A Few Observations from the Stadium (that you might not have seen on TV)

[BulletBob]

Here are a few items that my son and I observed yesterday from the stands that may not have been apparent through the broadcast waves:

• The Love Tap. This one is difficult to pick up on TV, but it is there during certain camera angles if you know what to look for. Every time the Cowboys were in shotgun or pistol formation, Brian Waters glanced back several times at Romo. As soon as Romo was ready (some sort of eye contact signal, I suppose), Waters would slap Frederick on the thigh and he would immediately snap the ball. Every time. Without fail. I thought it would be a blatant tell that the Eagles Defense would key on to get a jump on the snap, especially the DE and DT on the right side of our offense, but maybe they were more focused on the ball in the center’s hands. Go back and take a look, and you will notice – watching it live, it was strange. Maybe other teams use this method. It was the first time I ever noticed.

• The Noise Level. “The Linc” was really “The Morgue” yesterday. I’ve never been to a sporting event where the hometown fans were less enthusiastic. The Cowboys defense COMPLETELY took the fans out of the game (of course, the Eagles also played horribly on offense). There were a few times the fans got a bit loud (when the Cowboys were backed up against their own end zone, and when Ryans intercepted Romo), and the entertainment crew does a pretty nice job of trying to get the fans up and out of their seats (especially with the scenes and music from Rocky) but for the most part, the crowd was in utter shock. I thought there would be more frustration directed at Cowboys fans – I think it was more the shock of not meeting the lofty expectations for the game. There were also very few Cowboys fans at the game. Last year, I took my son to see the Ravens game in Baltimore (his first live NFL game) – there were way more Cowboys fans at that game. In the stands yesterday, I heard several Eagles fans remark, “this doesn’t feel like an Eagles-Cowboys game.”

• The Refs. There is an entire other thread on how poor the officiating was yesterday, so I won’t rehash. My son and I couldn’t believe how it seemed like EVERY flag was being thrown at the Cowboys and how many penalties were missed on the Eagles. The Eagles fans knew it, too. I’ve never been a conspiracy guy, but the penalty situation was more frustrating yesterday than Romo’s interception. Here’s what I can tell you, though, being at the stadium. On the Wilcox interception play, they showed the replay on the big screen at either end of the stadium. When they showed the HD close-up angle, every Eagles fan in that stadium was depressed. You could hear “Uh-Oh”’s echoing throughout the arena. When the refs reversed that call there was the briefest moment of silence, then a surprised cheer rose up from the crowd. Not having the benefit of the commentators on TV and using only their own 2 eyes, I’d say that over 75,000 people yesterday made the judgment call that JJ had pulled off a spectacular interception.

• The Wind. Now take this with a grain of salt as I have never been to the Death Star (but hope to some day). Lincoln Financial Field is a beautiful stadium. It is positioned along a North-South axis so that the sun travels overhead and is not directly in the players’ eyes at any point. We were toward the south end of the stadium, 15 yard line, Cowboys’ side. The wind at our end of the stadium was whipping around (they have these giant funky weather-vane-like spinners at the top of each end of the stadium). The wind at the north end of the stadium was completely still. It was eerie. I don’t know whether the wind affected either QB (in my opinion, neither was sharp, though Foles was less so), or that initial decision not to let Bailey kick the long field goal on the very first drive, but I suspect that the wind was more of a factor than what they had indicated on TV.

All in all, it was a beautiful day to take in a football game and I was happy to have my 14-year old son witness his first Cowboys victory live.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Thanks for the report, Bob. Interesting to hear some of the stuff being seen from someone at the game. Gotta be a brave dude to walk right into the lion's den there, haha.

 

[Zordon]

they lost a lot of the intimidation factor when they moved to the linc. its nothing like the old vet.

 

[Machete]

Here are a few items that my son and I observed yesterday from the stands that may not have been apparent through the broadcast waves:

• The Love Tap. This one is difficult to pick up on TV, but it is there during certain camera angles if you know what to look for. Every time the Cowboys were in shotgun or pistol formation, Brian Waters glanced back several times at Romo. As soon as Romo was ready (some sort of eye contact signal, I suppose), Waters would slap Frederick on the thigh and he would immediately snap the ball. Every time. Without fail. I thought it would be a blatant tell that the Eagles Defense would key on to get a jump on the snap, especially the DE and DT on the right side of our offense, but maybe they were more focused on the ball in the center’s hands. Go back and take a look, and you will notice – watching it live, it was strange. Maybe other teams use this method. It was the first time I ever noticed.

• The Noise Level. “The Linc” was really “The Morgue” yesterday. I’ve never been to a sporting event where the hometown fans were less enthusiastic. The Cowboys defense COMPLETELY took the fans out of the game (of course, the Eagles also played horribly on offense). There were a few times the fans got a bit loud (when the Cowboys were backed up against their own end zone, and when Ryans intercepted Romo), and the entertainment crew does a pretty nice job of trying to get the fans up and out of their seats (especially with the scenes and music from Rocky) but for the most part, the crowd was in utter shock. I thought there would be more frustration directed at Cowboys fans – I think it was more the shock of not meeting the lofty expectations for the game. There were also very few Cowboys fans at the game. Last year, I took my son to see the Ravens game in Baltimore (his first live NFL game) – there were way more Cowboys fans at that game. In the stands yesterday, I heard several Eagles fans remark, “this doesn’t feel like an Eagles-Cowboys game.”

• The Refs. There is an entire other thread on how poor the officiating was yesterday, so I won’t rehash. My son and I couldn’t believe how it seemed like EVERY flag was being thrown at the Cowboys and how many penalties were missed on the Eagles. The Eagles fans knew it, too. I’ve never been a conspiracy guy, but the penalty situation was more frustrating yesterday than Romo’s interception. Here’s what I can tell you, though, being at the stadium. On the Wilcox interception play, they showed the replay on the big screen at either end of the stadium. When they showed the HD close-up angle, every Eagles fan in that stadium was depressed. You could hear “Uh-Oh”’s echoing throughout the arena. When the refs reversed that call there was the briefest moment of silence, then a surprised cheer rose up from the crowd. Not having the benefit of the commentators on TV and using only their own 2 eyes, I’d say that over 75,000 people yesterday made the judgment call that JJ had pulled off a spectacular interception.

• The Wind. Now take this with a grain of salt as I have never been to the Death Star (but hope to some day). Lincoln Financial Field is a beautiful stadium. It is positioned along a North-South axis so that the sun travels overhead and is not directly in the players’ eyes at any point. We were toward the south end of the stadium, 15 yard line, Cowboys’ side. The wind at our end of the stadium was whipping around (they have these giant funky weather-vane-like spinners at the top of each end of the stadium). The wind at the north end of the stadium was completely still. It was eerie. I don’t know whether the wind affected either QB (in my opinion, neither was sharp, though Foles was less so), or that initial decision not to let Bailey kick the long field goal on the very first drive, but I suspect that the wind was more of a factor than what they had indicated on TV.

All in all, it was a beautiful day to take in a football game and I was happy to have my 14-year old son witness his first Cowboys victory live.

Glad to see you and your son left that place unharmed.

 

[basstapp]

I am glad you came back safe after an eagles loss

 

[munkee]

Nice. I just moved to Newark, DE. I really like the city of Philly. I'm reluctant to take my kid to a Cowboys game there, due to the reputation of the fans.

 

[mahoneybill]

Nice report.

The Linc has an open end also, so in effect a wind tunnel effect can occur. If you ever have the opportunity to drive by the stadium on I 95 you will see it.

 

[VACowboy]

I noticed Waters peeking. Was kinda weird.

 

[BulletBob]

I noticed Waters peeking. Was kinda weird.

Peeking AND slapping. Every time, a slap on Frederick's thigh.

 

[BulletBob]

Glad to see you and your son left that place unharmed.

Thanks, Iowa. My son actually got a bit upset with me when Sean Lee picked off Barkley toward the end of the game. He jumped out of his seat and was about to yell, and I shushed him up, because I knew it was the breaking point in the game.

I grew up in South Philly and remember how the fans treated me at the Vet as a kid his age. I didn't want him to have to experience the same thing.

I was totally surprised at the behavior of the Eagles fans. No outbursts, no foul language (for the most part), no sloppy drunkedness. I'm telling you, I think the Eagles fans were in complete shock and didn't know how to react.

And yes, Zordon, the atmosphere was 100% different at the Linc than it was at the Vet. Almost makes me sad. Almost!

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Thanks, Iowa. My son actually got a bit upset with me when Sean Lee picked off Barkley toward the end of the game. He jumped out of his seat and was about to yell, and I shushed him up, because I knew it was the breaking point in the game.

I grew up in South Philly and remember how the fans treated me at the Vet as a kid his age. I didn't want him to have to experience the same thing.

I was totally surprised at the behavior of the Eagles fans. No outbursts, no foul language (for the most part), no sloppy drunkedness. I'm telling you, I think the Eagles fans were in complete shock and didn't know how to react.

And yes, Zordon, the atmosphere was 100% different at the Linc than it was at the Vet. Almost makes me sad. Almost!

You must have had good seats. haha

 

[BulletBob]

You must have had good seats. haha

Roy, yes, we did. It was a conscious decision. While I am still in awe at how expensive NFL tickets have become, I figured that we probably only will go to one game per year, so I would blow the extra to ensure we weren't sitting in the raucous sections.

I still can't wrap my head around the fact that each ticket cost more than the price of a round-trip airfare ticket.

 

[theebs]

Nice post. Watching road games makes me feel like I am missing half of the game.

I noticed the waters tap on tv.

Babe and Steve Dennis said during the pregame that the wind was going to mess with the passing and kicking games, not many reported it.

 

[Neverhood]

The waters slapping Fred thing is very common. We do it every away game and sometimes with too much noise at home. And a ton of teams around the NFL do it. You must just not have noticed on TV the last few weeks

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Roy, yes, we did. It was a conscious decision. While I am still in awe at how expensive NFL tickets have become, I figured that we probably only will go to one game per year, so I would blow the extra to ensure we weren't sitting in the raucous sections.

I still can't wrap my head around the fact that each ticket cost more than the price of a round-trip airfare ticket.

Yea, alot of the rif raff occurs in the cheap seats.

 

[MRV52]

they lost a lot of the intimidation factor when they moved to the linc. its nothing like the old vet.

But there wacky fans moved also.

 

[VACowboy]

Peeking AND slapping. Every time, a slap on Frederick's thigh.

We didn't sign Waters last year...why?

 

[MRV52]

Thanks, Iowa. My son actually got a bit upset with me when Sean Lee picked off Barkley toward the end of the game. He jumped out of his seat and was about to yell, and I shushed him up, because I knew it was the breaking point in the game.

I grew up in South Philly and remember how the fans treated me at the Vet as a kid his age. I didn't want him to have to experience the same thing.

I was totally surprised at the behavior of the Eagles fans. No outbursts, no foul language (for the most part), no sloppy drunkedness. I'm telling you, I think the Eagles fans were in complete shock and didn't know how to react.

And yes, Zordon, the atmosphere was 100% different at the Linc than it was at the Vet. Almost makes me sad. Almost!

May be the bad eagles fans moved to Kansas City to boo and curse at Andy Reid.

 

[DiResta]

The waters slapping Fred thing is very common. We do it every away game and sometimes with too much noise at home. And a ton of teams around the NFL do it. You must just not have noticed on TV the last few weeks

Tapping is silent count used by many teams.

 

[dmq]

We didn't sign Waters last year...why?

NE wouldn't release him from his contract.

I live in the NE and it was very windy yesterday. I imagine it was a factor in the game.