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With temperatures on Monday night certain to drop below freezing for the Packers game, and with snow also a possibility, the Saints are heading into unfamiliar territory. New Orleans plays in a dome, of course, and typically spends its late-December schedule rounding out divisional games against warm-weather foes like Tampa Bay and Carolina, or playing in Atlanta, another domed home team.
But now the Saints are heading north to Green Bay for “Monday Night Football,” and with rookie Spencer Rattler–a native of Arizona, who played college ball at Oklahoma and South Carolina–scheduled to start in place of the injured Derek Carr, New Orleans is trying to find effective ways to acclimate Rattler to the cold.
So they went to the freezer. Yes, the walk-in freezer int he team’s cafeteria in Metarie, Louisiana.
“This morning, Janocko took us in the cafeteria freezer, where it was like 10 degrees, and we’re just going through the whole script in there, and so just doing that, that helped a lot,” Rattler said, via ESPN. “So hopefully it’s not 10 degrees, but we’ll be ready.”
Packers Defense On the Upswing
Going up against what has been an increasingly aggressive and effective Packers defense will be a tall order for Rattler, and doing so in harsh weather conditions might prove to be too much. Rattler has struggled even in good conditions, going 0-3 as a starter and throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions in his four appearances.
His passer rating this year is 73.1.
Still, Packers coach Matt LaFleur has vowed not to take the Saints lightly on Monday.
“The Saints have done an outstanding job,” said LaFleur on Saturday. “Teams are having a hard time moving the ball and having a hard time scoring points. A lot of these guys have been close. They’ve lost four games by three points or less. You’re talking about – that’s a very minimal difference. They could easily be sitting at 9-5 right now. I think our guys realize what type of team is coming in here and what’s at stake. So, I would expect us to play our best ball.”
