The most feared fortresses in the NFL: why home-field advantage can be so important

A hot topic of discussion in the NFL is which venue is the toughest to get a ‘W’ at. There are lots of different reasons why a stadium or field can be difficult to visit – with the weather, type of turf, exuberance of the fans and whether or not the game is played in a dome being key factors.

The question is, which of these aspects contributes most to a home team’s advantage? Is there one team that stands out as being able to use more than one of these factors to their benefit?

Let’s start with intimidating fans. Many teams are notorious for having ruthless supporters, a perfect example being the Philadelphia Eagles fans at Lincoln Financial Field, who are well-known for egging rival teams. Philly’s fans are renowned for being incredibly merciless – and on some occasions even towards their own under-performing players.

It’s not just at the Linc that the callous abusive nature is evident. Cleveland Browns’ fabled Dawg Pound and Oakland Raiders’ Black Hole both create just as uninviting an atmosphere.

But the most talked about fans can be found in Seattle. Known as the ‘12th man’, visitors to Qwest Field have to endure their play calls being drowned out by the decibels of noise the unique stadium design generates. So effective can they be that during the 2005 season a huge 11 false starts were called against the New York Giants.

It is a similar case with the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium and many of the teams that now play in an indoor stadium or dome. These teams can all bring noise to put off their opponents when they need to.

Heinz Field and Soldier Field, home to the Steelers and Bears respectively, earn notable mentions for having the worst playing turf in the league, as well as windy weather conditions. But it is Lambeau Field, home of the Packers, Patriots’ Gillette Stadium and Broncos’ Invesco Field that all experience the worst weather conditions. Especially so when the snow falls in the winter months.

Invesco Field has another trick up its sleeve for opposing teams, however. It’s called Mile High for a reason, and that means the air is much thinner, making it difficult for players to breathe – something the Broncos players are all used to.

But what do the stats say? Well, since the league expanded in 2002, it comes as no surprise that the Patriots are top of the pile with home wins – having a win percentage of 83%. This is closely followed by the Colts with a 79% win rate. Surprisingly, a team that is rarely mentioned when talking about the toughest place to visit, the Ravens, came third in the rankings with 74%.

Fourth were the Steelers and their terrible towels with 71% and in fifth were the Chargers who play their home games at Qualcomm Stadium, the heat being the most problematic issue at their venue. Missing the cut in joint sixth place were the Packers, Eagles, Seahawks and the Vikings. The stats would seemingly suggest that these are the most difficult places to go to and come away with a win.

However, when considering the toughest place to play, it’s understandable that not all the best teams should be ranked at the top. Most of the time good teams will naturally have good home winning percentages. The Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium is a prime example of this.

Playing in a dome, the Colts do not have to endure adverse weather conditions like they would at other stadia. Their fans are also not renowned for being the loudest or most intimidating in the league, but they continue to deliver when it matters most – perhaps more down to the Peyton Manning factor than any outside influences.

So, after compiling this data about home-field advantage, here are my thoughts about the most impenetrable fortresses in the NFL:

1. Gillette Stadium, New England Patriots – A mix of cold weather and the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady connection.

2. Heinz Field, Pittsburgh Steelers – Terrible Towels, terrible turf and terrible weather: enough said.

3. Lambeau Field, Green Bay Packers– Cold, miserable weather and intimidating ‘cheesehead’ fans.

4. Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Eagles – Rowdy, ruthless and unforgiving. The fans are as unwelcoming as the weather.

5. Quest Field, Seattle Seahawks – The 12th Man!

An Interesting Fact

With the upcoming Champions League final just a day away I started looking at facts about the matches. This then prompted me to look further into stats within the NFL, especially the Super Bowl. One of the facts that interested me the most was that so far if a team returns an interception for a touchdown at the Super Bowl, they have been the winning side proving that a sturdy defence can also win championships.

With further researching I stumbled across a fact that stated certain footballers have won the Champions League with different clubs. Clarence Seedorf was the first player to win the trophy with 3 different clubs, AC Milan, Real Madrid and Ajax.

I wondered whether this had then ever happened in the NFL. Most interestingly enough I discovered that no Quarterback has ever won a Super Bowl ring twice, with different teams and as a starter. It has however been done as a starter and backup quarterback. Kurt Warner was the closest in 2009 with the Cardinals. He had previously won a Super Bowl with the Rams narrowly when the Titans fell short on the one yard line in the dying seconds of the Bowl in 2000.

It seems that unlike football, most Quarterbacks stay very loyal with their teams. I wonder if this record will ever be achieved and if it is, by whom?

Simply Unstoppable?

Devin Hester is one of the most feared special teams players within the NFL. In his short five season career so far he has scored countless punt returns, kick returns and even a missed field goal return.

He currently holds the combined kick returns record in a career of 14, with 10 punt returns and 4 kickoff returns taken all the way to the house. The 10 punt returns and 4 kickoff returns are also records individually themselves but we haven't seen a kickoff return since 2007. Many fans will remember Hester's most significant return of the first play in the 2007 Superbowl against the Indianapolis Colts who later fought back to take their second Lombardi Trophy in their franchise history.

But it is not just from the special teams that he poses a threat. Last season Hester also posted an impressive average of 11 yards per reception, similar stats to Peyton Mannings most favourable receiver, Reggie Wayne.

One of Hester's most impressive returns was in 2006 against the New York Giants where he returned a missed field goal attempt to end zone in what was to be a record breaking 108 yard return. This record was only to last a year as the following season ex-Charger Antonio Cromartie returned a missed field goal attempt for 6 points against the Minnesota Vikings in the dying seconds of the first half. The new record was marked at over a 109 yard return. Unfortunately it made no difference to the outcome as Adrian Peterson went on write himself in the record books clocking up 296 rushing yards, on 30 carries and 3 touchdowns.

Hester's juking, speed, agility and elusiveness have made him one of the most recognised faces in the NFL. Is he unstoppable? The simple solution would be just don't kick to him!

Rams close to fitting missing pieces of the jigsaw – Part One: Defense

After a breakout season for last year’s number one draft pick Sam Bradford, and a young defense which stepped up to the plate under the stewardship of head coach Steve Spagnuolo, Rams fans can be forgiven for believing a return to the good ol’ days of the ‘the greatest show on turf’ aren’t too far away.

Most of the talk pre last month’s draft was dominated by speculation that the Rams needed a no.1 receiver to provide a weapon for offensive rookie of the year Bradford. However, when Julio Jones excelled at the Scouting Combine there was no chance either he, or number one receiver in the draft A.J. Green, were realistically going to fall to St Louis at 14 without a team putting together an expensive package like Atlanta did to grab him as high as six.

The Rams have too many other needs and could not afford the luxury the Falcons had to exchange multiple first and second round draft picks. Disappointing though it was that they were unable to add Jones to the roster, when general manager Billy Devaney and coach Spags saw DE Robert Quinn – rated by many as the best pass rusher in the draft – drop into their laps in the middle of the first round it was an opportunity too good to miss.

Quinn offers an immediate upgrade to the front four and will likely create a formidable pass rush with four-year veteran Chris Long – a former no.2 draft pick in 2008 – and the experienced sack machine James Hall, 34, working in rotation – a tactic coach Spags employed with great success as defensive coordinator of the Giants.

Although the loss of pro-bowl safety O.J. Atogwe to the Redskins and the lack of a ‘shutdown’ corner have created a couple of glaring holes in an inexperienced secondary, the pressure up-front from Hall, Long and Quinn should be enough to counteract this weakness.

Either way, it is clear the Rams need to lure a veteran strong safety or cornerback from the free agency market to put together what would be a young and formidable defensive machine. The best available would be former Oakland Raiders defensive back Nnamdi Asomugha, but it is unlikely St Louis will have the financial resources to tie down a guy who is seen by most as the best cornerback in the game.

The lack of talent in the free agent market at that position is why there were cries from fans to snatch Prince Amukamara instead of Quinn in the first round of the draft, before he ultimately fell to the Giants.

But although it would have significantly enhanced the secondary there would still be the need of addressing the safety position, and it’s clear that, despite an ultra-productive season in 2010, Hall is unlikely to hit the same heights with his aging body, meaning Quinn’s selection was the more sensible. Especially as C.J. Ah You struggled badly as the third DE towards the end of the season, after what had been an encouraging start.

Instead, coach Spags has placed his faith in veteran cornerback and defensive captain Ron Bartell to lead the back seven alongside battalion leader James Laurinaitis – who was the centre piece of a stellar defensive unit at the middle linebacker spot. Bartell needs to marshal second-year cornerback Jerome Murphy, rookies Jermale Hines, Mikhail Baker and Jonathan Nelson, and promising young DB Bradley Fletcher – who collected four takeaways last season.
But the team is still short of experience on this side of the ball.

If St Louis could attract the services of safety Eric Weddle from the Chargers, Ike Taylor from Pittsburgh and an OLB like Chad Greenway from the Vikings, they could be the missing pieces of the puzzle. And signing players like Greenway, Taylor and Weddle to help mentor St Louis’ young group of defenders brings with it the real potential of turning the rebuilding franchise into one of the most feared outfits in the NFL.

It’s a long-shot, but coming off the back of a season where the team won more games than the previous three put together, the mere talk of it has got Rams fans excited about the team’s future.