Cincinnati Bengals face tough weather going into postseason game in Georgia
The Cincinnati Bengals are finding it difficult to maintain a healthy squad of players, as they step into the sub-freezing temperatures of Georgia, before their playoff game against the Houston Texans this weekend, on Saturday, January 7, 2012.
Their first player to go due to the freezing cold temperatures in the city was rookie quarterback, Andy Dalton, who missed the team's practice on Wednesday.
Dalton’s performance has been average throughout the regular season, but the role of the rookie quarterback has grown in its importance for the must win situation on the weekend.
Despite the team management expressing hope of his return in Thursday's practice and definitely for the postseason game, it is still not clear whether he will be able to recover from the illness before the weekend.
The temperature at the Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, had gone down to 22 fahrenheit, and the players apparently felt uncomfortable playing in the cold.
Rookie wide receiver, A.G. Green, even expressed his feeling during practice in the cold weather via his Twitter account.
"It was so cold at practice today. I couldn't feel my toes", A.G. Green said.
It is a new challenge for the Bengals in their efforts to grab a win over the Texans. It will be their first win in Houston since 1990, after a long hiatus of 21 years, that is if they are successful.
The problem has emerged due to non-availability of a covered practice field for the team, making them the only club in the National Football League (NFL) without a proper covered training facility for its squad.
The Bengals could have rented the University of Cincinnati’s field for practice at the rate of $2,500, but decided against it.
"The coaches determined there was not sufficient reason for us to get out of our regular element this week", the club's spokesman, Jack Brennan, said.
It is interesting to note that both sides, the Bengals and Texans, are going into their first playoff game with rookie quarterbacks working the line-up.
Texans' quarterback rookie, T.J. Yates, is facing Andy Dalton.
Also, both the quarterbacks are not having a good time as far as their fitness is concerned, with Andy Dalton missing practice due to illness, and T.J. Yates not being at his level best due to a bruised shoulder.
Yates was injured in the Texans game against the Tennessee Titans during the last week of the regular NFL season.
Meanwhile, Bengals' defensive tackle, Frostee Rucker, also missed practice due to a shoulder injury and there is no confirmation from the team management whether he will be available for the next game.
The postseason is about to start and teams are giving it there all to perform at that extra level, making it very exciting indeed.
Tags: