Snow no advantage for youngest Patriots

The hoodies were out in force in the Patriots' locker room today. With bad weather expected on Sunday, Bill Belichick had his team outdoors and exposed to the elements for their final practice of the week. Center Dan Koppen had a bomber cap with ear flaps under his helmet; special-teamer Ray Ventrone, the first player out on the Gillette Stadium field for practice, looked like the Michelin Man with so many layers on under his white practice jersey.

The easy thing to do this week is to assume that the cold weather is an advantage for the home team. The Patriots, after all, play in cold weather year after year; some of their most memorable wins have come in the snow. Long snapper Lonie Paxton might be best known for the snow angel he performed in the Foxboro Stadium end zone in 2001.

But a good-sized group of Patriots have just as much experience in cold weather as the Arizona Cardinals do. More than half of their defensive players grew up either in California or south of the Mason-Dixon line.

"The guys we've got from Georgia, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Tennessee -- some of the younger guys here aren't exactly from a winter wonderland," Belichick said.

Two of those are former first-round picks Jerod Mayo (from Hampton, Va., and Tennessee) and Brandon Meriweather (from Apopka, Fla., and Miami). The two answered questions together in the Patriots' locker room today; they were joking around at first, but they got serious when the topic of cold weather came up.

"I've been here for a year, so I have a little experience, but not as much as some of the other guys do," Meriweather said. "I'm sure it'll be a little bit (of help), but not much."

Said Mayo, "I've played in cold games, but no snow. It might be a first for me. ... I'm always looking forward to another challenge, and this should be a great one."

Meriweather's best advice for the rookie?

"Dress warm," he said.

Belichick did his best to downplay the elements -- by this time in most players' careers, he said, the idea of flying to the opposite coast or playing in unfriendly elements shouldn't be a big deal at all. And if it snows, it'll affect Matt Cassel -- a native of southern California -- just as much as it affects Kurt Warner.

"These guys have all played in cold weather," Belichick said. "They've all played in these kind of situations. ... I'd be surprised if there's too many players who haven't experienced these conditions. I mean, (Cardinals wide receiver Larry) Fitzgerald went to Pitt. He's probably be in this as much as some of our players."