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It ain't the Taj Mahal fellas

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  • It ain't the Taj Mahal fellas

    Vikings wary of sloppy field conditions in Philly for NFC Championship Game
    Jan
    17
    1/17/2018 3:35:07 PM
    |More
    Temperatures in Philadelphia are expected to hover around the mid- to upper-30s Sunday when the NFC Championship Game kicks off at Lincoln Financial Field, so the Minnesota Vikings are preparing for what could be a rough night on a sloppy field, Courtney Cronin of ESPN reports,

    Vikings coach Mike Zimmer showed film to players on Wednesday of all the slippage that occurred when the Eagles defeated the Falcons last weekend, including Atlanta's final attempt to score a go-ahead touchdown at the goal line.

    On fourth down with 1:05 left, Falcons receiver Julio Jones slipped in the end zone and fell. Jones recovered and quarterback Matt Ryan went to him on a second attempt, but the receiver mistimed his reaction to the throw and the ball sailed through his hands.

    The Vikings are used to playing outdoors in similar field conditions in Chicago and Green Bay and have multiple options of cleats they could wear. Defensive end Everson Griffen said he might experiment with seven-stud cleats. Testing the playing surface before the game will help determine the needed length of the cleat.

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    "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

  • #2
    I believe we are putting in new sod for this game. Going to be soft, slippery probably not it wont be as cold or frozen.
    Were from Philly F in Philly no one likes us we DON'T CARE!

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    • #3
      I guess that they have replaced the original field turf at the Linc

      Maintaining the hallowed ground at Lincoln Financial Field



      If you think you've had to mow the grass in your yard a lot more than normal during this unusually wet summer, Tony Leonard understands how you feel.

      But unlike many who dread the weekly task of keeping their grass at an appropriate height, Leonard and his crew do their job with careful thought and passion. That's because they don't take care of just any grass. About four or five times a week, they mow the fields that the area's beloved Philadelphia Eagles play and practice on at Lincoln Financial Field and the NovaCare Complex.

      "It's awesome and quite an opportunity," said Leonard, who has been the director of grounds at Lincoln Financial Field since it opened in August of 2003. "With our team here, this is one of the best jobs you can have. We work for an organization that's been top notch and never questioned why we do things. Mr. (team owner Jeffrey) Lurie and the front office have always given us the tools to make our job successful."

      An obvious reason, that is important is because the grass surface the Eagles play on can be essential to success. When Michael Vick or LeSean McCoy plant one foot in order to make a cut to avoid defenders, they need to do so with the confidence that the turf under them will offer plenty of support.
      "With the players, you can have $200 million worth of athletes on the field on any given Sunday," Leonard said. "The fans pay to see those guys make those cuts. I sit and watch it and it's fun when they can play like that."

      The Eagles use Bermuda grass as their surface. It's not only on Lincoln Financial Field, but also the team's practice fields.

      "It takes the heat and humidity better and we can mow it shorter," said Leonard, who has four other full-time workers on his staff and two interns that help on game days. "Players prefer to be on that grass. If it's shorter, it appears to be a little faster. And through research, they are coming up with more Bermuda grass that is conducive to this area. It gives us flexibility to do concerts and have it recover."

      And yes, while football, with Lincoln Financial Field being home to the Eagles and Temple University's football team, may give the field its toughest test, other events can also take a toll. For example, there were two Taylor Swift concerts at the field in late July. It was after that the field was resodded, which Leonard said happens about once a year.

      "Our planning starts in the springtime for the field," Leonard said. "Of course, being a high-profile city, we are attractive to other events like lacrosse, Kenny Chesney was here, and we have international soccer sometimes, too. We have to look at all of those events and see how it is going to affect the field.

      "After having two Taylor Swift concerts, and then our first practice on the field on July 28, we thought it was best to resod the field following Taylor Swift. Every year is different with a different set of challenges and issues."

      Leonard said the old sod was removed before the Swift concerts. Once the concert equipment was gone, that allowed the new sod to be put down with ease. The Eagles buy sod from either the Tuckahoe Turf Farm in South Jersey or Carolina Green Sod in North Carolina. He said they have agreements with those companies to grow the exact type of sod and grass they want and it's usually ordered about a year and a half in advance.

      "Right now, we have grass growing for next season," Leonard said. "It's not your normal type of sod that your homeowner can purchase."

      When the sod trucks arrive, it takes about 20 semi-truck loads to complete the Lincoln Financial Field job. Each roll of sod is 30 feet long and 4 feet wide and about 2 inches thick.

      Leonard said each roll weighs about a ton.

      But while the normal homeowner is relieved of lawn duties after the first frost hits, usually sometime in October, that's not the case with Leonard and his crew.

      Lincoln Financial Field has a heating system under the sod that doesn't allow it to freeze.

      But Leonard said it can get a bit tricky in the winter because the field can't be too soft or too hard.

      "It's not designed to melt snow," Leonard said, "but it does keep the grass green and it does allow it to recover in the winter months and to not keep the field frozen. We like to soften it enough to take out the factor of a player hitting his head on a frozen field. If we can do that, that's a big benefit."

      Leonard said the other benefit is working with an experienced staff.

      He said he doesn't have to give much direction, especially during the season when preparation for the next game starts as soon as the clock hits zero for the current game.

      "I have a great staff," he said. "They've been around a long time and understand what all needs to be done. They know when it's time to go and they do an awesome job."
      "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

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