TEMPE, Ariz. -- Even though the Arizona Cardinals' home field advantage at University of Phoenix Stadium has slipped the last two seasons, they still benefit from playing in Glendale.

It’s loud in there. Like, really loud. And it effects other teams.

As the Cardinals enter a critical three-game homestand that could either eliminate them from playoff contention or keep them in the hunt for a postseason berth, they’ll benefit from the noise when other teams are on offense, just like they have for the previous 11 seasons.

The Cardinals lead the NFL in opponents’ false starts since their stadium opened in 2006 with 154.

“It gets pretty loud. It gets real loud,” said Seattle Seahawks right tackle Germain Ifedi, who was flagged for a false start in the first quarter of the Cardinals-Seahawks game on Nov. 9. “It’s a good fan base over there, and the way the stadium is built the sound comes in really good. So, it’s not CenturyLink, but it’s pretty close. It’s pretty loud out there.”

Seahawks tackle Matt Tobin, who was also called for a false start during this year’s game in Arizona, said University of Phoenix Stadium “gets pretty loud,” but contested the idea that it gets louder than his home field.

Whether University of Phoenix Stadium is louder than Seattle’s CenturyLink Field is irrelevant. There have been 17 fewer opposing false starts called in Seattle since 2006 than in Arizona over that time.

The Vikings are second since 2006 with 139 opponents' false starts. The Seahawks are third, the Lions are fourth with 136 and the Eagles are fifth with 131.

This season, there have been seven opposing false starts in Arizona, tied for third most in the league.

Cardinals left guard Alex Boone, who played in University of Phoenix Stadium five times before signing with the team in early September, had just one false start called against him against the Cardinals in Arizona.

Now that he’s experienced the roar of the stadium from both sidelines, he understands what other teams go through.

“It’s loud. It’s a lot of fun,” Boone said. “I’ve been here a lot of times. Let me tell you, some of the s--- we’ve had to play through ... it’s incredible.

“You give these dudes a spark, and they just light the fire. It’s kind of fun to be here.”

The Cardinals’ defense can tell when noise is getting to opposing offensive lines. It gets loud enough inside the stadium to start crippling communication between linemen and the quarterback, or just between the linemen themselves. Defensive tackle Frostee Rucker knows the first sign of an offense struggling to hear is when their quarterback has to go up to the line of scrimmage to call the plays. Defensive coordinator James Bettcher said the next indication is when the quarterback starts using hand signals to relay plays to the receivers out wide.

“It’s excruciating,” Boone said, “because everything up front’s all communication. When you can’t even hear the quarterback or the center, everything just gets flipped upside down. It’s more challenging. Things happen a lot faster. You’re late off the ball.

"Being (in front of) a big crowd like that, it’s a huge deal for the home team. It’s why you want to play at home. Some of the stadiums you go to you don’t feel it, but here you can, which is great. And you get all those people packed in there, and it’s closed and it’s kind of like the arena when they used to close the arena and just let them go at it.”

Sometimes, however, loud crowds at University of Phoenix Stadium that are trying to disrupt an opposing offense have the opposite effect.

“Thank goodness they jump offsides,” Rucker said. “Because sometimes there’s a lot of confusion because we can’t hear each other.”