Matthew Stafford: Rams Prepared to Use 'Silent Count' Ahead of Home Opener vs. Bills

Stafford discussed the Rams' home field advantage, or lack thereof, following the loss to the Bills.

In sports, there are few equalizing factors in games that can compare to a team's home-field advantage. For the best teams, playing at home almost always feels like a guaranteed win due to the atmosphere their fans create, which makes life difficult for the opposing team. 

Well, unless you're the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, in which case you never seem to have a home-field advantage. Even after a Super Bowl victory, the Rams' season opener against the Buffalo Bills seemingly had a pro-Bills skew among the fans. 

However, this is far from a new phenomenon for the Rams, who dealt with similar issues last season, both during the regular season and their Super Bowl run. So much so that quarterback Matthew Stafford admitted they aren't surprised when it happens, and they even practice silent counts ahead of home games.

"No. I mean, we prepared for it," Stafford said. "We prepared to be on the silent count at home again. But it wasn't something that we haven't done before.” 

The lack of a home-field advantage was painfully obvious last season when the San Francisco 49ers came to town, despite the Rams beating them in the NFC Championship game. 

Now, even after a Super Bowl win, the Rams simply can't seem to gain the home-field advantage. 

Of course, it doesn't matter too much if the Rams still win the home games, but an inability to secure that advantage against even the Bills speaks to the Rams' popularity in the city of Los Angeles. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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