Former LSU standout Kevin Faulk is looking forward to returning to familiar territory — the New Orleans Superdome, where the running back won a state championship at Carencro High in 1992 and the first of his three Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots a decade later — but that’s not clouding his focus. Mere “memories,” Faulk told The Times-Picayune after practice one day last week, that will “have no bearing on Monday night’s game.”
“We have to play the Saints tonight, and they might be the best team in the NFL, so we will have to play a great game to have any chance, “ he said.
For a player so deeply rooted in Louisiana football, surely it sounds weird to use the phrases “Saints” and “best team in the NFL” in the same sentence?
“It’s not weird at all, “ Faulk said. “They went out and upgraded themselves in the offseason, and that’s what the top teams do. What impresses me most is the speed, the team speed that I see.”
Read the T-P story here.
Faulk isn't the only Patriot dismissing the dome factor. The Boston Herald reported yesterday on the noise — and alcohol — the Pats (7-3) will face tonight against the 10-0 Saints:
Laurence Maroney has heard the tales. Inside the Louisiana Superdome on “Monday Night Football,” the Patriots running back won’t be surprised to find an emotion- and alcohol-charged atmosphere from the Saints fans.
He’s expecting to find an unfriendly fan, or 70,000 of them. Yet as the Patriots search for their first meaningful road victory, he doesn’t mind.
“All the booing and loud stuff really doesn’t get to me,” Maroney said.
We’ll see about that.
Read the Herald story here.