February’s Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles was met with criticism for its playing surface.
State Farm Stadium in Arizona has had a reputation for having poor traction on the turf, and the New England Patriots had to deal with it firsthand when they faced the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 for Super Bowl XLIX.
Former Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola recalled preparations for the 2014 Super Bowl. Bill Belichick instructed his players to wear detachable, more commonly known as seven-stud, cleats. Molded cleats are often lighter, which made the adjustment for that year’s Super Bowl disappointing for some.
Amendola explained the reasoning behind it during an episode of Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Zack Cox.
“When you play a night game in AZ, for some reason the grass always gets a little dewy at night, and it’s so slick,” said Amendola. “I’ve worn seven-studs (cleats) on that field numerous times. One Super Bowl we played in, Bill made it a mandatory seven-stud game. We were all bitching and moaning, but we didn’t have too many slips.
“…We watched the film after we played Seattle in that stadium for the Super Bowl, and they had guys on the ground all night. And the fact that we (all had seven-stud cleats), I felt better, and I kind of switched my routes up knowing that they were going to slip. I switched my releases up a little bit and have them kind of get on skates a little bit more, and I felt very comfortable that game with seven-studs.”
Amendola would finish with five catches for 48 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown in the game. The score closed Seattle’s lead to 24-21 at the time and ultimately helped lead to a Patriots victory.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs and Eagles, they probably could have used this advice prior to the Super Bowl. Nevertheless, it serves as a reminder that Bill Belichick is one of the best at game day preparation. The Super Bowl win against the Seahawks holds significance as well, as it was the start of another trio of championships for the Patriots.
