


Seahawks fans make quite a ruckus at Qwest Field during a game against the Chargers on Sept. 26. Getty Images

When the Giants kick off in the thunderously loud Qwest Field Sunday, they'll have to employ the silent count, early for sure and late too if they haven't quieted the crowd with a barrage of points.

They'll have to do it with the far less-seasoned Adam Koets at center subbing for the injured 11-year veteran Shaun O'Hara—and they'll definitely do it without holding hands.

"Good thing," Mr. Snee said.

At the start of any play, to determine when to move, the offensive line depends on the cadence from the quarterback. The players hear the snap count and they move. In an away stadium, and especially in a place like Seattle's stadium, hearing is a dicey proposition. And if they move before the ball is snapped, it's a false start penalty.

The quarterback therefore employs a silent count. He trades words for signals and timing is based on gestures instead of his voice. Every team has its own method, and while Mr. Snee wouldn't share the intricacies of the Giants' system— because "that would be giving away our secrets"—there are some standard basics.

The center will have some understanding with the quarterback as to when to snap the ball. Maybe it's a hand wave or a leg raise or a leg tap by the quarterback. He might make some signal himself, like a head bob, to indicate to his fellow linemen when the ball's being snapped.

Some teams have the linemen anticipate the snap by actually counting—in their own heads —after some other signal from the center. Some have the guards and tackles just watch the ball out of the corner of their eyes.

That's what Mr. Snee and left guard Rich Seubert said they do, but Mr. Seubert said he does that only out of the teeniest corner of his eye. In watching the ball, the offensive players do what the defensive linemen always do—and lose the inherent advantage they get in knowing when the ball is snapped.

Some tackles refuse to give up that split-second jump against the speed-rushing defensive ends who, as Mr. Seubert said, "are coming up the field 100 mph trying to kill the quarterback." That's why, he said, former Giants left tackle Luke Pettigout used to like to hold onto Mr. Seubert's pinky. He didn't want to take his eyes off the man he had to defend. When Mr. Seubert saw the ball snapped, he'd free his hand and Mr. Pettigout could go.

Mr. Diehl, the current left tackle, shrugged off any worry over the silent count. Offenses with more experienced tackles and quarterbacks generally do better at the silent count, and the Giants employ it at some point in most every away game.

"You certainly hope you don't lose anything," coach Tom Coughlin said. At the same time, he said "communication is the factor in the noise that kind of keeps people from being as aggressive as they can be."

The Seahawks have certainly played on that. They're 3-0 at home, buoyed by their plus-eight turnover margin and the three false starts a game opponents average there. The Giants were whistled for 11 false starts in a particularly awful 2005 trip to Qwest and Seattle coach Pete Carroll said this week the noise "is a legitimate factor."

That's why Mr. Coughlin has been preaching "poise in the noise" this week. Qwest was designed for noise. The open end of the stadium features a set of metal bleachers, home to rabid, foot-stomping fans. The curved roof, over roughly 70 percent of the seats, traps the noise and keeps the fans dry—and loud—on days like Sunday, when rain is expected.

Write to Aditi Kinkhabwala at