Rodgers: Green Bay weather gives us advantage

Heading into December’s slate of NFL games, the Green Bay Packers find themselves a game in front of the Detroit Lions for the NFC North division lead.

At 9-3 and coming off an impressive win over the previously hot New England Patriots on a cold evening in Green Bay, the Packers are in position to grab the division title, particularly with two of their remaining regular season games being at Lambeau Field.

One of those games, the last of the season, is against the Lions, a team that has bested the Packers earlier in the season.

The Packers, led by super quarterback Aaron Rodgers, are also fighting for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Playing in those frigid Green Bay temperatures, and especially field slick from snow and ice, gives the Packers’ offense an advantage, says Rodgers, even against other cold weather teams.

“It doesn't really matter what team comes in; there’s an advantage based on the footing and the weather,” Rodgers said this morning on ESPN’s Mike and Mike. “I’ve always found in the cold weather, it’s a little bit more difficult to rush the passer. And, the footing favors the offense because, much like on an icy field or a wet field, an offensive player knows where he’s going. You have a slight advantage there.”

We all know that from our days playing backyard football in the snow, right?

If you were running with the ball, you could easily put a move on a defender, who would have to react to your movement, and then slip right on his keister. Anyone who has experienced the joy of football in the snow with their buddies has more than likely been on both ends of that scenario.

OK. Back to Rodgers. He briefly mentioned the effect cold temps can have on the ball, saying “the cold weather does some different things to the football, and if you’re not used to that it can bother you a little bit.”

I was hoping Professor Rodgers would delve in how the elasticity of the ball decreases in the cold. It would have been great to get a cold-weather quarterback’s insight into how the frigid temps affect his grip and the flight of the ball.

Hey, you know what. Maybe I’ll give him a call.

Stay tuned.

-- RAINOUT --

Rains Falls on Pocono

I'm not much of a NASCAR fan, but I am, of course, a fan of weather's interference with sporting events. So, I have to say it's sort of fun sitting on the couch this early afternoon watching rain pour on Pocono Raceway. Oh, and you know what was really fun: watching ESPN reporter Marty Smith standing out in the rain while giving a report. Some of the folks back in the studio asked if Marty really needed to be out in the rain. It does seem a little silly – like when Weather Channel reporters report from the street in hurricane winds – but those reports do give great insight of the conditions outside.


I'd love to sit here all day and provide weather reports from Pocono, but there's grass outside that's not going to cut itself. However, if you want to stay current on the weather conditions, I suggest you follow Brian Neudorff, the "unofficial NASCAR meteorologist" (@NASCAR_WXMAN) on Twitter. Brian, I think, is an actually meteorologist, whereas I… well, I just like rain.

UPDATE: Jet dryers are on the track, and ESPN just announced that driver intros will begin at 2 p.m, followed by more rain at 3 p.m. (I made up that "more rain at 3" part.)

Aussie Open To Rain

I really should follow tennis more closely because I thought all Australian Open matches were played indoors. Turns out I’m wrong. Go figure. I guess the indoor matches are reserved for the tournament’s main draws that we see on ESPN late at night, right? Anyway, this Associated Press image was taken Saturday during a rain delay of a third-round men’s match. I never thought I’d write this, but it’s sort of nice to be able to write about something other than cold temperatures and snow in the small Wisconsin football city that has a name rhyming with Spleen Jay.

Ryan's Heisman Hopes Washed Out

The forecasters came through right on target for the Boston College game Saturday night against Florida State. Of course, I’m talking about weather forecasters and not the odds makers in Vegas.

I didn’t see much of Florida State's 27-17 upset over the previously unbeaten Eagles, but I did see enough to know the turf was soaked. Here’s what a USA Today story had to say about the weather conditions at Chestnut Hill:

The game began in a frigid and soaking downpour, with wind gusts forecast at up to 50 mph as the remnants of Hurricane Noel proceeded up the East Coast. The rain had stopped by the end of the first quarter, but the winds battered the U.S. flag and played havoc with a couple of second-quarter field goal attempts.

Matt Ryan threw for 415 yards, but tossed three costly interceptions in the Eagles first loss of the season, likely knocking the quarterback out of the running for the Heisman Trophy.

Sorry ESPN. (In case you haven’t noticed, the Four-Letter Network has been tirelessly touting Ryan for the Heisman for the past week and a half.)

One of Ryan’s interceptions was returned for a touchdown.

Florida State’s Drew Weatherford, whose surname is great for a sports weather blog, had a more Heisman-like game with 354 yards, no interceptions and two big TD passes.

Dry, Cold Turkey

This time a week ago we were sitting in our cozy, dry Rainout Blog World Headquarters in Southwest Virginia watching the rain pour outside while awaiting the Virginia Tech vs. Boston College game in those same weather conditions in Blacksburg. Tonight the Hokies are back for another Thursday nighter on ESPN, but in a different location and far dryer conditions… and we hope with better results. Tech travels to battle AAC foe Georgia Tech in Atlanta where forecasters say it will be clear with a low of about 48 degrees at kickoff. And Yes, Erin Andrews will be on the sidelines, sans the cute baseball cap, I assume.

The Rain In Lane Falls Mainly on the... Oh, Never Mind

Some much needed rain is expected to hit the Mid-Atlantic states beginning today, thus there is a very good possibility for precipitation Thursday night when No. 2 Boston College visits No. 8 Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium.

Tech already has home-field advantage with its raucous crowd, and wet field conditions should add to that advantage. We may get to see just how well Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Ryan can sling a wet ball against an always stout Hokies defense.

Chris Moore of CSTV said this morning on FOX Sports Radio that Tech should "man handle" Boston College. I don't know about that, but it should be a great game with some spectacular visuals with the rain and mud… and Erin Andrews patrolling the Worsham Field sidelines for the 7:45 p.m. ESPN broadcast. Yummy!

The Blacksburg forecast calls about a 70 percent chance of rain with a kickoff temperature hovering around 50 degrees – that's Fahrenheit for you international readers – with a low of 46 later in the game. Winds will be blowing East Northeast at approximately 11 mph.

Ice Bowl Movie Melted In A Flash

While we’re on the topic of the Ice Bowl (See Below), what happened to the ESPN movie about the 1967 NFL title game that was due to air on the network a few years back? When the announcement was made, there was a bit of a buzz about the made-for-TV flick, but that quickly dissipated and talk about the movie simply melted away. You may remember Joe Eszterhas, the writer of Basic Instinct and Flashdance, was hired to pen the script. An odd choice I thought, but what do I know?