FOXBORO -- Patriots players didn't want to acknowledge it, but they knew that practicing in frigid temperatures last Thursday helped them get ready to win their freezing regular-season finale with the Jets.
"As much as I'd hate to admit it, practicing outside during the week definitely helped," Devin McCourty said after the game. "We hated every part of being out there and practicing but I think everybody came out there today and was all, ‘This isn't as bad as Thursday practice.’ Mentally I think that already gives you a nod when you go into the game like, ‘It is what it is.’ It was worse Thursday. We got through that."
This week, having earned a bye for Wild Card Weekend, the approach has changed. The Patriots had to show up for work on Thursday despite an incoming snowstorm, but their practice will be inside the Empower Field House adjacent to Gillette Stadium.
Belichick was asked during a press conference Thursday morning why he decided to make that move since he so often discusses the benefits of working outside in the elements.
"Felt like that," he said, "was the best thing for us to do."
The Patriots were scheduled to practice at 10:35 a.m. By 8 a.m. the snow was coming down at a steady clip. The storm, characterized as a "bomb cyclone" because of the rapidly-falling atmospheric pressure coming with it, is expected to dump around a foot of snow or more.
Players knew well in advance they'd better show up to the stadium on time for work, or risk incurring Belichick's wrath.