Will Denver's altitude impact Patriots in AFC Championship? Former player says "don't buy into it."
Denver, Colorado is 5,280 feet above sea level. The number is written on the Denver Broncos uniforms and the altitude will be an invisible player on the field when the Patriots face them in the AFC title game on Sunday.
"The home field advantage in Denver is built into the atmosphere. There's 20% less oxygen effective at that altitude," said Mark Kramer, owner of Higher Peak, a company that trains Olympic athletes to compete at higher altitudes. "When we are taking athletes that are doing endurance events, we will put them low oxygen tents to get them used to the altitude."
Sleeping in the tents increases red blood cells. The more an athlete has, the more oxygen can be delivered in the body. Kramer says training like this usually happens four to six weeks prior to an event.
"All I can say for the Patriots is get out there as early as you can. I hope they are on the plane today to get there to try to get used to the altitude," said Kramer.
The plan is for the Patriots to travel to Denver on Saturday. Head Coach Mike Vrabel said the players wouldn't see any acclimation benefit unless they left last Thursday, which was never a possibility.
"I think they will feel it all through the game, but if you get out there and practice, you won't have the psychological impact of feeling tired," said Kramer.
"Don't buy into it. It is a red herring. It is not even real," said former Patriots tight end Christian Fauria. "It's more mental than anything. That's why they have 5280 on their helmet. They want you to continually think about it as a thing."
Fauria played his college career at the University of Colorado and played in Denver with the Patriots.
"We used to have it in the visitor's locker room when I was at Colorado. Tons of signage. The University of Miami came to play us and they covered it up because they didn't want their players to internalize it and freak out if they were huffing and puffing," said Fauria.
He admits, the altitude fatigue exists, just not to the extent people make it out to be. The thinner air has also helped to produce two record breaking long field goals at Mile High.
"Can you kick it farther? yes, but is Drake Maye all of a sudden going to rip back and throw it 85 yards with accuracy? Probably not," said Fauria.
The Pats will have to hope it's all just a lot of hot air.