You bastards! You killed Carson!
Bummer of a way to end the season for the Bungles. Makes one wonder what the outcome might have been without the INTs and the lack of clock control…
Hey, playoff time is the time of the year you want to be on a roll. Everyone that’s left in the Great Eight this weekend ended the regular season on the up (more or less). Should be a more exciting weekend of games overall.
I’m not sure that anybody “blamed their loss” on the noise, however
Jacksonville also complained.
You must find it interesting that the Colts admitted having microphones pointed toward the crowds but won’t say what they’re for. It’s also interesting that they started losing after being warned about it.
The same Jacksonville team who accused the Patriots of cutting out their QB communication system at crucial times? I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t take del Rio’s complaint that seriously.
And as I recall, the NFL investigation resulted in a finding of “nothing there” rather than a warning. The Steelers need to quit whining, strap on a pair, and play the game.
Thank you, if Pittsburgh wants this game they will take it, noise or no noise, and if the Colts want it they will take it, and I believe they will. Having played there twice in high school I can say two things about the RCA dome: The pressure inside does weird things to sound, breathing, etc. NFL teams know these things and train for them before a dome game so they are not as much of a factor. The second is that the dome is loud, always has been. Even when it’s quiet it’s loud in there. In the high school games there are not a lot of fans (family members mostly) and even they are loud. Here is a link to another board where this is discussed at length.
Long story short, if you got game bring it, otherwise find a nice golf game to watch. The road to Detroit goes through Indy and no amount of fiddling with the noise level will beat a better team, so we will have to whup up on ‘em the ol’ fashioned way, see ya Sunday at 1:00.
I love a tough talking Colts fan. “Hey, Mister, if you don’t watch it, we’ll, we’ll…hit a 15 yard out pattern! That’s right - we’re rough customers!”
Here’s a solution to the crowd noise thing I’ve been thinking about. I’m curious what others’ thoughts are. Set some specific decibel level and monitor it during the game. If the crowd noise goes above that level, an indicator light goes on that the refs can see. If there is a false start when the indicator light is on, the play is dead, but there is no penalty yardage assessed. That way, the offense does not get any advantage to jumping early, but dome teams also don’t get a special advantage just because of the architecture.
I think that’s just silly. That advantage is part of the home field advantage. Teams that play in domes do get a noise advantage, but they forego other potential benefits to get it - they don’t get benefits from the weather, for example. Any team in the NFL is free to build whatever kind of stadium they want to, provided it meets league minimum specs, and every type of stadium comes with pros and cons for the home team. You can’t negate the pros of a dome just because a team that chose a different kind of stadium is uncomfortable there. The visitors are supposed to be uncomfortable.
How about we set up an anemometor in the end zone at Heinz Field and continuously record the wind speed? When the wind speed goes above a certain threshhold, an indicator light goes on that the refs can see. If a field goal is missed when the indicator light is on, then the play is dead, no penalty is assessed, and the ball doesn’t go over on downs. That way the Steelers don’t get an advantage from the unique architecture of their stadium.
I agree to a point. There should be home field advantage, and fans should be able to cheer. But there is a rule in the book already about crowd noise - it just isn’t used. So the NFL already has said that there is a point at which crowd noise is not okay. I’m just suggesting a better methodology to make that rule more functional.
Do you think that Jeff Reed has some special foot that kicks balls that are wind-resistant? Do you think the wind acts up only when the Steelers are on defense? Try another analogy - you might find one that works.
I haven’t seen the crowd noise rule enforced in years, and I think it should be taken off the books. I’m on board with prohibiting mic’ed and amped noise, but the crowd noise is part of the game. Any player who complains about playing in a hostile environment when the extent of the hostility is getting yelled at is a whining pussy.
Maybe the Steelers should hire some professional shushers from the PGA.
You’re right that the wind analogy is weak. Visiting teams can’t duplicate the wind conditions in Heinz Field, while any team in the NFL (hell, probably most college teams) can rent a field house, pipe in a shitload of crowd noise, and practice silent counts. If the crowd noise is causing false starts and screwing up your offense, you’re not getting cheated - you’re underprepared.
Actually, like Cincinnati last week, Indianapolis is trying to increase their edge when it comes to crowd noise. It seems Tony Dungy and the president of the Colts have sent an e-mail out to season ticket holders asking them not to give or sell their tickets to Steelers fans and the Colts aren’t selling tickets to anyone who calls in from the two area codes which serve Pittsburgh. Here’s a link, if you don’t believe me.
I’m not going to make any predictions about the game – I’m lousy at that kind of thing. I’ve never heard of the Steelers encouraging fans not to sell playoff tickets to fans of the opposing team, but then again, Steelers tickets are precious commodities. Speaking solely for myself, if there are tickets available and people are willing to buy them, let them.
Tomorrow has been declared Black and Gold Day for the city of Pittsburgh and I, too will be wearing my Steelers gear, as will our company’s CEO. I’d like it to be a good game, and I suspect it will. So long as Cowher and company don’t give my father, a retired engineer, a heart attack like they nearly did last week, I’ll be happy, especially if the Steeler’s win!
CJ
Here we go Steelers!
Here we go!
Who exactly is it that you are calling a whining pussy? It’s unclear, because I am the one who is complaining about it here, even though I am not a player.
Oh, you didn’t understand. Let me try to explain it again. It is a bad analogy because it is a factor that is uncontrollable and will affect both teams. It is not a factor that can be controlled by one team to influence the outcome of the game. Let me know if you still don’t get it.
Reminds me of a story I heard recently. Dennis Green, when he was with the Vikings, went to Giants stadium for a playof game. (Possibly the 97 game, possible in the early nineties.) Anyway, he hired guys to physically stand by the doors so that he could be sure that the Giants weren’t opening the doors to let the wind in when the Vikes had the ball or were kicking. Funny stuff.
I heard somebody on ESPNews mention the crowd noise thing with Indy, and they referenced the rule, which I found very interesting. According to (I think it was) Linda Cohn, NFL teams are not allowed to pipe in artificial noise once the offense breaks the huddle.
It’s amazing how many rules are based on the huddle, which isn’t even a mandatory aspect of the NFL. I could be wrong, but in my mind that means it’s fine and dandy to pump in artifical crowd noise during a hurry-up offensive series.
Hey, Ellis, I’ve been meaning to ask:
How 'bout those G-Men? 
Also, how did Plexiglass do for you guys this year. I know he did nothing last week.
MWAHAHAHAHA!
Yeah, that could easily be misinterpreted. I’m not calling you a whining pussy - you’re talking calmly about the rules and enforceability. A (theoretical, at this point) player in the NFL who blames a loss on crowd noise rather than his team’s planning and execution gets that tag. Sorry if you thought it was directed at you.
I understood, I just disagree. The home team doesn’t control the fans - go to an Orioles home game when they’re playing the Yankees or Red Sox to see. The fans are part of the game, but they’re not under anyone’s control but their own.
We’re still waiting for them to show up for their wildcard round game.
Plaxico did indeed disappear in the playoffs. As did Wlliam Joseph, Kendrick Clancy, Kevin Lewis, Nick Greisen, Alonzo Jackson, Will Allen, Brent Alexander, Luke Petitgout, David Diehl, Shaun O’Hara, Kareem McKenzie, Chris Snee, Eli Manning, and Tiki Barber. So, really, Plax is fitting right in!
sigh
Maybe Plax is catching. (I mean, like a contagion, not like recieving passes, obviously).
Actually, if the head coach and the president of the team are asking people not to sell their tickets to people from Pittsburgh, I’d say they are attempting to control the fans. How successfully will be determined on Sunday.
CJ
Pity really, I would have loved to see a Manning vs. Manning championship game.
If the home team were responsible for their fan’s behavior there would have been a harsher penalty against Detroit in the December '04 Pacers game. It is up to the team to check their players and the fans to keep their participation in the game within the rules. Now, if a fan brings a loud noise source that affects the game (eg. boat horn) I can see the refs calling a penalty or calling the play dead, but shouting and stomping should be acceptable, the opposing team can easily train for it. It is interesting that I have seen very little from actual players on the subject, mostly media, fans and the one lone “Pittsburgh Official”. This reeks of a subplot to stir tension up between fans of the teams in an effort to gain an advantage on one side or the other. Playing the “mind game”, the oldest play in the book. End result is still: Colts 24 - Steelers 10.
In the intrest of disclosure, here is this mornings article from Bob Kravitz - local Indy columnist. I’m sure there is a guy like this in Pittsburgh right? Would love to read his column, just to see both sides.
I’m glad Joey’s been successful in getting the Colts and their fans and writers to argue about whether they are tough or not. I have no idea what you mean by full disclosure. He isn’t disclosing anything of note in the article, just trying to argue against Porter’s assertions.
The writer does have a point. It is about winning the game. There’s no doubt about it. Think back to the St. Louis Rams of a few years ago. Every game was a track meet, and they won. The Colts aspire to that level of finesse, and are the best at it in the NFL right now. But as a Steeler fan I can honestly say that, while I would love to win it all, it would be a little disappointing to do so with finesse. Even though I hate the Ravens, I have a lot more respect for the way that they won their Superbowl than the way that the Rams did or the way that the Colts win games.
For example, I absolutely love to see Bettis running the fuck over multiple defenders to get in to the end zone. If we have to get to third and goal and run some play action pass to score, I’ll take it but it really is disappointing. I don’t know if other fans look at their teams like that or not.
On a tangential note, another rule change I would like to see is to have the NFL adopt the college rule regarding pass interference, where pass interference is a 15 yard penalty, and not a spot foul. Screw this giving the offense a big gain on some ticky tack stuff, or some intentionally underthrown ball. Make them earn it.