It's been a week of questions about the impending icy plunge in a Week 16 matchup between the Saints and Browns, and a week of the concerns being downplayed by the New Orleans head coach and players.
Both teams have to play in the same conditions, Dennis Allen has said. Saints QB Dalton is unsure whether he'll wear a glove, but he's not overly concerned about the weather. That's easy to believe, considering he played his first 9 NFL seasons in Cincinnati and knows Ohio winters well.
But both agreed that the wind, which is expected to be within 25-35 mph and with gusts up to 50, will be the biggest impact on the game. That's a sentiment that WWL Radio color analyst Deuce McAllister echoed this week on SportsTalk with Bobby Hebert, Kristian Garic and Mike Detillier.
"This will be old-school 1940ish-type football. I mean, it will be like 'what is a forward pass?' " McAllister said. "From a kicking game standpoint, no different, and so you will have situations where it may be just conducive to go for it on fourth down just because why am I trying to punt and or kick a field goal or extra point in those elements."
Listen to the full interview with Deuce McAllister in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Another factor in the game will be taking advantage of opportunities with the wind at your back, as opposed to playing into the wind, which is much more difficult on the offense. Whichever team takes better advantage of those opportunities will be in a greatly advantageous position.
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And with that in mind is another key element to watch: How is Taysom Hill deployed? In an game setting where throwing the ball could be, at best, inconsistent, it might make the most sense to pound the do-it-all QB at a level we haven't yet seen. That's exactly what McAllister expects.
"It's a [Taysom Hill] career-high touch game. ... So if Taysom's high had been 10-12 previously, he's gonna be in that number, 15 to 20," McAllister said. "I mean, that's just being honest, that's where he will be at as far as not only from a quarterback standpoint but just touches, getting him the football, letting him be able to carry it and just grind out yards."
The Saints and Browns kick off at noon Saturday (Christmas Eve) with temperatures expected to be in the area of 13 degrees or lower.
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