Snow falls in Green Bay as Cardinals prepare for Packers
Dec 2, 2018, 10:24 AM | Updated: 11:00 am
Green Bay Packers fan Jeff Kahlow is seen outside Lambeau Field before an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
(AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Snow and near-freezing temperatures have hit Green Bay on Saturday night and Sunday morning, and it will make for a unique experience for the Arizona Cardinals as they visit the Packers at Lambeau Field.
A high of 36 is expected with snow already on the field before the game. Lingering showers are expected to drop from 1 to 3 inches, and during the game, the wind is expected to gust up to 31 mph, according to the Weather Channel.
❄️ is falling & it’s almost ⏰ to play 🏈🙌 pic.twitter.com/iRFCc0E2KD
— Lambeau Field (@LambeauField) December 2, 2018
Let the references to "frozen tundra" commence. As #Packers starting QB, Aaron Rodgers 16-1 in December at Lambeau Field. #AZvsGB pic.twitter.com/22sOd0eIDE
— Paul Calvisi (@PaulCalvisi) December 2, 2018
The legendary: House, house, house, Lambeau Field…amazing… pic.twitter.com/Vys5xBrBLx
— Ron Wolfley (@wolf987FM) December 2, 2018
The Cardinals don’t expect that the weather will change their gameplan or play-calling.
They don’t want to make it a big deal, and it probably isn’t. Arizona, after all, played in low-40-degree weather at Arrowhead Stadium three weeks ago.
That said, the conditions turned the Cardinals into arm-chair weathermen at their Tempe facility this week. Here are what the players and coaches said about Lambeau Field and the cold weather expected in Wisconsin.
Head coach Steve Wilks has been through worse as a Chicago Bears assistant: “I can’t recall the temperature, but it was against Green Bay. I think it was Brett Favre’s last year, but it was in Chicago, right there on the lake. It can get extremely cold right there.”
Wilks, on the Packers fans: “Those fans are good, they’re great. It’s loud in there. But as I told the guys today as I emphasized and talked about Lambeau Field, it’s still 100 yards, still 53-and-a-third (yards) as far as wide.”
Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich on the discussions of playing in Green Bay: “We talk more about what Lambeau Field means to this league, what Lambeau Field is. The weather is going to be the weather.”
The offensive coordinator isn’t game-planning around the weather: “You have to feel it out and call it. (Rosen is) a big-hand kid so I’m not really, you know, worried about a lot. He should be able to handle anything from a weather standpoint. The game will get called according to how the game goes.”
David Johnson, native Iowan who played college football at Northern Iowa: “I did it all. I played in sleet, played in 20-degree weather, wind-chill making it negatives. I had a lot of those games. This hopefully should be familiar. Cold is cold, no matter what.”
Josh Rosen, on if he’s excited to play at Lambeau Field: “Yes. Yeah, I’m very, looking forward to it. Very excited. It shouldn’t be too bad.”
Rosen’s most memorable cold weather college games: “Probably one of the cold ones was Utah my freshman year, think it was like low-40s or something. By far the worst was Washington State — it was raining sideways. I don’t care if it’s warm. Rain sucks.”
Rosen on if he would do the Lambeau leap into the stands: “I’d need Aaron’s graces in a press conference before — ‘Hey guys, there’s one dude on the other team allowed to do this.’ I just might find the only red, Cardinals fans somewhere. Track them down.”
Safety Budda Baker isn’t worried: “Not at all. I’m from Seattle, born and raised. I’m used to the cold.”
