Winter is no longer coming, because winter has arrived. And it's out in full force in New England, where the Patriots and Jets will do battle in Week 17 with temperatures expected to be in the teens.
Bill Belichick is going to make sure the Jets know it too. According to Diana Russini of ESPN, the Patriots coach instructed the team's field crew to install thermometers in the hallway leading from the Jets locker room out to the field.
The goal? To remind the Jets, who are already eliminated from the playoffs and not necessarily playing for anything on, just how cold it is going to be at work this afternoon.
A source with the Patriots tells me Bill Belichick ordered the field crew to place these thermometers inside the Jets tunnel so New York is reminded how cold it is. Mental warfare. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/I7IwcZQZXf
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) December 31, 2017
A good counterpoint here is that the Jets are, you know, from New York, and therefore are used to the cold weather too. Additionally, when they see the number on the wall, they'll have already known how cold it is by virtue of being outside by the time they see the numbers.
But there is something rather terrifying about seeing an old-school readout that involves a single digit. It's a reminder that for 60 long minutes you're on the field trying to stop the unstoppable, it's going to be colder than hell.
And just to rub it in, Belichick decided to take the field with shorts on.
It’s 10 degrees out and Bill Belichick just walked onto the field in shorts and a t-shirt pic.twitter.com/wH4oHOAsZt
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) December 31, 2017
He wasn't alone in dressing down for the cool weather.
Starting center David Andrews in shorts and short sleeves despite frigid conditions. pic.twitter.com/Svubdd0S4N
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) December 31, 2017
Not everyone with the Patriots will be out there braving the conditions, though. Quarterback Tom Brady will be out on the field wearing a daggum scuba suit underneath his uniform to keep himself warm, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.
"I've been wearing it at practice," Brady told Reiss. "It just insulates you from the cold. It's good because it keeps the wind from penetrating and it really doesn't limit movement too much."
Brady previously wore the scuba suit for a playoff game back in 2014, when the Pats beat the Titans in a 4-degree game at Gillette Stadium.
It's an extra layer and limits mobility a little bit, but like Brady, it's a pliable suit that moves with the body and has massive insulation.
Some folks are questioning the Patriots motivation in a game where they already have a bye secured, especially with the Steelers sitting their starters and effectively conceding the No. 1 seed to New England, but it's pretty clear they are not taking their foot off the gas as they head into the final week of the season.
