Patriots Players Dispute Pete Carroll's Comments On Fans At Gillette Stadium
/ CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll caused a stir on Monday when he went on a Seattle-based sports radio show to talk about his team's 31-24 win at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night. When asked about the fans and the atmosphere in Foxboro, Carroll said that Gillette is "not a great place" and that Seahawks fans would have cheered much more loudly than Patriots fans did at certain points of the game.
Naturally, Patriots players were asked about Carroll's pointed remarks on Monday. Special teams ace Matthew Slater didn't agree with Carroll's assessment and praised the home fans.
"He said it 'wasn't nuts?' Well, [the Seahawks] have the 12th man, which is a great fanbase, but we enjoy our fanbase," said Slater. "We appreciate the way that they support us. I think they brought a lot of positive energy [Sunday] night. So I would have to say that I appreciate what our fans did for us and they provided a good environment last night."
Seattle Seahawks fans react after defeating the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on November 13, 2016. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Cornerback Justin Coleman disputed the underlying implication of Carroll's comments, that the fans make Gillette an easier place to play for opponents than other venues.
"I love the atmosphere [at Gillette]," said Coleman. "As far as the fans and the environment ... from another team's perspective, it's probably a hard place to play at."
Regardless of how the fans behave, the Patriots have compiled one of the best home records in the NFL under Bill Belichick. The 2016 season marks the first time since 2012 that the Patriots will lose more than one home game. They are 31-6 at Gillette Stadium in that span.
Tom Brady infamously described the fans at Gillette as "our friendly home crowd" back in back in 2010, so there is obviously some legitimacy to Carroll's comments. But the lack of loudness relative to fans in places like Denver and Kansas City also has to do with the open nature of the architecture at Gillette Stadium, which is not conducive to containing crowd noise.
The only way for the fans to prove Carroll wrong, now, is to bring some serious decibels to future games.
Patriots Players Dispute Pete Carroll's Comments On Fans At Gillette Stadium
/ CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll caused a stir on Monday when he went on a Seattle-based sports radio show to talk about his team's 31-24 win at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night. When asked about the fans and the atmosphere in Foxboro, Carroll said that Gillette is "not a great place" and that Seahawks fans would have cheered much more loudly than Patriots fans did at certain points of the game.
Naturally, Patriots players were asked about Carroll's pointed remarks on Monday. Special teams ace Matthew Slater didn't agree with Carroll's assessment and praised the home fans.
"He said it 'wasn't nuts?' Well, [the Seahawks] have the 12th man, which is a great fanbase, but we enjoy our fanbase," said Slater. "We appreciate the way that they support us. I think they brought a lot of positive energy [Sunday] night. So I would have to say that I appreciate what our fans did for us and they provided a good environment last night."
Cornerback Justin Coleman disputed the underlying implication of Carroll's comments, that the fans make Gillette an easier place to play for opponents than other venues.
"I love the atmosphere [at Gillette]," said Coleman. "As far as the fans and the environment ... from another team's perspective, it's probably a hard place to play at."
Regardless of how the fans behave, the Patriots have compiled one of the best home records in the NFL under Bill Belichick. The 2016 season marks the first time since 2012 that the Patriots will lose more than one home game. They are 31-6 at Gillette Stadium in that span.
Tom Brady infamously described the fans at Gillette as "our friendly home crowd" back in back in 2010, so there is obviously some legitimacy to Carroll's comments. But the lack of loudness relative to fans in places like Denver and Kansas City also has to do with the open nature of the architecture at Gillette Stadium, which is not conducive to containing crowd noise.
The only way for the fans to prove Carroll wrong, now, is to bring some serious decibels to future games.
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