How Dak and The Cowboys Are Preparing To 'Weather' The Bears

CHICAGO - There is no "right answer'' for how to use weather to best prepare a football team. Consider training camp. The Dallas Cowboys believe more work gets done in the mild climate of Oxnard, California; other programs, at all levels, think the weather should be grueling and punishing and unforgiving.

Which answer is the "right answer''? Which ever one is employed by the team that wins the Super Bowl.

Earlier this year, coach Jason Garrett prepped his team for what was to be a chilly night in The Meadowlands in New Jersey by spending an extra day outside, practicing in the backyard at The Star.

That weekend, the Cowboys beat the Giants. Nobody much bothered to credit the coach for his weather-based thoughts.

A few weeks later, it was time to prep for a trip to rainy, cold New England. Garrett passed on the chance to practice outdoors on a rainy, cold Friday, opting instead to work inside Ford Center.

That weekend the Cowboys lost to the Patriots. The coach was assaulted for his weather-based thoughts. Dallas' seeming lack of preparedness extended all the way to QB Dak Prescott's on-again/off-again fiddling with gloves.

Now the Cowboys are in "The Windy City.'' The temperature figures to be in the high 30s at kickoff.

How did Garrett get his bunch ready? For what I believe is the first time in the relatively brief history of The Star, the Cowboys spend all three available days outside.

Dak says he's got this handled. Chicago isn't supposed to be rainy tonight, but just in case ...

“It’s definitely about precipitation,” said Prescott, who practiced with gloves. “(Wearing gloves) is not something I’ll do just with it being the cold. My hands are fine ... I won’t have problems like that.”

The Cowboys' uniform gear may feature hand-warming "pockets'' of the sort this team wore in a December 2013 visit to Soldier Field. That night proved to be a frigid disaster, with the thermometer dipping to single-digits and the frozen fellas from Texas losing 45-28 defeat, when they gave up 490 yards and never forced the Bears to punt.

Garrett said the outdoor field at The Star featuring natural grass (which simulates Soldier Field's surface) was among the reasons for his ordered change.

"Obviously, it's hard to recreate weather conditions in Dallas that you're going to get in Chicago," Garrett said. "But dealing with the grass is something we can do.''

The equipment is also working with the players on everything from jackets to long sleeves to cleat lengths.

And if the Cowboys win? They'll deserve credit for managing the weather. If they lose ... Garrett and company will have come up with the "wrong answer.''

That's just the way it works.