jedinite
10-26-2005, 02:51 PM
Home cooking tastes better than ever in the NFL. Through seven weeks of the season, home teams are winning by a ratio of nearly 2-to-1 — a 65.6% clip, on pace to mark the best home-team winning percentage since the 1970 merger with the AFL.
The widest gap for a full season since 1970 occurred in 1985, when home teams won 64.3% of games. Last season home teams had a 56.6% victory rate.
"I'm a little surprised" by the increase, CBS analyst Phil Simms says. "It tells you the talent level is so even in the league, with so many equal parts and so many close games, that something like crowd noise can be the difference."
Of 102 games played through Monday, home teams won 67 times. The total includes the New York Giants' Week 2 victory against the New Orleans Saints, when the league switched the site to Giants Stadium from the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina and designated it as a Saints "home game."
As the Giants' 4-0 record on their home field and 0-2 mark away from the Meadowlands suggests, the advantage has an influence on the standings. All seven NFL teams that are unbeaten at home this season lead or are tied for first place in their divisions.
"Maybe it's just a quirk in the scheduling," NFL Films President Steve Sabol ponders, "where a lot of the stronger teams have had more home games."
It is not uncommon for teams to feed off increasingly active home crowds.
"I've seen coaches like (Atlanta's) Jim Mora, raising their hands and turning to the stands, exhorting the fans to make noise," Sabol says. "Obviously, they think it affects the game. Just think about the audibles."
This weekend just one road team is favored by oddsmakers: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1), visiting the San Francisco 49ers (1-5).
The Philadelphia Eagles (3-0 at home, 1-2 away) must buck the trend at the Denver Broncos to maintain a share of the NFC East lead Sunday. The AFC West-leading Broncos are 4-0 at home.
The Chicago Bears (playing at the Detroit Lions) and the Buffalo Bills (at the New England Patriots) can claim the lead in the NFC North and AFC East with victories Sunday. But neither team has won a road game this season.
Of course, there are exceptions.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, trailing the Cincinnati Bengals by a half-game in the AFC Central, are 3-0 on the road this season and have won a franchise-record 10 consecutive road games. Their two losses came at Heinz Field.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2005-10-25-home-teams_x.htm
The widest gap for a full season since 1970 occurred in 1985, when home teams won 64.3% of games. Last season home teams had a 56.6% victory rate.
"I'm a little surprised" by the increase, CBS analyst Phil Simms says. "It tells you the talent level is so even in the league, with so many equal parts and so many close games, that something like crowd noise can be the difference."
Of 102 games played through Monday, home teams won 67 times. The total includes the New York Giants' Week 2 victory against the New Orleans Saints, when the league switched the site to Giants Stadium from the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina and designated it as a Saints "home game."
As the Giants' 4-0 record on their home field and 0-2 mark away from the Meadowlands suggests, the advantage has an influence on the standings. All seven NFL teams that are unbeaten at home this season lead or are tied for first place in their divisions.
"Maybe it's just a quirk in the scheduling," NFL Films President Steve Sabol ponders, "where a lot of the stronger teams have had more home games."
It is not uncommon for teams to feed off increasingly active home crowds.
"I've seen coaches like (Atlanta's) Jim Mora, raising their hands and turning to the stands, exhorting the fans to make noise," Sabol says. "Obviously, they think it affects the game. Just think about the audibles."
This weekend just one road team is favored by oddsmakers: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1), visiting the San Francisco 49ers (1-5).
The Philadelphia Eagles (3-0 at home, 1-2 away) must buck the trend at the Denver Broncos to maintain a share of the NFC East lead Sunday. The AFC West-leading Broncos are 4-0 at home.
The Chicago Bears (playing at the Detroit Lions) and the Buffalo Bills (at the New England Patriots) can claim the lead in the NFC North and AFC East with victories Sunday. But neither team has won a road game this season.
Of course, there are exceptions.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, trailing the Cincinnati Bengals by a half-game in the AFC Central, are 3-0 on the road this season and have won a franchise-record 10 consecutive road games. Their two losses came at Heinz Field.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2005-10-25-home-teams_x.htm