How Important Will The Georgia Dome Crowd Be Sunday?

Over the last couple of days, Falcons coaches, Falcons players and pundits have talked up the impact of crowd noise on the upcoming Falcons-Eagles game. To be clear, I'm not arguing that it's helpful, but it got me to thinking about just how important that noise is.

First, the benefits of the crowd getting really into it. If it's so loud that the players can't even hear themselves think down on the field, you can screw up an offense. Timeouts are taken, one guy misses the message and blows his route, blood flows out of eardrums, etc. It can be disruptive and, even more than that, extremely frustrating for players trying to

Yet its effect can also be overstated. We all remember Project 115, the team's noble attempt to get Falcons fans to be really fargin' loud for the Falcons-Packers game in the NFC playoffs. Well, fans certainly began the night with promise, and they even broke the 115 decibel level. It didn't stop the Packers from stomping all over our beloved birds in the Dome, unfortunately.

So here's my simple advice: If you're in the Dome, yell. A lot. It may only affect one play, but you never know when that will make a difference. Inspiring, no?

Now you tell us what you think.