Game canceled because of turf problem

By Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press

	By Brad C. Bower, AP
	The new artificial surface at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium gets a hurried repair before the Philadelphia Eagles' preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens was postponed.

NEW YORK — The Baltimore-Philadelphia preseason game was officially canceled Tuesday, a day after it was postponed off because of an unplayable field at Veterans Stadium. The decision was made by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue after a conference call with owner Jeff Lurie and president Joe Banner of the Eagles and president David Modell of the Ravens.

The game was called after officials, coaches and players from both teams thought uneven cutouts in the field could affect players' footing. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the schedule provided little room for rescheduling the game, the first preseason contest for both.

Each has a game this Saturday and again next Thursday. Schedules are also affected by schedules for the two baseball teams from the cities — the Phillies share the stadium with the Eagles and the Ravens are next door to the Orioles' Camden Yards.

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Audio		USATODAY.com analyst and former coach Kevin Gilbride: Postponing the game was the right call

Some disappointed fans, among the estimated 45,000 in attendance, smashed will-call windows and other areas outside the 30-year-old stadium. Six people were arrested for unruly behavior, and that was just one problem.

The press elevator then got stuck between the first and second level while a news conference took place. There were no injuries, but 18 people waited 41 minutes to be let out.

The start time, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., was originally pushed back 35 minutes. At 8:09, the stadium announcer said the game was "temporarily suspended." Fans, who were offered a full refund, immediately began booing. At least one object was thrown on the field.

Fifteen minutes later, the game was officially postponed by Peter Hadhazy, the NFL's director of game operations.

No one questioned the decision.

"It was completely unanimous from everybody's perspective," Eagles president Joe Banner said. "The field is not suitable to playing.

"We're disappointed. We've been going through this for years. It's not acceptable. The conditions this team is forced to play in is absolutely unacceptable and an embarrassment to the city of Philadelphia."

The last NFL game that was canceled without starting was Aug. 19, 1995, at the Astrodome. The San Diego Chargers were unable to play the Houston Oilers because the turf was determined to be unsafe.

The Super Bowl champion Ravens were hoping to get a look at a couple running backs and the offensive line because Jamal Lewis went down for the season with a knee injury in practice last week, and right tackle Leon Searcy is out 10-to-12 weeks after tearing a tendon in his arm early in camp.

James Brookins, who spent last season on three team's practice squads, and Chris Barnes, a fifth-round pick, were set to get a bulk of the carries.

The Ravens signed veteran Terry Allen on Saturday, and were waiting to see how Brookins and Barnes fared before deciding whether to pursue free agent Chris Warren.

"The most important thing to note is the safety and well-being of the players will be the No. 1 determinant in everything we do," Ravens coach Brian Billick said.

Eagles running back Duce Staley also was to see his first action since last Oct. 1 when he went down with a foot injury.

"The players were disappointed we weren't able to play," Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent said. "The field conditions were horrendous."

Vincent said players actually sunk into the turf on parts of the field near the infield cutouts.

"I'm embarrassed to put Brian and the Ravens through their travel here," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.

The Eagles, who share Veterans Stadium with baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, use large squares of turf to cover the areas surrounding infield dirt patches.

Banner said the problem involved three areas of the new NexTurf, installed for this baseball season, covering the pitcher's mound and first and second base.

Players noticed the uneven turf during a routine walk-through before the game. Grounds crews added layers of dirt under the cutouts to try to remedy the problem, to no avail.

"The surface underneath the turf was not smoothed properly, so that when you lay the turf on it you've got, not a ripple, but ruts to the point where it was unsafe," Banner said. "You could twist an ankle or a knee too easily."

Before the game was called off, players and coaches from both teams conferred with referee Tom White on the condition of the field. They included Billick, Ravens president David Modell, and players Tony Siragusa and Harry Swayne, along with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, Reid and Vincent.

"The risk to the players was too great, and it really is a shame," Modell said.

City managing director Joe Martz said workers practiced converting the stadium between its baseball and football orientations for three days last month and that the transition went smoothly.

"I guess what we didn't expect, and what we didn't account for, at least, was the amount of rain that we've received over the last three days and specifically over the last 24 hours," Martz said.

The Eagles are slated to move into a new, football-only stadium for the 2003 season.

The Vet is notorious for problems with its turf. Numerous players were injured after hitting the surface or tripping over a cutout.

Last year, Bears quarterback Cade McNown separated his throwing shoulder after being driven into the turf by Mike Caldwell.

In October 1993, Bears wide receiver Wendell Davis blew out both knees on the same play while running a pass route.

"The whole league knows about the Vet turf," Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said last year. "There's two things you can get hit by: our defenders or our stadium. They're both hard hits."

The quality of the Vet's playing surface was such a concern that the league instituted a turf review program to make sure it was up to standards.

But those problems were supposed to be resolved when the old surface was torn up after last season and replaced with the softer NexTurf.

In January, the Vet's surface was rated the league's worst in an NFL Players Association survey.

"It's basically the same fields in the same order each year," Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFLPA, said at the time. "Philadelphia always comes in last, and it will keep coming in last until it gets a new stadium."

The Phillies haven't had any problems with the new surface.