Colts not banking on home field advantage
INDIANAPOLIS --The Indianapolis Colts are not banking on home-field advantage to be the difference for them this time in the playoffs against the Patriots.
Indianapolis has shined both indoors (9-1, including the playoffs) and on synthetic surfaces this year (12-1, including the playoffs) and has not lost inside the climate-controlled confines of the RCA Dome all season (9-0, including the playoffs). However, tight end Dallas Clark said that home-field advantage is just that, an advantage, not the deciding factor.
“I think it helps out, but we also know as players that it's not the ultimate factor,” said Clark. “We just went on the road to Baltimore and won in a tough environment. We know it's going to raise havoc for New England, but we have to give them a reason to have a little havoc. We have to do our part to make it tough for them.
“The crowd is definitely going to help us with motivation and momentum, but we definitely have to give them reasons to cheer. We have to give them something to cheer about and get excited and get loud. If we do our part it's going to be a hostile environment, but they've been in the situation before, so it's nothing that we're banking on. They'll be able to hand it very well.”
Colts coach Tony Dungy bristled at the suggestion that the Colts are a team built to play indoors or on artificial surfaces.
“We don't think we're a dome team,” he said. “We don't look at ourselves that way. We just think of ourselves as a team that shows up and plays every week. We like to play at home. We like the noise factor, all of those things help you at home, but we never looked at ourselves as being tailored to play inside.”
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