Obviously the Raiders are feeling pretty good about their 2-0 start to the season. Especially after their big win in Los Angeles this past Sunday. But the schedule is about to get much tougher, starting with their trip to New Orleans this week.
Yeah, the Saints are a tough team. But there will be a factor outside of what they put on the field that should play a major role in the game -- crowd noise.
First of all, the Saints opened this season with consecutive road games. Which means this is their home opener. They're coming off a big come-from-behind win over the Ravens, so the Saints fans are going to be pumped.
The fans are always pretty raucous in New Orleans, but they should be at peak peformance in this one. In a dome, where when they get
loud, they get LOUD.
"They just do a good job with the noise," said Raiders QB Kirk Cousins. "First of all they're passionate fans, they're supportive of their team, it's a great community, they rally behind the team, and they've always played hard and played really well there. It's a tough environment every time."
This factor presents a new challenge for this Raiders team that opened the season at home and then went to their home away from home in LA with a heavily Raiders fan crowd in attendance.
The Raiders will prepare for the noise, but no amount of preparation can keep a hostile environment like that from playing a role in their performance. It affects the play calls at the line and pre-snap penalties as well, which can put an offense in a hole they may not be able to dig out of.
Add that they will be playing in the Eastern Time Zone, making the start of the game at 10am on their bodily clocks, and the Raiders will have another big test Week three.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders face new element in Week 3 vs Saints for toughest test yet
