The Vikings will host the Bears, in a game the NFL seems hell bent on playing in Minnesota, on Monday Night Football. It marks the 29th anniversary, to the day (Dec. 20, 1981), of when the Vikings last played an outdoor home game. Which was a 10-6 loss to the Chiefs in their final game at Metropolitan Stadium.
Earlier in the week several Bears players spoke out. Robbie Gould is the Bears players rep, and he spoke to the media:
"I think every player in the locker room is, obviously, a little worried about the fact that the field is going to be frozen and there is going to be more risk involved for injury," Gould said. "But I think at the end of the day, the NFL and the NFLPA and the Bears and Vikings will make the right decision, being that the NFL has placed such a high standard on player safety. And it all started with the helmet-to-helmet hit. This is no difference than one of those hits. I think everyone will make an educated decision. And at the end of the day, we will play on what would be the safest playing surface for that game.
I think the NFL understands that there is a concern with that (outdoor stadium) and I don't think they are going to put anyone out there on a frozen field. If they do, then obviously the safety issues are going to have to be re-asserted to a point," Gould said. "Because every player in here deserves to be put in the safest position as an athlete to play the game and make sure the fans are entertained on Monday night"
The Chicago Bears starting quarterback Jay Cutler let his feelings be known about the situation. Keep in mind Cutler has already suffered a concussion this season in the Sunday night game against the Giants.
"In the locker room it is kind of the buzz," Cutler said. "That's the concern of the guys. We don't really care where we play, it's just that that field isn't heated," said Cutler before the Bears practice at Halas Hall.
"They can heat it up all they want, but we're going to be out there for three hours in zero-degree weather and it's going to be a hard surface. I think that's my main concern with the guys in the locker room."
Chris Harris was vocal about his concerns early in the week:
Bears safety Chris Harris has been outspoken about his concerns.
"If you're going to preach player safety, you would think you would put (players) in the best position to be safe," Harris said. "And I don't think playing on an icy field is the best conditions.
"Nobody expected this (collapse of the Metrodome ceiling), and I feel sorry for what happened up there. You can't prepare for a dome collapse, so you don't really have a backup plan. If there are that many 'ifs' and what ifs,' then you would think that you would just move. You can go to any dome."
When the decision came out that the game would be played at TCF Stadium he seemed upset with the decision.
"Man, it's a dictatorship, so it is what it is," Harris said shortly before the end of an open locker room session. "If they say that's what is going to happen, then that's what's going to happen.
"What they say is the law. It doesn't matter what I think. We just have to get ready and prepared to play there."
I think a fellow member of the secondary, Charles Tillman, put it best.
"If I'm a Minnesota player, [or the] organization, yeah, I would like to have the last home game in Minnesota," Tillman said. "But that being said, you got this icy field that nobody has played on since, I don't know, months.
"Is that right for the players, for their players, for us and our safety? No, it's not."
"If the field is frozen, who the hell wants to play on that?" Tillman said. "I would much rather play in Minnesota, I'd much rather play in the Metrodome, but it was an unfortunate accident that happened, and I don't think anybody could have prepared for what exactly happened at that dome. [And now] everybody is scrambling to get that game in Minnesota. Icy field, players, safety, this is the year when we are cracking down on player safety and concussions and stuff like that. You want to fine guys $75,000, but are we going to play on this frozen field? I don't know, it really doesn't make much sense to me. "If they get everything done in time, and it passes the NFL inspectation, [there is] nothing to complain about. If they said it's up to par like any other stadium, sweet. If not, I don't think it's smart for the Minnesota players or us as well."
While concerns had seemed to quiet during the weekend. The Vikings had a walk through at the field today. The Bears had practiced at Northwestern to simulate field conditions, but they might have a hard time doing that. Punter, and World of War Craft fanatic, Chris Kluwe took his concerns to Twitter.
Serious time - All respect to the people that cleared the field and got it ready, you did an amazing job. That being said, it's unplayable. The field is as hard as concrete an hour and a half after they took the tarp off, and anyone that hits their head is getting a concussion. I find it interesting that the NFL can claim an emphasis on player safety, and then tell us the field is fine. It's beyond hypocritical. I can only hope, however unlikely, that no one gets catastrophically injured at the trainwreck that's about to take place tomorrow night.
To everyone - that was a totally serious post on the field conditions. It is like walking on concrete. They took the tarp off at the same time they'll take it off before the game. The problem isn't heating it, it's retaining that heat. Like a lot of you are saying, hopefully the snow will at least provide a cushion tomorrow night.
When asked by a fan "I cannot believe the NFL is allowing this. Do the players have any recourse?" Kluwe responded: What can we do? They already shot down Chicago's petition (and that's a team used to these conditions).
That response promted another fan to ask "If it's like this on Monday, will this be the worst surface you've ever played on?" to which Kluwe responded: "Without a doubt. It's worse than that old AstroTurf they used to have (and got rid of for safety reasons)."
Someone with the Vikings or the NFL didn't like all this honesty. His last tweet on the subject matter: "I've been asked not to tweet anymore about the field so as not to distract teammates (who were there) and I will honor that. Time for WoW."
Great job NFL! With guys like Adrian Peterson, Jarred Allen, Jay Cutler, Brian Urlacher, Devin Hester, Percy Harvin, Julius Peppers, Sidney Rice, and Lance Briggs playing in this game. I'm happy to see you don't mind risking a few star players careers. I'm sure this will really help your case in your quest for an 18 game schedule. For all the reasons to play the game in Minnesota. Safety isn't anywhere on this list, and it's the only one the NFL should care about.
