Lambeau Field Footing Creating Concern by Bears
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The frozen tundra of Lambeau Field was a phrase coined from 1960s NFL Films and the voice of doom, John Facenda, then popularized by Howard Cosell and Chris Berman on highlight shows.
Apparently the Bears on Sunday will see it up close.
There have been rumblings around the league about the poor condition of turf in Green Bay on a playing surface that used to be among the league's best.
"It affects every position," Bears coach Matt Nagy said when asked about it on Friday. "I mean, we've looked at the tape, there's guys in previous games on that field where there's long snappers that are slipping."
Nagy said longtime team equipment manager Tony Medlin will have a plan with different types of shoes for the situation.
When Nagy says it affects every position, it does affect some more. Khalil Mack and Kyle Fuller are among them.
"Our guys will be prepared, but obviously the skill positions, the guys that are breaking and cutting, running deep—DBs, wide receivers—is probably where you see it the most.
"Sometimes you can see it with edge rushers as they go to cut the corner, you can see some slipping and falling. So we want to be smart."
If the Bears are worrying about field conditions, it must be bad. For years, their own field was among the worst in the league. Then they brought in sod from a different part of the country and the complaints have subsided.
Footing aside, it sounds like it will be a day when the receivers and quarterbacks need to keep their hands warm any way possible.
It's supposed to be in the mid to high teens. Nagy said the game plan can be affected by weather, although it's probably worse if it snows. Cold is expected and the Bears practiced outside most of the week.
"It's usually always like that, whether it's wind, rain, weather conditions, but for the most part we know that going into the week, so we kind of work around that as we go," he said.
Twitter@BearsOnMaven
