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The NFL’s field director, Nick Pappas, was in Brazil on Monday and told Front Office Sports he has “full confidence” that he and his staff will have the playing surface ready for the Cowboys and Ravens to play there this weekend.
“Full confidence in my team and the team that’s here and fully expect that we’ll have a field in compliance and ready to go for Sunday for sure,” Pappas told FOS in a phone interview.
The Cowboys are scheduled to play the Ravens at 4:25 p.m. Eastern time Sunday at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. It is the second of the NFL’s nine scheduled international games this season after the 49ers defeated the Rams in Australia in Week 1.
Heavy rainfall has led to complaints by soccer players about the condition of the grass field at the stadium.
Even so, Pappas told FOS: “Fully anticipate being able to prepare the field this week and get it ready for Sunday.”
He saw the field in person Monday, he said.
“I was on it today,” Pappas said. “I’ve just stepped away from the stadium and will be heading back there this afternoon. So I’ve been there. I’ve had staff on site. … One of my individuals on my team came down and was part of some of the advance planning this past week. So he was there for some of the matches that took place. So we’ve been close and working closely with the stadium grounds crew for a while now.”
The NFL has the field to itself this week, with no other events planned after Flamengo beat Bragantino 2–1 there Sunday night in its last game before the international break. The stadium is owned by the state of Rio de Janeiro.
“I think the thing for us is it’s nothing we haven’t been expecting over the last few weeks,” Pappas told FOS. “I know there’s been some heightened sense of media around the field here locally as it pertains to their soccer athletes and soccer players and games. But really what we’re seeing and what we’re dealing with is just a rainy area, right? It seems like it’s had record rainfall in Rio here over the last six weeks or so. It looks like we’ve got a little bit more rain in the forecast this week. Hopefully [it’s] sunny by Sunday.”
Pedro, a Flamengo forward, said Sunday that the field is “bad for both sides. It’s not an excuse. Anyone who plays knows,” according to the Brazilian outlet ge.
“In the last game, everyone was very clear about the state of the pitch. The club understands this too and, for sure, they will try their best to make the pitch better,” Flamengo manager Leonardo Jardim said.
Pappas has his fingers crossed that the rain will slow down.
“I always joke that the football gods will look out for us for the weather on Sunday. And hopefully that’s the case, just because everyone prefers a nice, dry day,” he said. “But ultimately we’re prepared to take on whatever weather comes our way throughout the course of the week. And with that comes just unique groundskeeping, right? Having to tarp the field at times or cover the field or having to change our calendar and our schedule throughout the course of the week. That’s normal in our world when it comes to managing a grass playing surface.”
The Cowboys are the designated home team Sunday.
The NFL told FOS on Sunday through a spokesperson that the league is looking forward to the game in Rio and has a plan in place to ensure a high-quality playing surface.
Stephen Jones, the Cowboys co-owner and COO, said in a radio interview Monday with Dallas station 105.3 The Fan that he trusted the league. “No, I don’t have concerns, only because the league has said full speed ahead,” Jones said. “I think they hit the ground Monday, the staff with the NFL did. They’re doing all their walk-throughs and everything. I think if there was a real concern, there would have already been contingent plans being made. I know how the league works, about where we play the game if it weren’t there. And there’s none of that. So I think we’re full speed ahead.”
Jones is the son of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the co-chairman of the NFL competition committee.
“Whatever work needs to be done on the field to make sure that it’s safe and great for our players, no one understands that more than the league that we’ve got to have great surfaces and great playing fields that are very safe for our players,” he said. “So as far as I’m concerned, we’re full speed ahead. And we’re ready to go to Rio. And we’re going to play another hell of a team in the Ravens.”
Pappas said that no major changes are planned for the field this week.
“It’s a grass field that’s being used [at] midseason,” he said. “And that’s no different than a grass field that’s getting used midseason in the NFL. It’s just a matter of every Monday, you come out and you’ve got your protocols and you get ready for the following Sunday. And that’s what we’re going to look to do this week.”
Fields in NFL stadiums are regularly monitored for compliance with league standards. Of games played in international venues, Pappas said: “Our standards are the same regardless of where our game is.”
According to Pappas, NFL representatives were in Brazil in January to see the field and began making monthly trips in March. The NFL also has been in regular contact with staffers in Brazil about the field, he said.
The NFL used a different site, Arena Corinthians in Saõ Paulo, when the Eagles played the Packers in Brazil two years ago. There were complaints about the condition of the field for that game.
The NFL Players Association told FOS on Sunday that it was aware of the issue and had discussed it with the NFL.
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