The Dolphin
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Empty stadiums might be loud this year, with the NFL reportedly considering allowing teams to pump in fake crowd noise over stadium loudspeakers. And one team is already concerned about opponents abusing that.
Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey acknowledged that he has asked about how fake crowd noise would be controlled, and he hasn’t heard a good answer.
“I haven’t heard any official word on that,” Gailey said, via the Palm Beach Post. “I keep asking the same question, though.”
Gailey wondered whether a hometown stadium audio operator might make calling signals hard on the road team.
“Is that what’s going to happen and then who controls the volume on that?” Gailey said. “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.”
Dolphins quarterbacks coach Robby Brown said the Dolphins will have to be ready to use silent counts even in empty stadiums.
“If it is loud, you have to be ready to communicate, get the message to everybody, you have to be able to make sure that everybody knows what they’re doing and what we’re doing,” Brown said. “It could be an issue, but I don’t know exactly how that’s going to work yet. Hopefully they won’t turn it up too loud when we’ve got the ball.”
If fake crowd noise is going to be used, the NFL is going to need a standard for determining what is excessive, and when it’s fair to use it. That’s not the highest priority for the NFL in this most unusual of seasons, but it is something the league needs to have squared away.