G-Men have snow problem with forecast

GIANTS ROOTIN’ FOR ROT TEN WEATHER

Coach Ben McAdoo believes his Giants have more than a snowball’s chance in hell Sunday against the Cowboys.

Especially if there are snowballs in East Rutherford.

The early forecast for Sunday night when the Giants face rampaging Dallas at Met Life Stadium predicts rain, sleet and some snow.

“Typical New Jersey,” wide receiver Victor Cruz said.

That is fine with some Giants, and McAdoo.

“Sweet. That’s football weather. You can’t be worried about it. You gotta go out and play in whatever it is,” said guard Justin Pugh, who is listed as questionable after missing four games with a knee injury.

“Great. We are a cold-weather team,” McAdoo said.

What are some components of a cold-weather team?

“Living in it is a good place to start,” McAdoo said. “Practicing in it helps.

“We welcome the weather conditions. It would be great for our team and great for the game. It would create a great atmosphere,” said McAdoo, whose Giants handed the Cowboys their only loss in Week 1. “Playing in the elements is always fun for the players and coaches. We practice in it. We see it every day, so it would be great for us.” For Dallas, maybe not so much. “We’ve played in the cold, we’ve battled in the cold,” Cruz said. “This team, obviously due to its geographical standpoint, we have to be that way. We know that’s an advantage for us. From a mindset perspective, we know what we’re coming into.”

Kicker Robbie Gould pointed to the daily grind: “Experience helps obviously. We kick in bad conditions everyday outside in practice.”

Dallas has the league’s second best rushing offense (155.8 yards per game) while the Giants’ defense is fifth against the run (91.4 yards per). Of course, it’s not as if the Cowboys, who would seem to be better equipped for and even benefit from adverse conditions because of their reliance on the run, will look to the heavens, possibly see snowflakes and think the gods are angry.

“You think Dallas is saying, ‘Well, if it’s cold, the Giants have the upper hand?’ No. this is the NFL,” running back Rashad Jennings said. “They have guys from across the globe that live in all different kinds of climates.

“So no, weather does not play a factor. It’s fun because it’s two teams that know each other. There are no secrets between us. It’s going to be a four quarter battle just like the first game.”

McAdoo, who spent eight years as an assistant with Green Bay (where legend says they have experience some nasty weather days), waved off the notion that rotten weather grounds a passing game and makes for a run-all-game offense.

“I disagree with it,” he said. “I have been a part of some three wide receiver teams in the past who played a lot of three wides in the past who have won Super Bowls in bad weather conditions and elements.”

The Giants (8-4) have been superb at home, winning five of six. They are a cold-weather team about to play a gang that often plays its home games with its retractable roof closed. Even though Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott have been revelations, they are nevertheless rookies. Still, the Giants are home underdogs.

“No surprise. You’re going against a team that’s 11-1. You can’t take that away from them. They’ve got two rookies playing tremendously, playing as well as anybody in the league respectively at their positions,” defensive tackle Jay Bromley said.

So the home underdogs will face the hottest team on the planet and wouldn’t mind a hand from the weatherman to cool off the Cowboys.

“It could help but it’s not going to be some big difference,” said rookie defensive end Romeo Okwara, who will help fill some of the void created by Jason Pierre-Paul’s absence following hernia surgery.

Okwara summed up what is at stake for the Giants in one word: “Everything.”