Football weather? Depends which Steelers you ask about Saturday’s frigid, windy conditions

Their lockers’ proximity at the Pittsburgh Steelers practice facility mirrors the chasm related to where each was born and raised. But the actual distances between those locations pale in comparison to the metaphorical gap between how Robert Spillane and Kevin Dotson view the prospect of playing in frigid weather.

Their opinions are relevant this week in light of the forecast for Saturday’s 8:15 p.m. Christmas Eve game between the Steelers (6-8) and Las Vegas Raiders (6-8) calling for temperatures in the single digits and wind-chill “real feel” temperatures below zero.

Some would contend that’s “football weather.” But what do Spillane and Dotson say?

Spillane: “Of course!”

Dotson: “No, no, no. No, it’s not.”

Have we mentioned that Spillane is a native of suburban Chicago, and Dotson grew up in the South?

“I don’t count (Saturday’s forecast) as football weather for me,” said Dotson, the Steelers’ starting left guard who was born in Mississippi and went to high school and college in Louisiana. “I will play in 95 and call that football weather.”

Spillane, from Oak Park, Ill., and an alumnus of Western Michigan, disagrees.

“I grew up in the cold,” the linebacker said. “It’s something that brings out the best in me.”

An informal random sampling in the Steelers’ locker room Thursday indicated more support for Spillane’s point of view than Dotson’s.

Mason Cole on playing in frigid weather on Saturday pic.twitter.com/VzPgrJSgX5

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 22, 2022

“This is what football is all about,” center Mason Cole said. “It’s December football. It will be exciting. It will be cold, but it will be good. Nothing better than Christmas Eve and being cold and, hopefully, getting a W.”

Cole’s perspective is unique. He was born in Chicago, grew up on the Florida gulf coast and went to college at Michigan, so he’s regularly played in all sorts of conditions.

“I don’t know what it’s like to throw the ball in the cold or anything,” Cole said, “but I don’t know if (weather) affects us much. It depends on the wind and is it raining or snowing or whatnot, but I think we will be able to operate on a high level.”

Then again, just because Cole might not think weather affects offensive linemen, Dotson perhaps would contend that’s just something someone born in Chicago would say.

“It’s pretty tough (to perform) when it’s that cold,” Dotson said. “Really, the fingers, when it starts getting cold, you’ve got to block people, grab people. It can be tough.

“I feel like it just makes it hard to breathe. When it’s cold like that, your chest starts getting cold. Your nose starts burning.”

Dotson, at least, is nothing if not prepared.

“I’ve already got three undershirts, I’ve got two thermal leggings,” he said earlier this week. “I am not gonna be cold, trust me.”

It might be 8° or 9° Satuurday

Coldest home games in Steelers history
12-17-89 vs NE, 5°
12-31-17 vs. Cle, 11°
1-23-05 AFCCG vs. NE, 11°https://t.co/jhoEVTAdxg

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 19, 2022

The Steelers’ coaches aren’t letting the projected conditions affect their work. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada said that until the game starts and it’s seen precisely how much the cold or wind is affecting play, significant alterations to the gameplan won’t be made until or unless they need to be.

Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin didn’t even acknowledge the weather when speaking with his players this week.

“I don’t even bring it up,” Austin said. “Bottom line is, (both teams are) going to be out there. We’ve both got to play. Football is football.

“On our side, destroy blocks and get off blocks, tackle the ball carrier, don’t let the ball go over our head. That’s going to lead to a good day for us. If we think about anything else other than that, then we’re going to leave ourselves in position for a bad day.”

The nature of the sport typically dictates a bad day for any team if its starting quarterback is not reacting well to game conditions. A New Jersey kid who played the past five years at Pitt, Pickett is no stranger to the cold.

But not this cold.

“Maybe in the teens,” Pickett said, “not single digits. You can’t prepare for that.”

As those who followed the much-reported saga regarding Pickett’s relatively small hand measurements during the draft process this past spring, Pickett wears gloves for all games, regardless the temperature or conditions.

But what about headgear? Pickett said he will defer to the second-highest profile rookie on the team, receiver George Pickens, who has developed something of a trademark style of at times wearing a balaclava ski mask, even when it’s warm out.

“I’ll ask George and see which one he prefers,” he said. “I’ll rock the same one ‘GP’ is rocking.”

The team’s other starting receiver, Diontae Johnson, pledged to wear “cold-weather” gloves. Johnson has spent the past eight years split between college at Toledo and professionally in Pittsburgh, likely making the first 19 years of his life spent in Florida seem like a distant memory.

It remains to be seen if snow or ice affects the footing of the Acrisure Stadium playing surface, which was Johnson’s primary concern headed into a game played in blizzard-like conditions.

“I’m going to go out there and play,” Johnson said, “and not try to think about it.”

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