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(UWIRE) FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- With a ring of snow surrounding the artificial turf on the practice fields south of Moby Thursday, the Ram football team was still out en force for their 10th spring practice, all leading to the annual spring game on April 19.
Gusts of wind were hitting 32 miles per hour by the end of practice and the temperature was near freezing, but head coach Steve Fairchild seemed right at home. A stint with the NFL's Buffalo Bills is bound to thicken the skin, a fact Fairchild was quick to offer.
"This is like July 4th in Buffalo," he said facetiously. "You'll take this (weather) and run -- I might plan a picnic."
The weather was not for everyone, though. The casual fans that lined the field last Saturday were tucked away inside their homes and offices, leaving only a handful of shivering reporters, media relations personnel and team administrators to witness the team's 10th spring practice.
On the field, the warm-blooded Rams struggled a bit at times in the weather. Bad exchanges from center to quarterback, under-thrown balls into the fickle wind and passes bouncing off cold hands disrupted the usual flow of practice, all things coach Fairchild expected and wanted the team to have to work through.
"I liked our effort today," Fairchild said. "I thought our tempo was average, in between plays and getting from drill to drill. Getting in and getting back to the huddle was a little sluggish. We've got to improve on that."
Bad weather or not, Fairchild said that they were going to practice Friday -- outside.
"We were coming out here no matter what," he said.
Even if the new indoor practice facility (breaking ground in August) was ready?
"We would've been out."
The weather did seem to bode well for the defense, which was often on the positive end of offensive slip-ups. In particular, the corners were disrupting and intercepting poorly thrown balls throughout the team's (short) scrimmage period.
A position that has suffered heavy losses to injury this spring, the handful of healthy corners that are left are stating to work their way into serious consideration for the job next fall. Cornerbacks coach Tim Duffie said that they are working hard to impress, and that the race for the position is pretty even right now.
"I see willing kids...the guys that are able to come out and play are trying to get better everyday. That's all a coach can ask for," Duffie said. "We've got a long way to go but I think that with time these guys can be pretty good players."
