Belichick On Weather: 'We're Playing Outside, We're Practicing Outside'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Yes, it is cold outside.
Really, really cold. So cold that some schools around Massachusetts decided to keep their doors shut on Thursday.
But Bill Belichick doesn't care. Football is played outside, and chances are when you're still playing in January, especially in New England, it's going to be a bit frigid.
Call him mean, or even 'Old Man Winter,' but Belichick and the Patriots will be practicing outside (once again) on Thursday, single-digit temperatures be damned.
"We're playing outside, we're practicing outside," Belichick said Thursday, giving reporters the "cold shoulder" whenever asked about the weather.
It is expected to be chilly, though not as cold, Saturday afternoon/evening when the Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round. So it should come as no surprise that Belichick gave an ice-cold "No" when asked if he considered holding the final practice of the week inside the warm confines of Dana Farber Field House.
As an East Coast team, the Patriots should be more than prepared for a chilly contest.
"What mental side of it? We practice in it and whatever we practice in, I'm sure we at some point play in it," Belichick responded when asked about the mental preparations for the weather. "We've practiced in everything this year -- hot, cold, windy, still, day, night, rain. Whatever it is, it is."
The players don't seem to mind, but just don't say they're excited to hit the practice field in the frigid conditions.
"'Happy' is not the word I would use, but we're going to get it done and it will make us better," said running back Shane Vereen, who has become accustomed to the low temps during his four years in New England. "Being from California it's a little different, but I would say I've embraced it now in year four. I've learned to play in it, deal with it, and it's definitely not on my mind as much as it was four years ago."
Defensive end Chandler Jones, who played at Syracuse for three years before being draft by New England, says they practice in these conditions often, so it shouldn't be a big factor.
"The weather really doesn't matter. When you're playing football sometimes you play in the rain, sometimes you play in the snow, and sometimes it's nice and sunny. Or, it's cold like it's going to be on Saturday. The biggest focus is on executing the X's and O's," said Jones.
"In the game it doesn't really bother you as much as you think," said Vereen. "When that wind comes out of that tunnel it's hard to ignore, but you're not going to not play well because of the weather; you have to get through it and play as well as you can."
Vereen did say holding onto the ball is a little more difficult when it's freezing, and feels more like a rock rather than a football, but it won't be an excuse come Saturday.
"It does get hard and slippery, but that's why you practice in it. It's never an excuse," he said. "When it rains it is hard to hold on to the ball, but that doesn't mean you can go out and fumble. It adds a little difficulty, but it's nothing too bad. Concentration and effort should take care of it."
First-year Patriots Brandon LaFell, who played his college ball at Louisiana State University and the first four years of his NFL career in Carolina, has never experienced such cold before. But he's not going to let that get in the way of having a good game.
"I've never felt this way. I've never looked at the weather, and it had one digit on there," he said. "I've never seen anything like it. Everybody says this is football weather up here, so let's go play."
The temperature is expected to be in the low 20's for Saturday's 4:35pm kickoff, with some blustery winds likely making it feel closer to zero later in the game.
But that shouldn't affect the Patriots. By Saturday afternoon, they'll have plenty of practice in the cold.
"There's nothing we can do about it. We just need to execute whatever we have, in whatever conditions we're playing in," said Belichick. "And we've practiced in all of them."
Tune in to Saturday's Patriots-Ravens AFC Divisional Round playoff game on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins at 1:30pm with Patriots Preview, and stay tuned for three full hours of postgame coverage following the game.
Tune in to a special edition of Patriots GameDay on WBZ-TV at 11:30am on Saturday, with Patriots 5th Quarter on myTV38 immediately following the game.
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