The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks will both be battling the elements during Super Bowl XLVIII, but the two teams are preparing for the cold weather in different ways.
In their first full day of practice during Super Bowl Week, the Broncos braved the cold while the Seahawks opted to stay indoors.
“It was great,” Broncos coach John Fox told AFC pool reporter Jarrett Bell. “We’re pretty much weather-proof. We practice in this stuff all the time. Being in Denver, we’ve played in a few different elements. We practiced numerous times in single digit, played in single digit, played in wind. We’ve practiced in snow many times. We’re pretty much ready for anything.”
The weather isn’t the only thing the Broncos are up against, though. With all of the travel and media hoopla that’s involved in the days leading up to Sunday, focusing on the actual game itself can be difficult for players. But Fox was happy with the effort his group put in Wednesday.
“I wanted to see how well they would re-boot, get re-charged and practice what we’ve put in,” Fox said. “They recalled it and it went very well. We had a very good practice.”
Defensive tackle Sione Fua, who is nursing a calf injury, was the only Bronco to miss practice. Kicker Matt Prater was a full participant after missing practices last week because of an illness.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks practiced indoors, but they opened up several doors at the Giants’ practice facility to replicate the sort of temperatures they’ll be playing in Sunday. Pete Carroll plans to hold the rest of the team’s practices indoors as well, adding that they’ll move outside “only if we need to.”
Running back Marshawn Lynch was the only Seahawk to sit out Wednesday, but coach Pete Carroll said that his day off is standard for the team.
“Everybody’s fine,’’ Carroll told NFC pool reporter Peter King. “This is the day we rest Marshawn. Wednesday is always a rest day for him. We’ve been doing that for years, and it’s always worked out great. We’re in great shape. We’re just as fortunate as can be to be in this kind of shape this late in the year.”
