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Chill in air helps St. Louis Rams get ready
By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/05/2009
Snow flurries and an icy wind greeted the Rams when they hit the practice fields Friday morning. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Earth City was 30 degrees at the time, with a wind-chill reading of 23.
All the better to simulate the potential conditions Sunday at Solder Field in Chicago, suggested coach Steve Spagnuolo. "I thought the weather cooperated perfectly," he said. "I hope it helps us in the game."
Despite the conditions, Minnesota-born offensive linemen Adam Goldberg and Mark Setterstrom stuck with their usual dress: short sleeves and short pants.
"It's not bad," Goldberg said. "It's cold, obviously. And it doesn't feel good before you warm up. But once you get the blood flowing and you're playing, your biggest focus and concern is on your assignment, not the weather."
Setterstrom noted that in his hometown of Northfield, Minn., "That's what half our year is like." Still, he recognized the benefit of getting acclimated to the frosty weather.
"It takes a little bit to get going when it's cold," he said. "So it's good for us to get out there and get used to it."
Quarterback Kyle Boller said the football becomes "a little bit slicker" when the temperature drops. And he isn't thrilled about the gusts off Lake Michigan in the Windy City.
"Obviously, you don't want to throw in the wind," he said. "But I would much rather have wind and cold weather over rain. The cold doesn't really bother me that much."
No matter what it's like Sunday in Chicago (a high temperature in the upper 30s is forecast), the conditions won't be anything like they were Dec. 23, 2007, when Green Bay visited Soldier Field: game-time temperature of 12 degrees, wind gusting at 40 mph, and a wind chill of minus-8.
"I'll never forget that game," said Rams wide receiver Ruvell Martin, who was with the Packers then. "I mean, you couldn't talk ... you couldn't do anything."
Four weeks later in Green Bay, the New York Giants arrived for the NFC championship game facing a temperature of minus-1, wind at 12 mph, and a minus-12 wind chill. After a 23-20 victory, Spagnuolo, then the Giants' defensive coordinator, lingered on the field, savoring the upcoming Super Bowl trip.
"I took my hat off and in about 2 minutes, my ears felt like they were going to come off," he recalled. "It was freezing ... flat-out cold. I wanted to take it all in, but I said, 'You know what? I'll take it all in in the locker room."
Still, Martin insisted that it had been worse in Chicago.
"For us, coming from that game to the Giants game ... now, it was cold, but we had experienced something unbelievable about a month before that," he said. "That year we definitely had our share of cold ones."
NO WORK FOR JACKSON
Running back Steven Jackson was held out again Friday, wrapping up his second consecutive week without practicing. He was listed as questionable on the injury report, just as he was a week ago.
Spagnuolo said Jackson's balky back "just hasn't calmed down to where we want it, and we certainly don't want to reaggravate it."
Jackson pronounced himself ready after warming up last Sunday, and he produced 116 yards of rushes and receptions in the 27-17 loss to Seattle.
Center Jason Brown (knee), guard Richie Incognito (foot) and linebacker James Laurinaitis (shoulder) are expected to be in the lineup vs. the Bears. They were listed as probable.
Quarterback Marc Bulger (knee), tackle Jason Smith (concussion) and fullback Mike Karney (neck) won't play.
For the Bears, ex-Rams tackle Orlando Pace (groin) was doubtful.
By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/05/2009
Snow flurries and an icy wind greeted the Rams when they hit the practice fields Friday morning. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Earth City was 30 degrees at the time, with a wind-chill reading of 23.
All the better to simulate the potential conditions Sunday at Solder Field in Chicago, suggested coach Steve Spagnuolo. "I thought the weather cooperated perfectly," he said. "I hope it helps us in the game."
Despite the conditions, Minnesota-born offensive linemen Adam Goldberg and Mark Setterstrom stuck with their usual dress: short sleeves and short pants.
"It's not bad," Goldberg said. "It's cold, obviously. And it doesn't feel good before you warm up. But once you get the blood flowing and you're playing, your biggest focus and concern is on your assignment, not the weather."
Setterstrom noted that in his hometown of Northfield, Minn., "That's what half our year is like." Still, he recognized the benefit of getting acclimated to the frosty weather.
"It takes a little bit to get going when it's cold," he said. "So it's good for us to get out there and get used to it."
Quarterback Kyle Boller said the football becomes "a little bit slicker" when the temperature drops. And he isn't thrilled about the gusts off Lake Michigan in the Windy City.
"Obviously, you don't want to throw in the wind," he said. "But I would much rather have wind and cold weather over rain. The cold doesn't really bother me that much."
No matter what it's like Sunday in Chicago (a high temperature in the upper 30s is forecast), the conditions won't be anything like they were Dec. 23, 2007, when Green Bay visited Soldier Field: game-time temperature of 12 degrees, wind gusting at 40 mph, and a wind chill of minus-8.
"I'll never forget that game," said Rams wide receiver Ruvell Martin, who was with the Packers then. "I mean, you couldn't talk ... you couldn't do anything."
Four weeks later in Green Bay, the New York Giants arrived for the NFC championship game facing a temperature of minus-1, wind at 12 mph, and a minus-12 wind chill. After a 23-20 victory, Spagnuolo, then the Giants' defensive coordinator, lingered on the field, savoring the upcoming Super Bowl trip.
"I took my hat off and in about 2 minutes, my ears felt like they were going to come off," he recalled. "It was freezing ... flat-out cold. I wanted to take it all in, but I said, 'You know what? I'll take it all in in the locker room."
Still, Martin insisted that it had been worse in Chicago.
"For us, coming from that game to the Giants game ... now, it was cold, but we had experienced something unbelievable about a month before that," he said. "That year we definitely had our share of cold ones."
NO WORK FOR JACKSON
Running back Steven Jackson was held out again Friday, wrapping up his second consecutive week without practicing. He was listed as questionable on the injury report, just as he was a week ago.
Spagnuolo said Jackson's balky back "just hasn't calmed down to where we want it, and we certainly don't want to reaggravate it."
Jackson pronounced himself ready after warming up last Sunday, and he produced 116 yards of rushes and receptions in the 27-17 loss to Seattle.
Center Jason Brown (knee), guard Richie Incognito (foot) and linebacker James Laurinaitis (shoulder) are expected to be in the lineup vs. the Bears. They were listed as probable.
Quarterback Marc Bulger (knee), tackle Jason Smith (concussion) and fullback Mike Karney (neck) won't play.
For the Bears, ex-Rams tackle Orlando Pace (groin) was doubtful.
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