San Jose Bills Fan Posted June 12, 2009 Posted June 12, 2009 This is a topic which has been hotly debated here. Tim Graham for one advocates practicing indoors when weather is inclement. There are good arguments on both sides. Here's a news item from today which concerns our ongoing debate: http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/06/11/...ed-at-practice/ Ultimately it's a debate that is impossible to answer, really a matter of opinion more than anything else. Personally I believe that practicing in all conditions is more beneficial to a team than only practicing in perfect conditions. Football is not played in a laboratory. There are only a very few controlled variables in football. Everything else is about adjusting (crowd noise, field conditions, direction and intensity of the wind, direction of sun, cold, humidity, etc). All things being equal, the team that can adjust to the wide variances in playing conditions will be more successful.
offde-fence Posted June 12, 2009 Posted June 12, 2009 I was too young to remember much about the off seasons when the Bills were in their glory days of the early 90's; all I can remember is watching them win games, and many of them in the snow. Now that I'm older, and follow football all year round, I have much more vivid memories of our Bills in this last decade - and, they've not been as good in the snow. In fact, the last few years, it seems like the opposing team has the advantage in it. Again, I can't say what type of conditions are happening at RWS on the field, so I don't have specific suggestions for what to do to improve that. As a fan, though, I would like to see our team have the advantage in cold weather and in the snow. Being located in the north east, where cold, ice, snow, wind, etc., are common factors in some three or four games a year, it would seem that being able to play better in those conditions would give us an added advantage. So, whatever the coaches can do to acclimate the players to those conditions, I say go for it. Especially Trent Edwards, who seems incapable of playing good in bad conditions. Indoor practices are fine in the early going, but, if it takes going out in the cold and crap weather for a few hours a day to get acclimated, then so be it. How many players on our team are from warm weather towns or cities? My guess is seventy percent or so. Some of them haven't seen snow until they get to Buffalo. It takes exposure to those conditions to get the blood to thicken, and to get some familiarity with how the hands feel when trying to catch a ball, to how the body feels when it's being hammered in zero degree weather. Yeah, I'd say practice outside as much as necessary in the late fall and early winter to get back that home field advantage. Coming to the Ralph in December should be a loss for any team.
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted June 12, 2009 Posted June 12, 2009 i would argue the point with anyone that wants to claim the bills have the advantage in the elements... they have not demonstrated that in the recent past.... hopefully with a revamped o-line they will be smarter, work harder and play meaner.
NewHampshireBillsFan Posted June 12, 2009 Posted June 12, 2009 OJ Simpson said many years ago when he was still with the team that the practices were pretty short in the latter part of the season because it was so cold that no one wanted to be out very long. That may not be an ideal situation, but it is clear that back in the day the Bills owned most teams in our stadium in the latter part of each season, not at all the case nowadays. I could see a mixture of indoor/outdoor practices as being the best. I don't see the point that DJ makes that it is better to practice indoors to be able to see exactly how the play should be run. If that play didn't work well in the cold or wind when practiced outside maybe it is the wrong kind of call for outside for that time of year! Esp. Trent better learn to throw well in wind like Ferguson and Kelly did in their days. Ferguson said that he knew he would have to learn to throw in those conditions in Buffalo because the weather was going to be that way. I never hear Trent talk that way or maybe I missed it when he did.
extrahammer Posted June 12, 2009 Posted June 12, 2009 It's all global warming's fault! No seriously, I think it's just an easy routine to have indoor practices all the time. There's absolutely NO ADVANTAGE to Buffalo in a blizzard like condition with 30 mph winds in any game if their daily practices are indoors with 0 mph wind and 68 degrees F and a dry football. Get it? NO ADVANTAGE! And don't give me that repetition nonsense, they had all offseason to get the repetition down.
K-9 Posted June 12, 2009 Posted June 12, 2009 I was too young to remember much about the off seasons when the Bills were in their glory days of the early 90's; all I can remember is watching them win games, and many of them in the snow. Now that I'm older, and follow football all year round, I have much more vivid memories of our Bills in this last decade - and, they've not been as good in the snow. In fact, the last few years, it seems like the opposing team has the advantage in it. Again, I can't say what type of conditions are happening at RWS on the field, so I don't have specific suggestions for what to do to improve that. As a fan, though, I would like to see our team have the advantage in cold weather and in the snow. Being located in the north east, where cold, ice, snow, wind, etc., are common factors in some three or four games a year, it would seem that being able to play better in those conditions would give us an added advantage. So, whatever the coaches can do to acclimate the players to those conditions, I say go for it. Especially Trent Edwards, who seems incapable of playing good in bad conditions. Indoor practices are fine in the early going, but, if it takes going out in the cold and crap weather for a few hours a day to get acclimated, then so be it. How many players on our team are from warm weather towns or cities? My guess is seventy percent or so. Some of them haven't seen snow until they get to Buffalo. It takes exposure to those conditions to get the blood to thicken, and to get some familiarity with how the hands feel when trying to catch a ball, to how the body feels when it's being hammered in zero degree weather. Yeah, I'd say practice outside as much as necessary in the late fall and early winter to get back that home field advantage. Coming to the Ralph in December should be a loss for any team. Seeing as you share those fond memories of the early 90s with the rest of us, I think it's worth noting that whenever the weather got bad enough to impact practice, Marv brought them inside the bubble to get the quality practice reps required. Nearly every team has an indoor practice facility now. I wonder why that is. GO BILLS!!!
San Jose Bills Fan Posted June 14, 2009 Author Posted June 14, 2009 I could see a mixture of indoor/outdoor practices as being the best. I don't see the point that DJ makes that it is better to practice indoors to be able to see exactly how the play should be run. If that play didn't work well in the cold or wind when practiced outside maybe it is the wrong kind of call for outside for that time of year! Two great points! Firstly no one is saying (or should be saying) that we should always practice inside or always practice outside. But the idea that there is no benefit to practicing outside when the actual game is being played outside is quite obviously ridiculous. Your second point is also excellent. Having an outdoor practice in the inclement weather in which the game will be played is a good way of determining which play calls may or may not work due to wind, footing, etc. Seeing as you share those fond memories of the early 90s with the rest of us, I think it's worth noting that whenever the weather got bad enough to impact practice, Marv brought them inside the bubble to get the quality practice reps required. Nearly every team has an indoor practice facility now. I wonder why that is. GO BILLS!!! I don't wonder why that is. There would be at least three reasons for the indoor practice facility. Firstly of course to practice in. Again, I don't think anyone is advocating practicing outside all the time. If we have a three week stretch of bad weather in December it would be folly to practice in it every day. The occasional outside practice would benefit this team. Especially when anticipating bad weather for the actual game. The other reason for a practice facility is to show prospective players/coaches that the franchise is competitive and has all the advantages and amenities that a team needs to be successful. It's also a venue in which to hold team/fan events. The mere existence of an indoor practice facility does not IMO suggest that practicing indoors is always the best course. The Steelers had several outdoor practices last December as linked by PFT. Eric Mangini had his players practicing in the rain last week in Cleveland.
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