IRVING, Texas -- For all of the consternation about the loud Houston Texans fans inside AT&T Stadium last week, it might help the Dallas Cowboys this week against the Seattle Seahawks.
Second-year center Travis Frederick was asked about some of the loud places he has played and rattled off Ohio State and Nebraska while he was at Wisconsin. He mentioned last year's game at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs.
What about last week?
"Yes, last week was a little bit louder than we would hope at a home game," Frederick said. "Every week you kind of roll into new things and you roll into things that are similar from last weekend. Actually, it was probably a good thing we had a little practice with the silent count."
Seattle's CenturyLink Field is one of the loudest venues in the NFL and it seems even louder because of just how good the Seahawks are. Russell Wilson has lost just one game in three years at home. It's more than just the crowd, but the crowd helps.
"They're good wherever they play," coach Jason Garrett said. "They're particularly good there in that environment when that crowd gets behind them and they play to that. The biggest thing we have to do in all three phases in our game is we have to execute."
When the Cowboys visited Seattle in 2012, they fumbled the opening kickoff, had a punt blocked and Tony Romo was intercepted the first three times they had the ball. They stayed in the game, but picked up four first downs in the second half and lost 27-7, the crowd's noise growing as the game wore on.
"Well, it just gives them a very big advantage," Romo said of CenturyLink Field. "Their ability to get off the ball, the snap count. They understand you're not going to have the time to push the ball down the field that consistently, so you have to do different things to try and counter that and get the ball down the field. You just have to execute and not give them anything easy with penalties and turnovers, things of that nature."
At Wednesday's practice the music that plays every day seemed louder. Maybe that was by design. Or maybe it just seemed that way. The Cowboys worked almost flawlessly at home with a silent count. They'll have to do it again Sunday on the road.
"I think it's just being on point with your communication," Frederick said. "Also being on point with understanding what the person next to you has to be doing. Sometimes you don't get to double-check. You have to know exactly what your job is and know what the guys next to you are doing."