Lions To Test 'Indoor Team With Outdoor Mentality' Mantra In Chicago
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - In advance of Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions practiced outside Wednesday. With wind whipping and no hint of sunshine, the temperature seemed far lower than 32 degrees.
The weather in Chicago is expected to be relatively mild Sunday - 37 degrees and partly cloudy - but will nevertheless be much colder than the comfortable controlled climate of Ford Field.
"Sometimes," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said with a smile. "Depends on if you're winning or losing."
The Lions have lost 16 straight games in which the kickoff temperature was 40 degrees or lower, per the Detroit Free Press.
As the team prepares to play outdoors after three straight home games in the dome, players do not expect the switch to be much of a factor, and Caldwell said weather generally does not impact games the way it once did.
"It's a bit different," Caldwell said. "Back in the old days, your hands would get slick, and coaches didn't want you wearing gloves or anything of that nature. Nowadays, they can certainly minimize the effect of the cold on the hands and things of that nature, but it's not going to be that cold. 30-something degrees, that's not cold. That's not cold to me. Cold is when you get below zero. That changes things a little bit, but 30-something-odd degrees, 20s, that's not cold."
Caldwell said the team's catchphrase regarding weather - "indoor team with an outdoor mentality" - simply means the team plays well no matter the conditions of the game.
"Whether we're indoors, whether we're outdoors, rain, sleet or snow, no matter where we're located," Caldwell said. "Here, our house, your house, parking lot, doesn't matter."
Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson added to the description.
"We've got to be a physical team, got to be able to run the ball," Johnson said. "When it gets inclement out there, rain, windy, we've got to be able to work in the trenches, and then outside we have to be able to get those blocks to spring our running backs loose."
If the Lions win Sunday in Chicago, they secure a playoff spot.