Browns ready for winter conditions

Associated Press

BEREA

The weather forecast for Sunday in Buffalo calls for rain turning to freezing rain turning to snow with winds gusting to 30 mph.

Ideal, comfortable conditions for penguins and polar bears. And, it seems, the Cleveland Brrr-owns.

When the outside temperature plunges, these Browns only heat up. Cleveland ended last season by winning its final four games, which were all played in frigid, frostbiting conditions. Unless things warm up dramatically over the next few weeks, the Browns, who visit Buffalo and Cincinnati before hosting Baltimore and Pittsburgh, are gearing up for a frozen finish.

Coach Eric Mangini isn’t complaining.

“I really do love this weather,” he said Thursday. “It’s great football weather, and I think if you know how to play in it, and it doesn’t become a factor and it doesn’t affect any part of our game, then it becomes a real advantage, but you have to get used to it.”

The Browns (5-7) had the snow shoveled off their practice fields and have spent the week preparing outdoors, hoping to simulate what they’ll face this week when they visit the Bills (2-10), who, like their Lake Erie counterparts, know a thing or two about playing in inclement weather.

For most of the Browns, the cold is nothing new. Not for all of them, though.

“Man, it was cold in Oregon, but nothing like this,” rookie safety T.J. Ward said as he sifted through his locker looking for some extra clothing to layer on.

Like the Green Bay Packers, who have historically used Lambeau Field’s frozen tundra and subzero conditions to create one of the NFL’s best and most unique home-field advantages, the Browns relish the chance to host teams who play in domes or rarely travel East.