Why is their no tarp on the field?

[swheeler23]

Why no tarp on the field?

New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

 

[STFarmy]

Umm I would assume to slow down Chris Johnson.

 

[Rob0729]

Considering it is supposed to be driving rain all throughout the game and the Pats have field turf, does it really matter? If it was natural grass, I could see a problem. But with field turf, I don't think it will be any slicker come game time than if they took it off an hour before the game for pregame workouts.

 

[The Dynasty]

Considering it is supposed to be driving rain all throughout the game and the Pats have field turf, does it really matter? If it was natural grass, I could see a problem. But with field turf, I don't think it will be any slicker come game time than if they took it off an hour before the game for pregame workouts.

Yeah I completely agree, we have field turf. I dont think it matters...

 

[billdog3484]

haha no matter what surface you have, if there is driving rain, it will certainly matter. id have to agree that the tarp has not come out because we want the field to be slow for chris johnson

 

[Rob0729]

haha no matter what surface you have, if there is driving rain, it will certainly matter. id have to agree that the tarp has not come out because we want the field to be slow for chris johnson

Well, it would matter even if it was tarped if there is a driving rain. Field turf doesn't hold the water though. In natural grass, collecting the rain would seep into and loosen the ground making the grass come up and create a sloppy, slower track. The rain on field turf sits on the top of the field (and drains to the sidelines) and can be squeegied off prior to the game.

A tarp doesn't really make much of a difference unless they expected it to stop raining prior to the start of the game.

 

[billdog3484]

Well, it would matter even if it was tarped if there is a driving rain. Field turf doesn't hold the water though. In natural grass, collecting the rain would seep into and loosen the ground making the grass come up and create a sloppy, slower track. The rain on field turf sits on the top of the field (and drains to the sidelines) and can be squeegied off prior to the game.

A tarp doesn't really make much of a difference unless they expected it to stop raining prior to the start of the game.

maybe if there is a hi-tech drainage system tarp it wouldnt make a difference, but if that was the case it'd be similar to grass with or without.

 

[mosslost]

Why is it so hard to understand that there isn't DIRT underneath field turf? That is what ultimately makes the field sloppy in rainy conditions.

The fact is that although rain will affect the field in some way, not having a tarp over field turf will not affect the speed of the game the way not having a tarp over grass and dirt would.

 

[Rob0729]

maybe if there is a hi-tech drainage system tarp it wouldnt make a difference, but if that was the case it'd be similar to grass with or without.

When did squeegies become high tech? With a rubber surface underneath the grass, where exactly is the rain going to collect in a field turf? Maybe it is high tech rain that can obsorb into rubber and synthetic material.

It isn't similiar to grass in rain at all. The reason the Pats switched to field turf was because the elements ate apart the field and made it a slop fest. Field turf doesn't hold the water.

 

[billdog3484]

When did squeegies become high tech? With a rubber surface underneath the grass, where exactly is the rain going to collect in a field turf? Maybe it is high tech rain that can obsorb into rubber and synthetic material.

It isn't similiar to grass in rain at all. The reason the Pats switched to field turf was because the elements ate apart the field and made it a slop fest. Field turf doesn't hold the water.

do you even know what field turf is?

 

[mosslost]

do you even know what field turf is?

Do you?

"The surface is composed of monofilament polyethylene blend fibers tufted into a polypropylene backing. The infill is composed of a bottom layer of silica sand, a middle layer which is a mixture of sand and cryogenic rubber and a top layer of only rubber."

Rubber... HMMMMMM

 

[Rob0729]

do you even know what field turf is?

Yes, there is artificial grass with a a very thin layer crush rubber (or other synthetic material) underneath (techincally sprinkled in) called infill and then a hard sysnthetic surface underneath it. There isn't enough crushed ruber/synthetic material layer to collect enough water to make a difference especially in a driving rain at game time.

Do you understand how how field turf works? The only reason you cover a field turf is to protect it from getting wet because it gets slick when it is wet. Below is a diagram of field turf. Tell me how leaving it out in the rain all day is going to make a significant difference than if they uncover it an hour or two before the game and the rain is accumulating at about an inch an hour? There probably isn't even an inch of infill.

 

[Rob0729]

Do you?

"The surface is composed of monofilament polyethylene blend fibers tufted into a polypropylene backing. The infill is composed of a bottom layer of silica sand, a middle layer which is a mixture of sand and cryogenic rubber and a top layer of only rubber."

Rubber... HMMMMMM

High tech rain turns rupper into slop. Proven fact.

BTW, I didn't realize there was sand mixed in with the rubber with the infill. My bad.

EDIT: Sorry, it is silica sand, not real sand. My bad again.

 

[Pats726]

Yes, there is artificial grass with a a very thin layer crush rubber (or other synthetic material) underneath (techincally sprinkled in) called infill and then a hard sysnthetic surface underneath it. There isn't enough crushed ruber/synthetic material layer to collect enough water to make a difference especially in a driving rain at game time.

Do you understand how how field turf works? The only reason you cover a field turf is to protect it from getting wet because it gets slick when it is wet. Below is a diagram of field turf. Tell me how leaving it out in the rain all day is going to make a significant difference than if they uncover it an hour or two before the game and the rain is accumulating at about an inch an hour? There probably isn't even an inch of infill.

Thanks....so what you are sayiong is with a LOT of rain the tarp means nothing...maybe ONLY a psychological advatange...and the will squegee it off before the game and at the half...I assume..

 

[amhunt2]

Why no tarp on the field?New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

People assume gamesmanship...but it really it makes no difference when it's field turf

 

[mosslost]

Do you guys remember this game:

Miami Dolphins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - Recap - November 26, 2007 - ESPN

The Steelers played the Dolphins and the grass field was SO bad there was one punt that lodged itself halfway into the field. 3 - 0 final. That happening on field turf? Tell me how.

 

[Rob0729]

Thanks....so what you are sayiong is with a LOT of rain the tarp means nothing...maybe ONLY a psychological advatange...and the will squegee it off before the game and at the half...I assume..

Yeah. There is only so much rain that can be collected on the field since about an inch or two down is a hard surface. The field is bowed anyway to let the rain drain and there are probably some drains under the the surface too.

If the Pats expected the rain to clear up by 4:15 there would be a need to tarp, but they would have to take the tarp off about now anyway for pregame warm ups and the way it is raining it will collect about 2 inches by gametime anyway.

 

[billdog3484]

while i do not know the technology of the field turf system, i have played on it, alot. i know that there is some sort of artifical grass, laid on top of rubber pellets.

like any field though, there is only so much water a field can take before becoming flooded. regardless, the bottom, rubber surface will fill and become softer with rain. water will have an impact on the field, unless the underlying draining system has the ability to drain.

 

[mosslost]

No one is saying that there wont be an impact on the field condition. What is being said that there is only so soft it will get, making covering it pointless when it will be raining all day anyway.

 

[Rob0729]

while i do not know the technology of the field turf system, i have played on it, alot. i know that there is some sort of artifical grass, laid on top of rubber pellets.

like any field though, there is only so much water a field can take before becoming flooded. regardless, the bottom, rubber surface will fill and become softer with rain. water will have an impact on the field, unless the underlying draining system has the ability to drain.

Of course the rain is going to have an impact on the field and will affect the surface. My point was that it would have the same impact in the rain whether it was covered or not. Unlike a natural grass surface, there is only so much rain that can be collected on a natural grass surface. Say it rains 6 inches before the game, most of that rain will get collected in a natural grass surface and make the track a slop fest. On field turf, most of that runs off (or the field would be a lake). There is only so much water that can collect on an artificial surface and it is going to reach that tipping point in that weather if the turf is uncovered an hour before the game or the day before the game.

The field today because of the heavy rains is going to be no different that they took the tarp off long before the game (if it was on at all) or if they took it off an hour ago. The surface will be compromised a bit, but there will be little difference with either approach. You only want to cover the surface if there is a chance that the rain will stop before pregame warm ups or kick off. Then it can make a difference.