When the Green Bay Packers traveled to Seattle for their Week 1 blowout loss to the Seahawks, they got a taste of just how ridiculously loud it gets at CenturyLink Field.
Having gone through the experience that caused Around The NFL's Dan Hanzus to spring geysers of praise, the Packers believe they'll be better for it.
"That kickoff opener, that Week 1, it's probably as loud as that place has been all season long," fullback John Kuhn said Friday, per the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "That place was rocking. It's a tremendous place to play. We can look back on that and see some of the things we didn't do as well, and learn from those and make sure we don't repeat the same mistakes."
The experience entering Sunday afternoon's NFC Championship bout will be especially helpful for young players like rookie center Corey Linsley, who was making his first start in Week 1, or second-year left tackle David Bakhtiari, who had no idea about the hornet's nest he was stepping into.
"I'll be honest," Bakhtiari said, "these guys were really freaking out about the noise, and it's all cracked up as it is. I had never been in that environment. So I was like, 'OK, how loud can it be compared to an away game? I've been in loud stadiums, OK. You don't understand.' So now that I've been there, I have an idea. I have first-hand experience, and it's not passed down through narrative."
The Packers now have to take that experience and translate it into production -- a task that still isn't easy, even for teams that visit the 12s' nest each year.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast previews Championship Sunday and makes our picks for each game. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
