Two years in the past, the Ravens traveled to Gillette Stadium for an extended, chilly evening. It wasn’t pouring in Foxborough, Massachusetts, when the Patriots kicked off, however quarter by quarter, issues acquired worse — the rain, the wind, the state of the Ravens’ offense.
Center Trystan Colon was a rookie then. “It was raining sideways, cold as [crap],” he recalled after observe Thursday. “It was awful.” And, being a rookie, he believed himself unworthy of sure privileges — amongst them, crucially, the cape coats gamers cowl themselves with in cold-weather video games. There had been sufficient for everybody, he mentioned, however he couldn’t probably take one. He wasn’t taking part in. “It’s not for me,” he thought.
Then Colon began to shiver and shake with a bone-deep chilly. Ravens middle Matt Skura was struggling together with his snaps, and offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris was telling Colon to prepare, simply in case. He tried to heat up. It was too late. Colon didn’t play a snap within the 23-17 loss. Next time, his veteran teammates instructed him, “Don’t be stupid.”
The Ravens can’t take any possibilities Saturday, not with a doubtlessly historic arctic chill approaching Baltimore. According to the National Weather Service‘s forecast as of Thursday evening, their 1 p.m. sport towards the Atlanta Falcons will kick off with a temperature of about 21 levels and wind chill values of about 7 levels. The coldest residence sport in Ravens historical past, a devastating 31-27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals of their 2017 season finale, was 19 levels at kickoff, with a wind chill of 10 levels.
“We embrace the challenge and we expect to play in poor conditions and play in cold weather and all of that stuff because we play outside in the Mid-Atlantic,” kicker Justin Tucker mentioned. “So some of that we just have to embrace. We don’t really have any choice.”
The Ravens have gotten used to imperfect circumstances over the previous couple of weeks. Quarterback Lamar Jackson hasn’t performed or practiced since he was knocked out of a Week 13 win over the Denver Broncos with a knee harm that may sideline him once more Saturday. Backup Tyler Huntley missed nearly half of their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers the next week whereas in concussion protocol. There have been irregular observe weeks and unreliable headsets and “out of the blue” accidents — extensive receiver Devin Duvernay broke his foot Tuesday, coach John Harbaugh mentioned, whereas working routes by himself at observe.
Now comes one other winnable sport in below-freezing temperatures, with wind gusts anticipated over 40 mph. The Ravens must get used to that, too.
Everyone has a sport plan. As a kicker, staying heat is “easier said than done,” Tucker mentioned. When the Ravens have the ball, he’ll hang around close to a heater alongside the sideline and heat up when the offense will get in area objective vary. When they don’t have the ball, he’ll discover a jacket and park himself on one of many staff’s heated benches. “So as long as those things are turned on and they’re working,” he joked, “I’ll have a chance to stay toasty.”
When Tucker’s known as on for a area objective or further level, he is aware of it’d harm. Kicking a soccer in frigid temperatures can really feel like booting a rock. “But nobody really cares,” Tucker added, “myself included.”
“Anytime I take the field, I’m not really playing the other team,” he mentioned. “I’m more or less battling myself and the elements. So again, this weekend will be a challenge, but the way we work to overcome the challenge of the cold temperatures is just by trying to stay warm. … It’s something that we embrace and we look forward to, and hopefully, it’s one of those things that we can turn into an advantage for us.”
Inside linebacker Roquan Smith didn’t count on to love the chilly as a lot as he does. He grew up in Georgia, stayed in-state for school and performed within the Southeastern Conference. Then, within the 2018 draft, the Chicago Bears took him within the first spherical. Come wintertime, Soldier Field grew to become an icebox. Smith got here to see alternative within the discomfort.
“Honestly, I kind of like it, because a lot of times, people, especially warmer-weather people and then just people in general, don’t like really getting hit when it’s cold,” he mentioned. “So I try to become a predator, then, and try to get guys and hit them down, because they don’t really want to be hit. So I enjoy it and take pride in it. That’s football weather.”
And soccer climate requires a sure sort of wardrobe, or at the very least sure equipment. Colon gained’t put on lengthy sleeves, however he’ll take the sphere in a turtleneck, assist himself to a jacket, possibly put on a knit cap if he’s not sporting a helmet. Smith will slather his naked arms in Vaseline to assist block out the wind. Huntley had 10 hand heaters tucked away in his jersey’s specifically made pouch throughout Saturday’s chilly loss to the Browns in Cleveland. There’s normally rooster broth someplace, too.
Harbaugh, caught pacing the sideline, can’t do a lot to combat off the chilly however costume appropriately. “I always worry about staying warm on the sideline,” he joked. “The thing is, you don’t get a chance to go back to the heaters like everybody else does. So I’ve heard coaches — they become first-time head coaches — and I’ll say, ‘Well, what did you learn about it?’ And they’ll say, ‘It’s hard to stay warm on cold days when you’re the head coach.’”
It is likely to be simpler for the staff’s beefier guys. Center Tyler Linderbaum performed in a handful of cold-weather video games at Iowa, highway journeys to Wisconsin and Minnesota. He deliberate on stashing away a few hand heaters for Saturday’s sport, however he wouldn’t let the looming arctic blast change his bare-handed, gloves-free strategy to snapping the ball and blocking. As lengthy as there was no precipitation, Linderbaum didn’t see any cause to fret.
“I think now, in today’s age, with the heated benches, it’s really hard to get cold,” he mentioned. “I guess we’ll move around all the time, so it’s really not a big problem that I’ve run into.”
The finest barometer for the influence of Saturday’s freeze is likely to be the Ravens’ tight ends’ arms. Before most video games, neither snow nor rain nor hellacious winds can deter Mark Andrews, Nick Boyle and Josh Oliver from warming up in a sleeveless T-shirt.
Boyle didn’t assume they’d be so daring this weekend. “But when it comes to the game, I think it’s sleeveless all the way,” he mentioned. “Because I think a lot of us in the tight end group have been doing it the whole time, and whether it’s negative-2 or 90 degrees, I think that’s what we’re comfortable playing with. That’s what we feel good in.”
Week 16
Falcons at Ravens
Saturday, 1 p.m.
TV: Chs. 45, 5
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Ravens by 6 1/2
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Source: www.bostonherald.com