Socci's Notebook: Patriots Prepared For The Sounds And Sod At Lambeau Field
BOSTON (CBS) -- Welcome to Green Bay on a game-day morning. Our radio crew arrived in Wisconsin on Saturday and dined at Lombardi's, where for us steak wasn't a sometimes thing; it was the only thing. But not until this morning did we get the true flavor of the area.
A local television newscast led its report with a story about roughly 400 people showing up to shovel snow out of the Lambeau Field stands and followed-up with today's forecast. Before the Packers-Patriots conclude their encounter, temperatures are expected to dip into the teens. The wind chill should be in single digits by early evening, before plummeting well below zero overnight.
Thankfully, by then we'll be on our way to SoCal. And so with San Diego to look forward to, here are a couple of thoughts related to today's game in Green Bay.
HIS BARK MAKES HIS BITE WORSE
As convincing as Aaron Rodgers appears on TV, being humiliated by Hans and Franz or humbled by practitioners of the 'discount double check,' his most memorable performances in a lead role occur when Green Bay's Lambeau Field is his stage.
That's where Rodgers shines at his animated best in living color -- gold helmet, green jersey, gold pants -- executing well-rehearsed plays and improvising in the most critical, unscripted moments that confront every NFL quarterback.
He does it with show-stopping athleticism, an arm to strike short and deep and legs to escape any predicament. And when he really wants to steal a play, if not a scene, Rodgers uses his voice.
In fact, he's so adept at fooling defenders by varying the cadence of his snap counts, The New York Times devoted a story solely to the subject last Sunday. Five days later, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick indicated that Rodgers' deception by inflection was more than fit to print in this week's scouting report,
"Great at it," Belichick said Friday morning. "He's great at it."
Though other quarterbacks, including the one he coaches in New England, are good at inducing defenders to jump offsides in short-yardage situations, none in Belichick's mind manipulate opponents like Rodgers.
"He gets more than anybody and I'd say does more with it when he gets them," said Belichick, surely aware, as reporter Ben Shpigel of the Times cited, that Rodgers caused Carolina to commit three neutral-zone infractions in the first 21 minutes earlier this fall. "We've certainly emphasized it and we know it's something – one of the many things that he does not well, but very well – probably better than anybody. Yeah, we've got to do a good job there."
As bellowed by Rodgers when the Packers are in a tight spot, the word 'Hut' never sounds the same. He constantly changes his pitch and volume, while consciously avoiding a rhythm to his sounds or a detectable pattern in his body language.
Defenses are left guessing when the ball will be snapped. Often, they guess incorrectly. Like in 2011, as Shpigel noted, when Minnesota's Everson Griffen was duped by Rodgers into hopping off-sides three times in a single game.
Of course, such early movement can result in the five yards needed by Green Bay to sustain a drive. But what makes Rodgers so dangerous is that he isn't satisfied with just the penalty yards. A flag on the defense affords him an opportunity to get greedy.
Or, in other words, a free play with which Rodgers can take a long shot downfield. He's even on record about the matter on his weekly radio show in Milwaukee. Last week Rodgers reiterated his disdain for the "unabated-to-the-quarterback" ruling, which leads officials to whistle a play dead.
Even if it means absorbing a blow from an off-sides pass rusher on a clear path to the quarterback, Rodgers would rather seek retribution by continuing the act of throwing a deep ball.
"It's not the five yards," Belichick asserts. "It's the 50 yards that he gets on the play, the free play.
"He does that in a lot of critical situations. He's very good at it. Again, as good as anybody that we'll play against. "
FROZEN TUNDRA
Before pitching his way into Boston lore in a bloody sock, Curt Schilling did his part to dispel the notion of Yankee indomitability as an Arizona Diamondback in 2001.
That's when Schilling was asked about the spirits of past pinstriped greats who seem to inhabit 'The House That Ruth Built' in the Bronx.
"When you use the words mystique and aura,'' Schilling said on the eve of the '01 World Series, ''those are dancers in a nightclub. Those are not things we concern ourselves with on the ball field."
The same, one supposes, could (should?) be said with regards to today's opponent and setting. True, the Packers are the NFL's most legendary franchise and share the same home site their Vince Lombardi-led predecessors once did.
Still, the Patriots can't (well, shouldn't) be concerned with aura and mystique. Containing Rodgers to Jordy Nelson or blocking Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers are more than enough to worry about.
That said, there is one part of the Green Bay mythology that could have a tangible impact on the game -- the so-called 'Frozen Tundra.'
The mostly real field at Lambeau, which blends synthetic fibers with good old fashioned grass, is laid out over miles of heating pipe. Nonetheless, when the Packers raced past the Eagles two weeks ago, Philadelphia was left slipping and sliding in a humiliating, 53-20 loss.
"They seemed to slip a good amount," Green Bay guard Josh Sitton told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"I don't know if they're just wearing the wrong cleats or not used to playing on grass," another Packers' guard T.J. Lang wondered aloud to the local newspaper.
At the same time, Philadelphia running back LeSean McCoy admitted to changing his shoes from molded-cleats to the screw-in kind during the game. Only then did he gain good traction.
On Friday, Belichick was asked about steps the Patriots must take to be on proper footing.
"It's probably highlighted a little bit based on that game and some of the comments that came out of that game. But we do the same thing every week," Belichick said. "It's a combination of Dave [Schoenfeld] the equipment manager, looking at film, the coaches, the players and just all kind of getting on the same page.
"Certainly as a player, probably the equipment that's most important to him are his shoes because that's where his confidence comes from, his footing, being able to change directions and play. That's an important part of it, but there's also the experience level of coaches and equipment people and what's kind of the right thing to do there."
"I think it's something to be conscious of when we get (out) there, to make sure we check out the field and get a good feel for it in pre-game," Matthew Slater said. "Because we're not going to be able to use the excuse, 'Well, I slipped out there' if we can't get something done on Sunday, as far as cleats are concerned."
Bob Socci is the radio play-by-play voice of the New England Patriots. You can follow him on Twitter @BobSocci.
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