The poor quality of the playing field at Super Bowl LVII in Arizona remains a topic of discussion in the NFL, and one player who was on the field the last time the Super Bowl was played in Arizona says it was an issue in that game, too.
But former Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, who played in the team’s Super Bowl XLIX victory at State Farm Stadium, says that his team was prepared for the poor field quality. Amendola said on Chris Long’s podcast that Patriots coach Bill Belichick insisted that his players wear “seven studs” -- meaning cleats with better traction -- because he knew the field conditions would be an issue.
“When you play a night game in AZ, for some reason the grass always gets a little dewy at night, and it’s so slick,” Amendola said, via Boston.com. “I’ve worn seven studs on that field numerous times.”
Amendola said many players don’t like the seven-stud cleats because the shoes are heavier and players feel slower, but Belichick required them.
“Bill made it a mandatory seven-stud game,” Amendola said. “We were all [expletive] and moaning, but we didn’t have too many slips.”
Amendola said players and coaches on the Chiefs and Eagles should have been better prepared for the field conditions.
“On that surface, you’ve got to switch the tires out and put the seven-studs in,” Amendola said. “I feel like you get a lot better traction. You don’t feel like you can play as fast in them, but at the same time, you’re chopping it up, you’re gripping the turf. . . . Anybody that slipped [in Super Bowl LVII], look at the cleats they were wearing. They were probably wearing the wrong tires.”