If it were up to Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith, Heinz Field would have artificial turf instead of grass.
With rain in the forecast for the Saturday night AFC Wild Card Game between the Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Smith recently weighed in with his concerns about the grass surface at Heinz Field.
“It’s terrible. They need to go ahead and put some turf up there or something,” Smith said Thursday. “Apparently the field gets a lot of use. That’s good for them, but it’s terrible for us playing this late [in the season]. I’m sure they’ll do a great job prepping it.”
Heinz Field can indeed get nasty when it rains and in 2009 it was voted the worst playing surface among NFL stadiums with natural grass, according to a survey done by the NFLPA. At that time, only 14 Steelers players reportedly voted the playing surface excellent or good while the other 38 voted it as being fair or poor.
The current forecast for Saturday night calls for 100 percent chance of rain. In addition, the heavy rains are expected to come right before kickoff, so Smith better wear his rubbers.
