Logan Ryan into a decent player.
 

Shelterdog

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No it wouldn't have, especially since crowd noise at the very end would have been a detriment to the Pats getting into the end zone.

The crowd complaints are tired and silly. Crowd noise isn't going to turn Logan Ryan into a decent player.
Well if you say so I guess it's true.
 

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It's a stupid complaint given the results of the team over the years, and it implies a snobbishness about being "true fans" which I find distasteful. Fans don't win football games, stupid hype about the Seattle 12s notwithstanding. Teams do.

People have been bitching about fan noise for a long time, and the team keeps on winning. It's almost like the two are completely unrelated!

Had they played some fucking defense on Sunday night they would have won the game. They didn't so they didn't.
 

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No it wouldn't have, especially since crowd noise at the very end would have been a detriment to the Pats getting into the end zone.

The crowd complaints are tired and silly. Crowd noise isn't going to turn Logan Ryan into a decent player.
Wait. The Trump Letter matters and the lack of crowd noise doesn't? I mean, I get it if you want to take a hard boiled approach and say that peripheral items pale in comparison to talent gaps. And that no amount of peripheral stuff is going to make the Ryans and Colemans into good defenders. But where are you getting that BB's letter impacted the team in ANY way? Has any writer made that claim based on anything other than pure speculation? Has any player spoken about being upset off the record?

My guess is that no player gave much of a shit that Bill wrote that letter. I also think that the crowd noise, and lack thereof, hurts the Pats only at the margins -- by making it easier for opposing offenses to work without distraction -- but that their superior players and coaches easily offset that.

I also think that the crowd noise thing is not down to spoiled fans. I go to 3-4 games every year there and other than the Club seats*, I see passionate folks everywhere. I was in the 200 level mezzanine on Sunday night and our section was loud and focused. I sat along the lower sidelines for the Fins game earlier this year and it was the same; people were locked in on every play. Upstairs is always loud and into it. I just think that the open ends and the fact that the upstairs is really the 5th level, as opposed to, for example, 16W Stadium, where it's really the third, makes it hard for that stadium to get crazy loud. There might be some complacency overall but on Sunday night, at least, everyone within eyeshot and earshot was fully engaged until the fade to Gronk didn't work.

* And even the Clubs get a bad rap. I haven't been in them in a few years but having seen 5-7 games from that vantage point, my take is that a good chunk of the people there are not much different than the other fans throughout the Stadium. While there are indeed some "tourists" there, it's not nearly as bad as some suggest. I have some good memories of enjoying a game with the crowd around me going just as crazy as they do in other sections.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Wait. The Trump Letter matters and the lack of crowd noise doesn't? I mean, I get it if you want to take a hard boiled approach and say that peripheral items pale in comparison to talent gaps. And that no amount of peripheral stuff is going to make the Ryans and Colemans into good defenders. But where are you getting that BB's letter impacted the team in ANY way? Has any writer made that claim based on anything other than pure speculation? Has any player spoken about being upset off the record?
Well lessee, I have a functioning brain, so I can see that the head coach of the team took the time and energy to insert himself into a contentious public political discussion in an election week with a public letter to a um, controversial candidate, and then had to address and deflect the entirely predictable negative attention that came from that. This is in spite of the same coach for years telling us that distractions are bad and that total focus is needed to win on the football field, so he comes across like a huge hypocrite. The head coach is in charge of every last aspect of the team and has a direct result on the performance of the team on the field. Taking time and energy to cause a huge distraction in the week leading up to the Seattle game undoubtedly affected the team. How could it not?

Crowd noise, on the other hand, has no apparent affect on the game result. People have been bitching about the crowd for years, and the team still wins 93% of their home games.

So surely you can see the difference.
 

simplyeric

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Well lessee, I have a functioning brain, so I can see that the head coach of the team took the time and energy to insert himself into a contentious public political discussion in an election week with a public letter to a um, controversial candidate, and then had to address and deflect the entirely predictable negative attention that came from that. This is in spite of the same coach for years telling us that distractions are bad and that total focus is needed to win on the football field, so he comes across like a huge hypocrite. The head coach is in charge of every last aspect of the team and has a direct result on the performance of the team on the field. Taking time and energy to cause a huge distraction in the week leading up to the Seattle game undoubtedly affected the team. How could it not?

Crowd noise, on the other hand, has no apparent affect on the game result. People have been bitching about the crowd for years, and the team still wins 93% of their home games.

So surely you can see the difference.
My functioning brain can recall having seen visiting teams have miscommunications due to inability to audible at the line of scrimage. One such play could have turned this game.

Did Tom Brady's MAGA hat lead to their demise?
Remember when Tebow even showing up in pre-season was going to be the unraveling?
 

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My functioning brain can recall having seen visiting teams have miscommunications due to inability to audible at the line of scrimage. One such play could have turned this game.

Did Tom Brady's MAGA hat lead to their demise?
Remember when Tebow even showing up in pre-season was going to be the unraveling?
Once again: the Patriots win 93% of their games at home. The lack of crowd noise has NEVER adversely affected the team's chances at winning a game.

Crowd noise is not and was not the problem on Sunday. Not knowing how to play a zone defense was the goddamn problem.

EDIT: Look, I get it. It was fun to go to the old Foxboro stadium and pay $20 and drink an entire bottle of MD 20/20 by halftime. I used to do that too. Times were simpler then. But the Pats moved into the football suburbs and got themselves a nicer barn and better behavior is expected. The stadium doesn't hold noise well. But the team cruises along just fine anyway.
 
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H78

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It was a very close game; more crowd noise might have made the difference.
It's amazing to see the level of denial people have over New Englanders collectively sucking as football crowds. You only have to travel to one sold out stadium in any other city to notice the vast, vast difference in crowd participation.

I mean, maybe the Pats have a great record at home because when they're at Gillette they're NOT dealing with insane crowd noise on offense? That one passes the smell test much, much more than "the crowd isn't that bad, otherwise other teams would be winning more."

The Gillette crowd is awful. Go to Denver for one game. Just one. You'll come away with a completely different perception of the Gillette crowds. A lot of that is the fault of the Patriot organization itself for, as others have mentioned, pricing out blue-collar football fans to accommodate schmucks like business "development" managers and salespeople wining and dining prospective customers on game day. Same thing has been happening at Fenway for a decade now.
 

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No one's denying that the crowd isn't loud. Part of that has to do with stadium design, but whatever. Part of the complaints undoubtedly arise from a 15 year run of total dominance, so the crowd treats an out of conference game on a November night as a routine occurrence. The team is expected to make the playoffs and go on a deep run every year, so regular season games are simply not quite as interesting as they used to be.

The crowd at, say the 35-31 divisional game against Baltimore was pretty fucking loud.

We're arguing about whether it actually matters a damn.
 

SMU_Sox

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We're arguing about whether it actually matters a damn.
Maybe it does. Or at least to some athletes. It's probably a factor but more along the lines of an edge or slight advantage and again it won't impact everyone the same (and for some possibly not at all).

And even if we can agree that the crowd noise matters it is still unclear if a) the Pats have significantly lower than average crowd noise at home, and b) if that difference in crowd noise matters. Oh and c) if the crowd noise gets louder during big games and the playoffs.
 

j44thor

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I think when the opposing HC makes a point to note that it is an easy stadium to play in with regards to crowd noise that should answer the question of it is matters.

As someone up thread mentioned, it matters on the fringes and when the Pats win routinely by 10 points at home they could play in an empty stadium and it wouldn't matter.

When they lose a game on the last play of the game and the opposing team is starting a bunch of rookies on the Oline then it is worth questioning if a louder crowd might have lead to an extra false start or two or simply a missed blocking assignment leading to pressure that otherwise wasn't there.

It absolutely happens at other stadiums so the idea that crowd noise doesn't matter at all is rather silly. Whether or not it is material may be more debatable but any edge would likely have been material last Sunday.
 

H78

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No one's denying that the crowd isn't loud. Part of that has to do with stadium design, but whatever. Part of the complaints undoubtedly arise from a 15 year run of total dominance, so the crowd treats an out of conference game on a November night as a routine occurrence. The team is expected to make the playoffs and go on a deep run every year, so regular season games are simply not quite as interesting as they used to be.

The crowd at, say the 35-31 divisional game against Baltimore was pretty fucking loud.

We're arguing about whether it actually matters a damn.
I think it absolutely does matter. I was at the AFCCG in Denver last year. The stadium was shaking somewhat violently. At several points I remember thinking to myself "I don't know how an offense can operate in this." I'd never had more respect for TB12 than I did after that game, because putting up even 18 points on that day was a fucking accomplishment. That crowd was pretty wild to witness in person, like nothing I've ever experienced before. My ears were still ringing the next day.

I was also at the AFCCG against the Ravens, at Gillette, in 2013. Half of the crowd had given up on that team at halftime. I remember being virtually the only person in my section standing up in the third quarter and looking around me thinking, "are you fucking kidding me?"

It makes a huge difference. I'm convinced that if Gillette could be 80% as loud as Mile High during big games, the Patriots would steamroll to the Super Bowl every January. Opposing offenses currently have no problem operating in Foxborough.
 

simplyeric

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You're absolutely correct that the Patriots have had an incredible run of success at home, and on the road too, obviously.
But you're saying that there's no way crowd noise could have made one iota of difference in this particular 1-score game.
While simultaneously arguing that BB was irresponsible for allowing The Letter to distract his team, contributing to the loss.
THE LETTER!!!! Why didn't Bill think of the children!
 

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Please explain how it makes a huge difference in the results. Is anyone trying to SERIOUSLY argue that the Pats would be better at home, if only the crowd were louder? Like, they'd win 95% of their home games instead of 93%?

Because I ain't buying it.
 

H78

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Please explain how it makes a huge difference in the results. Is anyone trying to SERIOUSLY argue that the Pats would be better at home, if only the crowd were louder? Like, they'd win 95% of their home games instead of 93%?

Because I ain't buying it.
I'm arguing that the tough losses at home: Jets and Ravens in the playoffs, Seattle last week, Eagles last year, etc, may have been less likely.

The truth is your argument is why people DON'T make enough noise. "They're a machine, what will standing up and making noise do to help them?" The answer is a lot. Especially on defense.
 

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It makes a huge difference. I'm convinced that if Gillette could be 80% as loud as Mile High during big games, the Patriots would steamroll to the Super Bowl every January. Opposing offenses currently have no problem operating in Foxborough.
This is completely ridiculous. I mean, the Pats have made five straight AFCCG appearances. How much more success could you possibly demand on them?

Did you notice that the Broncos have managed to lose playoff games at home to both Indy and Baltimore despite that HFA of the crowd? It's almost like the biggest single factor for on-field success is the team itself!
 

Stitch01

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They're like 15-3 in the playoffs at home under Brady/BB. One of those losses was with the '09 team going nowhere, one was by two scores to the Ravens. I don't think louder crowd noise changes the Super Bowl count much. Gillette crowds are OK for playoff games. They're generally soft during the regular season. They're never going to be as loud as Denver, the design of the stadium doesn't allow it. Its not like crowd noise just became an issue after the team had a lot of success, the reduction in crowd noise was noted as soon as the stadium opened.

Didn't they lose to the Eagles by getting a punt blocked, giving up a kick return, and throwing a pick six on the goal line?
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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I'm arguing that the tough losses at home: Jets and Ravens in the playoffs, Seattle last week, Eagles last year, etc, may have been less likely.

The truth is your argument is why people DON'T make enough noise. "They're a machine, what will standing up and making noise do to help them?" The answer is a lot. Especially on defense.
You're basically arguing that "if it wasn't for the crowd the Pats would never lose at home. Because the crowd sucks they only win 93% of their games at home!"

That's crazy.
 

H78

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SJH, there's nothing I'm going to say or present to you that's going to change your mind (like how ~38% of home wins come against our generally cupcake division), so I'm respectfully bowing out of this conversation to preserve my afternoon.

If you can pull it off, I highly encourage you to come to the Broncos/Pats game next month in Denver.
 

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The numbers over time are with you, SJH. But the best they are going to be in 2016 is 75%. In the game on Sunday night, it would have been to the Pats' advantage if the road team had to deal with the kind of noise that was described above in Denver and that I experienced in that Sunday night game in 2007 in Baltimore when Rex Ryan bailed them out of a loss with a TO. I remember thinking that night that (a) it would be nice if we had that advantage and (b) it was pretty amazing that Tom and the rest of the offense could function with so much noise.

We've been blessed to root for a team that has thrived without that particular advantage. But BB is so focused on leveraging every opportunity that he took videos of signs after receiving a memo adjuring him against that practice; I think he would be able to make good use of the in game distraction to his opponent. When the opponent is as good as Seattle and the score is close, that edge could matter.
 

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H78, I don't doubt that the Broncos' stadium is loud. What we're arguing about it whether or not it matters. The Broncos are 6-3 in the playoffs at the new Mile High, that's a lower winning % than the Patriots' postseason % at Gillette (14-3 record).

EDIT: as for the cupcake division comment, since Brady came back from his knee injury the Pats' winning percentage against divisional opponents is almost exactly the same as it is against non-divisional opponents. Both are right around .750. The Pats are not running up their record against soft divisional opponents, they're running it up against everyone.
 
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Smiling Joe Hesketh

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The numbers over time are with you, SJH. But the best they are going to be in 2016 is 75%.
Starting Jacoby Brissett and his injured thumb in one of those games probably has more to do with that than the crowd.

You know what REALLY would have been to the opposing team's disadvantage Sunday night? Playing some competent defense.
 

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Please explain how it makes a huge difference in the results. Is anyone trying to SERIOUSLY argue that the Pats would be better at home, if only the crowd were louder? Like, they'd win 95% of their home games instead of 93%?

Because I ain't buying it.
Let's say that, and I am making this up, the Pat's home crowd noise, or lack thereof results in them getting +0.25 points a game vs. a +0.40 average. Over the course of a season that would result in the Pats getting 2 points a season from crowd noise vs 3.2 for the average team. If a good team like the Pats has a net of 100 points at home then those 2 points don't really matter much. But to a team with a +12 point differential at home the 3.2 points might. An analogy would be the world's best goalie. He stops 99% of shots against but uses goalie pads that are 1 inch less wide than average. The goalie could switch to those pads with no ill impact to his technique and would probably stop 99.15% of shots against but he doesn't. The pads, like the crowd noise, are not as good as they could be but because the goalie, and the Pats, are so good it does not have a large and noticeable impact on performance.
 

H78

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H78, I don't doubt that the Broncos' stadium is loud. What we're arguing about it whether or not it matters. The Broncos are 6-3 in the playoffs at the new Mile High, that's a lower winning % than the Patriots' postseason % at Gillette.
Oh come on. We've had the greatest QB of all time during our run and they had a mixture of Frankenmanning and a slew of bums.

This is a rabbit hole conversation that will ultimately end in disagreement anyways, so I really have to step out of this.
 

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Oh come on. We've had the greatest QB of all time during our run and they had a mixture of Frankenmanning and a slew of bums.

This is a rabbit hole conversation that will ultimately end in disagreement anyways, so I really have to step out of this.
Hey man, you're the guy who brought up the Broncos' stadium as some sort of paragon of positive crowd influence. If they were that much of an advantage why isn't the Broncos' home postseason record better?

As you note, the real difference in performance comes from the quality of the team on the field.
 

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If you want that sort of homefield advantage they have in Denver, get on the phone with your local legislator and see if you can lobby for a new stadium more conducive to noise in a better location.
 

genoasalami

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How many times have you heard an athlete or a coach say after the game "our crowd was a huge factor today, we really fed on it!!"?? Happens all the time. It is just human nature. You get fired up when fans are cheering you on. Does it mean you are going to win the game simply because your home crowd is rocking? Of course not, but I am sure it helps in some degree. At the very least, it makes it difficult for the visiting team to hear signals which can result in a false start, delay of game penalty etc. The Razor is a fine facility, but it was not designed to be a naturally loud facility. The crowd in Seattle is simply more raucous than the crowd in Foxborough. It just is. Add in the design of their stadium and the place can be deafening. Not an easy place to play.
Think about he old Yankee Stadium and the new one. What a joke. The old joint was loud and intimidating. The new one is big and sterile. Zero intimidation factor.
 

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And as we all know athletes never assign the reason for their success to nebulous, ummeasurable forces. I hear that the good Lord's undefeated when he gets behind a team and makes a WR play better.

The crowd in Seattle is basically using a stadium on PEDs to amplify their noise. They can self-aggrandize all they want with that nauseating 12s crapola, but they're essentially cheating.
 

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And as we all know athletes never assign the reason for their success to nebulous, ummeasurable forces. I hear that the good Lord's undefeated when he gets behind a team and makes a WR play better.

The crowd in Seattle is basically using a stadium on PEDs to amplify their noise. They can self-aggrandize all they want with that nauseating 12s crapola, but they're essentially cheating.
What about pre-snap penalties on offense? Getting one of those at the right time can make a difference. I get your point - crowd noise won't make Cyrus Jones not suck at life - but it can make life a little bit more difficult for the OL/QB communication.
 

simplyeric

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And as we all know athletes never assign the reason for their success to nebulous, ummeasurable forces. I hear that the good Lord's undefeated when he gets behind a team and makes a WR play better.

The crowd in Seattle is basically using a stadium on PEDs to amplify their noise. They can self-aggrandize all they want with that nauseating 12s crapola, but they're essentially cheating.
"Crowd noise? No way...that wouldn't have helped. Our D was confused all game because we couldn't stop thinking about that letter."

"Oh yeah, just as I was about to throw that interception I was thinking 'man, I hope this doesn't get turned around back on me like that letter that Coach wrote. MAGAAAAAAAAAA!."

As we all know, fans never assign the reason for a loss to nebulous, unmeasurable forces. I hear that our overlord Satan is undefeated when coaches don't write letters.


Anyway, ok. This may be a "agree to disagree" thing because obviously we're not going to be able to prove or disprove the effet or lack thereof of Bill's letter.
 

ifmanis5

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Mike Lombardi on Bill's podcast said this about last year's AFCCG:

Because of the crowd noise in Denver Brady could not alter the snap count with the center as the noise was giving them problems communicating, so they had to go on one every time. That gave Von Miller an added advantage with his pass rush because he was able to get off the line quickly since he knew every snap was on one.
That's an advantage that the Broncos had in that game and one that rarely happens at Gillette.
 
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Al Zarilla

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H78, I don't doubt that the Broncos' stadium is loud. What we're arguing about it whether or not it matters. The Broncos are 6-3 in the playoffs at the new Mile High, that's a lower winning % than the Patriots' postseason % at Gillette (14-3 record).

EDIT: as for the cupcake division comment, since Brady came back from his knee injury the Pats' winning percentage against divisional opponents is almost exactly the same as it is against non-divisional opponents. Both are right around .750. The Pats are not running up their record against soft divisional opponents, they're running it up against everyone.
Hee hee, running it up. FUTDs and FGs. Belichick is a bully.
 

Hoodie Sleeves

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Mike Lombardi on Bill's podcast said this about last year's AFCCG:

Because of the crowd noise in Denver Brady could not alter the snap count with the center as the noise was giving them problems communicating, so they had to go on one every time. That gave Von Miller an added advantage with his pass rush because he was able to get off the line quickly since he knew every snap was on one.
That's an advantage that the Broncos had in that game and one that rarely happens at Gillette.
I seem to remember the story being that Von Miller could time the snap because the center was bobbing his head - seems like the facts change to suit the narrative of the moment.
 

TheoShmeo

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If you want that sort of homefield advantage they have in Denver, get on the phone with your local legislator and see if you can lobby for a new stadium more conducive to noise in a better location.
This really is the key.

We can ring our hands about the crowd noise and wish that the noise level in Foxboro was like Seattle, Denver or Baltimore. But I think a massive percentage of the difference is down to Stadium construction. It's fun to take shots at the spoiled fans and wine and cheesers but that's just not what it's like there based on my experiences over the years. In a stadium where the third deck is so high that the noise just does not travel downward to the players, you will not get the noise they get in those other locales.

It's a pity. Kraft et al created a gorgeous facility and did not give one second of thought to the noise aspect.

All that said, I'm not sure that the Foxboro location matters. Would Pats fans in Boston make more noise? I don't see why.

And last, no one is holding his breath on a new stadium. Or even adjustments to this one to address the noise issue. It is what it is....
 

Ralphwiggum

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As someone who attends games (and playoff games) regularly at Gillette, I don't think it is as bad as people make it out to be, particularly in the playoffs. And since it doesn't seem to impact performance I don't worry about it.

But if you are looking for reasons why Gillette isn't as loud as other places, the biggest factor by far is that the Pats win all the time and people just don't get jazzed up for regular season games anymore after 16 years of winning almost every regular season game they play at home. It's the most first world of all possible first world problems to have. The Pats must not only win, but kill their opponents, and be in the Super Bowl every year or fans are disappointed (this message board is hardly any different in terms of how some fans react to not only the losses, but even the close wins). They are never the underdog and are always favored. Given that formula, people just aren't going to get as excited about most regular season games as other places.

I don't buy the argument that the Krafts have priced the "real' fans out. First, that is true of every other new stadium that's been built. They all have club sections in the middle level with super expensive seats that regular/normal folks cannot afford. So why would this impact New England more than Denver or Seattle or wherever? Second, as someone who has been going to Pats games regularly since 1997, the only thing that's changed about the game experience is fewer fans who are passed out in their own vomit or piss, or being belligerent and picking fights. I don't think the super-drunks were ever particularly loud before, but I can live without their presence at the games even if it means less noise.

The Optum club stuff was bullshit on the part of the Krafts, but the crowd noise complaints have been around much longer than that club has existed.

Lastly, the configuration and capacity of Gillette really matters. Not only does the open end suck, but the 300 level just feels significantly farther away from the action than other upper-decks in stadiums I have been to. In the games I have gone to up in that level I have found it hard to expend the energy to make a ton of noise because it seems pointless from up there.
 

ifmanis5

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I seem to remember the story being that Von Miller could time the snap because the center was bobbing his head - seems like the facts change to suit the narrative of the moment.
Those two facts aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

As far back as the 1980's Celtics, Boston sports fans have been complaining that their venues aren't as loud as they should be. Unclear whether it's actually a thing that means something or just Boston fans beating on ourselves which is also a long time pastime.