The NFL is considering allowing fake crowd noise in its stadiums this season if there are no fans, but that brings a whole new set of concerns for at least one coach.
Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey worried that if noise is pumped directly into the stadium, teams may use it to negatively impact visiting offenses.
“Is that what’s going to happen and then who controls the volume on that?” Gailey said, via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. “If you get a homer that slips that volume a little bit louder on third down, I’m not sure I’m for that a lot.”
Gailey actually raises a pretty important point. Communication is vital to NFL offenses, which is a big reason why home field advantage can be such a big factor. If home teams are allowed to control the crowd noise, away teams could face an artificial disadvantage. It’s an important distinction whether the noise is controlled by the home team or someone neutral.
The way the NFL is considering things, giving back some sort of home field advantage may be part of the point. Defenses certainly won’t mind Gailey’s scenario.
One team was actually investigated for piping in fake crowd noise five years ago. It ended up costing them a draft pick. The circumstances were very different, but it shows how much this type of thing can matter.
