Post by TheShadow on Dec 6, 2003 15:58:59 GMT -5
www.pressdemo.com
Sunday's forecast for Pittsburgh is from 33 to 11 degrees, snow and wind
December 6, 2003
By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
ALAMEDA -- As the Raiders' showdown with Pittsburgh draws close, coach Bill Callahan is feverishly consulting charts, crunching statistics and staring into the glow of a TV screen. Video of the Steelers' 3-4 defense? Nah, we're talking The Weather Channel.
"We try to get as much information on the extended forecast each week," Callahan said Wednesday. "So we know it's gonna be cold. It's supposed to be a high of 33 and a low of 11 degrees (on Sunday), with snow and wind. We do the best we can to accommodate those conditions as we plan. Before we even sit down as a staff we try to address those issues. You go into it thinking that 'This is the plan if these conditions exist,' and then you have an alternate plan if (they) don't."
Actually, the Raiders' biggest challenge might have been simply getting to Pittsburgh, not getting to Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox.
The National Weather Service posted a "severe weather alert" for much of western Pennsylvania on Friday, effective until 5 a.m. this morning. Four to eight inches of snow were expected to accumulate overnight. That promised to make things interesting for the Raiders, whose charter flight was scheduled to leave Oakland early Friday afternoon.
Facing harsh elements in Pittsburgh is nothing new to the Raiders. There was the AFC Championship Game of Jan. 4, 1976, when the game-time temperature at Three Rivers Stadium hovered around 16 degrees. It was the coldest postseason game in Steelers' history. Pittsburgh won, 16-10, on a semi-frozen field, advancing to Super Bowl X.
"I told the team today that we're gonna have snow and cold," Callahan said. "They kind of livened up a little bit. They know the heaters better be warm on the sideline."
But Pittsburgh doesn't have a stranglehold on cold weather.
"It's as cold as when we go into Denver on a night game there," Callahan said, "or just what we did in Kansas City a couple weeks ago."
If anyone on the Raiders' roster is happy to hear of snowfall and wind-chill, it's running back Tyrone Wheatley. At 235 pounds, he's the type of back who tends to be featured when the mercury drops and the passes start to wobble.
Then again, none of the Raiders seemed to be fazed by the potential conditions.
"I don't mind that too much," veteran quarterback Rick Mirer said. "I've done that before. Looks like it's going to be another one of those."
One player who never has battled on a white field is rookie defensive end Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, who grew up in Los Angeles and played at San Diego State. Gbaja-Biamila has stood on the sidelines for snowy games, but has never participated in one. His reaction to the possibility of doing just that Sunday? Bring it on.
"I love that kind of stuff," Gbaja-Biamila said. "It makes me more excited to play. When you're a Southern California boy, that stuff is fun. We used to bug our mom and dad to take us to the snow. We'd never seen it."
Gearing up for the game at Kansas City two weeks ago, when the wind-chill hit 19 degrees, Gbaja-Biamila layered himself from head to toe, wearing sleeves, gloves and double socks. He promises to abandon some of that protection at Pittsburgh.
"I learned from the Kansas City game that no matter how much clothes you have on, you're still gonna be cold," Gbaja-Biamila said. "I wore everything. I was like, rrrrrrr (puffing himself up like a giant). But it's inevitable, you're gonna be cold. If I could do anything to get some feeling in my hands and feet, I'd be all right."
Gbaja-Biamila does have an expert consultant in these matters. His brother Kabeer, also a defensive end, wound up in Green Bay, where snow and ice are as endemic to football as hot dogs and beer. Akbar is considering some of his elder brother's advice for Sunday.
"I might try Vaseline," he said. "In fact, I'm gonna have my brother Fed Ex me some."
Sunday's forecast for Pittsburgh is from 33 to 11 degrees, snow and wind
December 6, 2003
By PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
ALAMEDA -- As the Raiders' showdown with Pittsburgh draws close, coach Bill Callahan is feverishly consulting charts, crunching statistics and staring into the glow of a TV screen. Video of the Steelers' 3-4 defense? Nah, we're talking The Weather Channel.
"We try to get as much information on the extended forecast each week," Callahan said Wednesday. "So we know it's gonna be cold. It's supposed to be a high of 33 and a low of 11 degrees (on Sunday), with snow and wind. We do the best we can to accommodate those conditions as we plan. Before we even sit down as a staff we try to address those issues. You go into it thinking that 'This is the plan if these conditions exist,' and then you have an alternate plan if (they) don't."
Actually, the Raiders' biggest challenge might have been simply getting to Pittsburgh, not getting to Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox.
The National Weather Service posted a "severe weather alert" for much of western Pennsylvania on Friday, effective until 5 a.m. this morning. Four to eight inches of snow were expected to accumulate overnight. That promised to make things interesting for the Raiders, whose charter flight was scheduled to leave Oakland early Friday afternoon.
Facing harsh elements in Pittsburgh is nothing new to the Raiders. There was the AFC Championship Game of Jan. 4, 1976, when the game-time temperature at Three Rivers Stadium hovered around 16 degrees. It was the coldest postseason game in Steelers' history. Pittsburgh won, 16-10, on a semi-frozen field, advancing to Super Bowl X.
"I told the team today that we're gonna have snow and cold," Callahan said. "They kind of livened up a little bit. They know the heaters better be warm on the sideline."
But Pittsburgh doesn't have a stranglehold on cold weather.
"It's as cold as when we go into Denver on a night game there," Callahan said, "or just what we did in Kansas City a couple weeks ago."
If anyone on the Raiders' roster is happy to hear of snowfall and wind-chill, it's running back Tyrone Wheatley. At 235 pounds, he's the type of back who tends to be featured when the mercury drops and the passes start to wobble.
Then again, none of the Raiders seemed to be fazed by the potential conditions.
"I don't mind that too much," veteran quarterback Rick Mirer said. "I've done that before. Looks like it's going to be another one of those."
One player who never has battled on a white field is rookie defensive end Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, who grew up in Los Angeles and played at San Diego State. Gbaja-Biamila has stood on the sidelines for snowy games, but has never participated in one. His reaction to the possibility of doing just that Sunday? Bring it on.
"I love that kind of stuff," Gbaja-Biamila said. "It makes me more excited to play. When you're a Southern California boy, that stuff is fun. We used to bug our mom and dad to take us to the snow. We'd never seen it."
Gearing up for the game at Kansas City two weeks ago, when the wind-chill hit 19 degrees, Gbaja-Biamila layered himself from head to toe, wearing sleeves, gloves and double socks. He promises to abandon some of that protection at Pittsburgh.
"I learned from the Kansas City game that no matter how much clothes you have on, you're still gonna be cold," Gbaja-Biamila said. "I wore everything. I was like, rrrrrrr (puffing himself up like a giant). But it's inevitable, you're gonna be cold. If I could do anything to get some feeling in my hands and feet, I'd be all right."
Gbaja-Biamila does have an expert consultant in these matters. His brother Kabeer, also a defensive end, wound up in Green Bay, where snow and ice are as endemic to football as hot dogs and beer. Akbar is considering some of his elder brother's advice for Sunday.
"I might try Vaseline," he said. "In fact, I'm gonna have my brother Fed Ex me some."