NFL Team Practices In Walk-In Freezer To Prepare For Cold Temperatures
Yesterday at 11:55 AM
It's that time of the year when a lot of NFL games are played in less than ideal conditions.
The forecast for Monday night's game between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field calls for temperatures below freezing after periods of snow and freezing rain during the day. That's not great news for the Saints, who play indoors, or for rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler, who is making his fourth career start.
In order to prepare for the cold, Rattler told reporters that quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko had him and his position mates go through their paces in a walk-in freezer in the team's cafeteria.
"This morning, Janocko took us in the cafeteria freezer, where it was like 10 degrees, and we're just going through the whole script in there, and so just doing that, that helped a lot," Rattler said, via ESPN. "So hopefully it's not 10 degrees, but we'll be ready."
Janocko has plenty of experience with the NFC North and Lambeau Field. He spent seven season as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Vikings from 2015-21 and two with the Chicago Bears before taking a job in New Orleans before this season.
"I think there's something we said about just preparing for [the cold], so you're not shocked and it's not something surprising," Janocko said. "It's something that you deal with as far as you prepare for the opponent and prepare for the venue. So I just thought it was good to do something a little different. At this time of the year, it's fun to do different stuff. It's a long season and sometimes other than just sitting in a meeting day after day after day, just doing something different, changing up the scene. Guys thought it was hilarious. The cafeteria workers think I'm out of my mind."
We'll see come 8:15 p.m. ET Monday night if Janocko's idea worked.
Rattler, a fifth-round pick this year out of South Carolina, replaced an ineffective Jake Haener for the second half of last week's 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders. On the season, he's thrown for 706 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Saints (5-9) are without starting quarterback Derek Carr, who suffered a season-ending injury in a win over the New York Giants on Dec. 8.
Related: Saints Name Starting Quarterback After Losing Derek Carr To Injury
