GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Jordy Nelson fully expects the lighting at the Atlanta Falcons' new stadium to be, in his words, screwed up.
Nothing against the $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium, though.
"I think every NFL stadium is screwed up with the way they put their lights because they're in the corners of the end zone and that's right where the ball is," Nelson said. "That's nothing new for us, but not enjoyable, either."
Still, it will be something the Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl receiver and the rest of Aaron Rodgers' pass-catchers will have to account for Sunday night in Atlanta.
"I think the receivers with the lights sometimes and the background, it's definitely an issue," said Rodgers, who noted that his only issue in a new stadium is making sure the play clock is visible.
"I don't have that issue. Those guys sometimes find it hard to track it. I remember [Randall Cobb] last year in the Giants playoff game [at Lambeau Field] said that the third touchdown he didn't see it until it was in his hands. It just got caught in the lights, and that can happen. Jeff [Janis] complained last year in Detroit when I threw him a fade ball on the sidelines that he just never saw it. It could happen indoors and outdoors."
Similar to a basketball player checking out the shooting background in a new building, Nelson and his teammates will try to catch balls from as many angles as possible before the game.
"You always want to go out before warm-ups and catch some balls in warm-up and check out the lights, the atmosphere, how it's going to look," Nelson said. "I don't know if the roof will be open, so that'll be interesting because the background will just be different when you see the ball and stuff, so you go out and check it out and see how it is. But I'll be shocked if it has any effect on the game."
It's the second straight season the Packers have been the opponent to open a team's new stadium. Last year, they lost to the Vikings in the first game at Minnesota's new U.S. Bank Stadium. Rodgers expects noise to be a bigger issue than the lights.
"They've been constructing the new buildings, I'm sure there's some thought that goes into it about sound and how they can make it as loud as possible," Rodgers said. “Atlanta's got some great sports fans. It was rocking last year both times we played. Minnesota was rocking opening that stadium and it's going to be rocking on Sunday night as well."