Home field advantage is something that is talked about often in the NFL, but Bills cornerback Dee Alford didn’t feel much of one during last Sunday’s loss to the Patriots.
Alford said, via Nick Suss of ESPN.com, that the crowd at Highmark Stadium can get “super loud to the point where we’re not able to get the play as fast as we need it” and that leaves the defense scrambling because of communication breakdowns. During a press conference this week, Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard was asked about Alford’s comments.
Leonhard acknowledged the difficulties that can arise in a loud environment, but said that the opposing team faces more of them and that the Bills have to view the home crowd into a plus rather than an obstacle.
“It’s always harder to communicate at home than it is on the road. If we complain about that, we are a———s,” Leonhard said. “We have to turn that into the biggest advantage we have. As hard as it is for us, it’s significantly harder for an offense. We have to find a way to make that an advantage for us. If we ever use that as a cop out — I have to be smart in how we game plan. There’s certain things you can do on the road that are a little bit easier than they are at home from a communication standpoint.”
The Bills won two of their first three games in their new stadium and they won’t be back there until November 1, so it will be a while before they get to test out any new strategies for dealing with the volume from the stands.
