It was really, really cold last week in Minnesota, the wind chill at minus-16 just before the Eagles and Vikings kicked off Sunday afternoon.
Since the game was played inside the Metrodome, though, that circumstance was just a footnote, instead of the trigger to some sort of historic struggle against the elements, like the 1967 "Ice Bowl" between the Cowboys and Packers.
This week, when the Eagles visit the Giants in a divisional round playoff game, nobody on the field is going to be wondering what the weather outside Giants Stadium is like. The winter wind comes whistling through the swamplands down into the open bowl, with not much in the way of trees or nearby buildings to slow it down.
Current forecasts are for temperatures in the low 30s and winds in the teens for Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, N.J., after snow on Saturday, which also is forecast for the Philadelphia area.
"I never do any of that stuff," Eagles kicker David Akers, who has fared worse at Giants Stadium than any other NFL venue, said yesterday, when asked if he'd been checking on the weather. The two makes and two blocks from the Birds' Dec. 7 victory there, in winds above 20 mph, made Akers' N.J. field goal tally 11-for-22 lifetime. "Maybe check it once or twice, see what's happening, kind of laugh at it, but for the most part, you can't control it . . . I'm going to get in and do what I can to make the kicks when I'm called upon."
Akers was a perfect 4-for-4 inside the dome last week, including a 51-yarder that broke his own record for longest Eagles postseason field goal. Oddly enough, Akers made a 51-yarder in that December game at Giants Stadium, where in 2007 he made a 53-yarder.
"A lot of it has to do with where the wind is coming from," Eagles special-teams coordinator Rory Segrest said. "If it's in your face, if it's right to left, left to right, depending on what the situation is there. Both of those guys [Akers and punter Sav Rocca] have kicked in windy conditions before and had success there."
Rocca also was a dome beneficiary last week, averaging 44.3 yards on his four punts, each of which was downed inside the Vikings' 20.
Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg yesterday said wind is a bigger factor for an offense than cold, rain, or snow, but when asked about the legend of the Giants opening the tunnel that leads into the East end zone to make the winds trickier for opponents driving to that end, Mornhinweg was dismissive.
"I've been up there before, way back when they opened the door and let the wind in and all that, and I don't even worry about it," Mornhinweg said. "If it's windy it's windy, and we'll do certain things. And if it's not windy we'll do certain things as well, but we don't even worry about that."
Looking for trickery
The Eagles have said this week they expect new wrinkles from the Giants in the teams' third meeting of the season, especially since New York had a bye week to work with. Yesterday, Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said he had similar expectations of Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, just because that's the way the Eagles are.
"The one thing they've always done a terrific job of is going beyond the four-game cycle [that opponents usually analyze film from] and showing you something that you haven't seen in those last four games," Gilbride said. "Over the 5 years we've faced them, every time we face them there is a new wrinkle here and a new blitz pattern we haven't seen. The essence of what they do doesn't change. They are always going to try and do a mixture of giving you the illusion or impression that they are going to come after you, and there will be an all-out blitz, and then [they will] back off and play maximum drop coverage. Or they'll do what they've given you the impression they are going to do, which is come after you."
Birdseed
Giants defensive end Justin Tuck (knee) was listed as a limited practice participant yesterday. No one was listed as not practicing. For the Eagles, running back Brian Westbrook (knee), right tackle Jon Runyan (knee) and fullback Dan Klecko (shoulder) did not practice. Right guard Shawn Andrews (back), who will not play this week, was listed as limited. All the other injury victims were full practice participants, including defensive end Victor Abiamiri, who is expected to return from a foot injury . . . Eagles general manager Tom Heckert has canceled his scheduled job interview with the Browns in the wake of their hiring of new coach Eric Mangini, with whom Heckert has no relationship. *
