NFL investigating Atlanta Falcons for artificial crowd noise

ATLANTA, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- The Atlanta Falcons are being investigated by the NFL for creating artificial noise in their stadium for home games.

The team confirmed the investigation's existence Sunday after the league started looking into the noise level of the games the past two seasons.

The Falcons are accused of piping in noise while the opposing teams huddled to discuss plays.

Excessive noise, such as a rowdy crowd, can make it difficult for a team to run their offensive line, and thereby theoretically damaged their plays. Both the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs have broken the record for being the loudest stadiums. Natural crowd noise is not considered a violation of the rules, but creating noise could be considered a competitive advantage.

"We were informed during the season that the league office is looking into crowd noise during our games," a Falcons spokesman told the Wall Street Journal. "We have cooperated fully with them, and we're awaiting the outcome."

The tactic, if used, did not help the Falcons. They were only 6-10 at home over the last two seasons and 4-12 away.

If the Falcons are found guilty, the punishment will be steep and could lead to losing a draft picks.