As temperatures drop, Redskins support indoor practices

Fall turned to winter this week at Redskins Park, prompting coach Jay Gruden to move practice from the outdoor grass fields behind the main facility to the practice bubble for the foreseeable future.

There is an understandable advantage to practicing outdoors and getting used to playing in cold, windy or rainy weather. But Gruden said Thursday the team will practice indoors on most days, because he believes it creates a better environment for players to focus.

“People are a little more energetic in the bubble and you get better work done in the bubble with the good weather in there,” Gruden said. “I am not a big believer in ’You’re going to get used to minus-10 degree weather by being out there at practice on Wednesday,’ when you can get a lot done in the bubble and focus in on your job. So that’s where it is.”

After 70-degree weather at the beginning of the week, Thursday and Friday’s temperatures were indicative of what’s to come the remainder of the season.

Gruden said the Redskins will practice outside occasionally but not frequently, with wind being the significant determining factor. The first-year head coach, and former quarterback, said he wants to ensure Robert Griffin III and company are able to practice downfield throws.

Players, both old and new, said practicing indoors doesn’t affect their preparation.

“I don’t think it matters as much,” wide receiver Andre Roberts said. “If you don’t practice in the rain during the week, and it rains during the game, you still have to perform. So I think when we’re inside, it gives us a better chance to have a more crisp practice, especially now when it’s getting cold.”

In addition to quarterbacks, kickers are among those most affected by inclement weather, particularly strong winds. Kai Forbath said he doesn’t drastically alter his target on field goals due to wind, sometimes aiming middle-right or middle-left but rarely anything wider that.

Because he doesn’t make major corrections for wind, and frigid temperatures only impact how far the ball will travel, Forbath doesn’t view outdoor practice as an advantage in any way.

“During the week, I’m kind of just trying to focus on my technique. I prefer indoors, always,” he said. “As long as I’m feeling confident with a good week of practice, I’ll have confidence going into the game, no matter what the conditions are.”

During Mike Shanahan’s tenure in Washington, the Redskins sometimes practiced outdoors, even after the construction of the practice bubble. But he, like Gruden and many current players, believed the practice environment does make the game-day environment any easier to handle.

“If it’s a hurricane, if it’s a thunderstorm, you’re going to go out and play because it’s your job,” defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins said. “You’re going to do what you have to do. So it’s really not going to matter how cold it is.”