Mike McCarthy and his assistants have plenty of young players to watch in the Green Bay Packers' preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday.
They'll also be monitoring another relative unknown: The changing wind patterns at Lambeau Field.
In the middle of a major expansion project, Lambeau has sprouted a massive superstructure with a giant video board in the south end zone. McCarthy says kicker Mason Crosby, punter Tim Masthay and special teams coach Shawn Slocum have been monitoring how the construction will reshape the wind and change the kicking game.
''We need to understand the wind,'' McCarthy said. ''With the design (of) the south end zone, it's a significant structure. It potentially will change. I would say it definitely will factor in the southwest with the wind coming through that part of the stadium.''
Slocum said the changes might not be dramatic for the Packers (No. 1 in the AP Pro32), but they're worth keeping an eye on.
''At any time in any stadium you can overthink the weather conditions,'' Slocum said. ''The bottom line - we have to kick the football. Having said that, I think it's important to be cognizant of what's changed in Lambeau. I think it will be different and we'll deal with it. Really, it'll be the day of the game, we'll go out there, we'll make decisions on things such as aiming points and kick directions and we'll manage it through that game.''
And Slocum said the new structure might actually make things easier on kickers.
''The structure itself is larger, it blocks the wind,'' Slocum said. ''It used to creep over the south end, get in there and stir around and create unique winds. I think it's actually going to help. That's my forecast. Just help the kicker, whoever's kicking the ball. I think it'll be less significant. Now, I can be proven wrong. We'll see.''
