Oppressively hot temperatures Sunday in Miami prompted some creative solutions on the New England Patriots’ sideline.
Throughout the Patriots’ 43-0 win over the Dolphins, team staffers held large canvas canopies over New England’s bench to shield players from the harsh Florida sunshine.
The idea for the canopies, head coach Bill Belichick explained, came from a conversation this summer with former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who played in Miami last season as head coach of the Detroit Lions.
“The canopy thing was something that Matt did last year when he went down and they played the Dolphins in Miami,” Belichick said Monday on a conference call. “We talked about it this year in training camp when we were out (in Detroit for joint practices). I felt like it would be something worth trying, and we did during the game. It was definitely cooler under the canopy than out in the direct sunlight.”
The layout of Hard Rock Stadium provides shade for the Dolphins’ sideline during 1 p.m. ET games but offers no relief for the visitors’ bench, which is exposed to the harsh South Florida sun.
“That’s one of the real home-field advantages that Miami has,” Belichick said. “You look across the field and you see all those guys sitting in the shade over there. It makes you feel a little bit hotter, I think. But I understand the way they set it up, and that’s the way they should do it.
“I think (the canopies) helped to a degree in the end. If it’s 100 degrees on the field, I can’t imagine it’s that much less in the canopy, but every bit probably helps. We tried to do what we could there to address the situation.”
The temperature at kickoff was 87 degrees with a heat index of 100. The Patriots actually played in warmer conditions last season in Jacksonville, but quarterback Tom Brady said Sunday’s game was the hottest he’d experienced.
“I would agree with Tom’s assessment,” Belichick said. “I can’t remember being in a hotter game than that. Sometimes, what the temperature is and how it feels are two different things. I’d say it was definitely a very challenging heat.”
