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Thurman's tips for winter football

Thurman's tips for winter football

By Thurman Thomas

Questions or comments for Thurman? Send him a note at Thurman@nflcanada.com

“Something wicked this way comes”.

Wicked weather that is.

The whole northeastern United States is bracing for a serious winter storm forecast for late Saturday or early Sunday morning.

The most pivotal game affected by this potential storm is The Battle for Lake Erie, between the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns. This game will probably determine the final wild card playoff spot for the AFC.

Other games potentially caught up in this storm are; New York Jets at New England, Jacksonville at Pittsburgh, and Washington at New York Giants. Offensive strategies definitely change in bad weather. Here’s what to look for in these games.

1. More running attempts. Also look for backs to be more protective of the ball ie. using two arms to protect the ball. Especially after a big gain or a first down has already been achieved. The backs have to be more aware of where they are on a field. In bad weather games, fighting for a couple of extra inches isn’t always the smartest thing to do.

2. When teams do throw, look for shorter pass routes. Most patterns run by receivers will be shortened. The same two-armed ball protecting strategy used by the back should be employed by the receivers, after the catch. The receivers have a definite advantage on snowy turf, because they know where they are going and can be more careful on their cuts, whereas the defensive backs have to react to the receiver and will slip more often, because of this, look for short slant and post routes to be busted for long touch downs.

3. Anyone handling the ball will be fighting to keep their hands warm and dry all game, especially the centers and quarterbacks. In fact some quarterbacks are now using gloves on their throwing hand, a practice I first saw used by my ex teammate and snowy CFL veteran Doug Flutie.

4. SHOES! This will be the most important equipment decision for the game. If the turf is snowy but not frozen, I always chose medium length spikes. But if the turf is froze, look for guys to where flat sneakers or very small length spikes. Some players will change shoes during the game or at halftime, which makes the trainers very busy guys, re-taping ankles.

5. Last but certainly not least is the psychological angle. When I played in Buffalo in the snow, I never wore extra warm clothes nor did most of my teammates. When we were playing warmer weather teams, they would show up on the sidelines with every imaginable winter garment on their bodies looking like over-grown Santa’s helpers, so even before the game started we had won the weather related mental battle. This is a key advantage for the home team. The lesson is; if your team shows up on a snowy game day wearing long johns and ski-masks BEWARE!

Thurman Thomas

Buffalo Bills legend Thurman Thomas rushed for 1,000 yards in eight consecutive seasons, was selected to five consecutive Pro Bowls, and was named NFL MVP in 1991. Thomas was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007, and is now an NFL ambassador in Canada and will be making community and charitable appearances on behalf of the league north of the border.