Discussing his Green Bay Packers victory over the Atlanta Falcons on a snowy night at Lambeau Field this week, coach Mike McCarthy uttered the sort of platitude that certainly sounds true. Womens Warriors Jerseys .Winning in December is important, McCarthy said, and winning in December is difficult.Actually, a look at recent history shows the first part is not necessarily the case — especially if the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl. The idea that a strong regular-season finish is a prerequisite for an NFL championship turns out to be one of the myths and misconceptions about the last month of the year.Only once in the last nine years has a team with a better post-Dec. 1 regular-season record than its Super Bowl opponent won the title. And three times in that span, a team with a losing record down the stretch wound up taking home the trophy: Baltimore was 1-4 after Dec. 1, 2012; New Orleans was 2-3 heading into the playoffs three years earlier; Indianapolis was 2-3 three years before that. Each of those champs beat a Super Bowl foe that had a winning record over its final five regular-season games.Theres also a deep assumption that cold-weather teams dominate in the late season and playoffs.The weather definitely plays a part in football games late in the year, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon said. I dont think theres a player alive that loves to play in cold weather, but you can get used to it.The Vikings chose the north sideline at TFC Bank Stadium — their temporary home while a dome is being built — because they thought it would help during colder games. With the angle of the sun on December afternoons, the south sideline where the visitors stand is usually completely shaded; if the sun is out, the Vikings sideline gets all of it.Coach Mike Zimmer said on-field readings from Minnesotas home game against Carolina on Nov. 30 showed a 20-degree difference between the sunny and the shaded sideline.The players thanked me for being on that side a couple of times, Zimmer said.While players — or their fans — in spots such as Buffalo or Pittsburgh might hope for an edge down the stretch in this seasons tight AFC playoff race, data compiled by STATS also shows that not all teams based in cold-weather cities thrive this time of year.Sure, over the past 10 seasons, New England is a league-best 42-7 in December, and 14-4 when its 32 degrees or colder at kickoff (oddly enough, only Houston, at 3-0, has a higher winning percentage).But Denver is only 8-9 at 32-or-below at kickoff, a .471 winning percentage thats a significant drop from its .609 in all other games over the decade. Another example: The Cleveland Browns havent been particularly good in any weather the past 10 years, but their winning percentage drops from .349 at 33 degrees or above to .238 when the mercury drops.Sometimes if you take a cold-weather team into warm weather late in the year, that can affect them just as much as it does when you take a warm-weather team and put them in cold weather. Now youve been practicing in colder weather and you have to go out and play in warmer weather — and youre not used to that, either, said Moon, who played for the CFLs Edmonton Eskimos before moving to the NFL. Fatigue sets in. Guys can get a little more tired or dehydrated.At the other end of the spectrum, there are teams from warm-weather sites that do just fine in the cold, such as the Miami Dolphins, who in admittedly small sample size have gone 4-3 at 32-or-below since 2004, a .571 winning percentage that dwarfs their 33-and-above mark of .416.If guys excel in cold weather, it has to be something theyve been coached on or theyve been taught to block it out and say, Were going to play better, Redskins receiver Santana Moss said. When coach (Joe) Gibbs was here, he always taught us that Redskins weather was bad weather — wet, soggy, gloomy, cold. And we actually won games that time of year. We had the same team that didnt even go to the playoffs, but we won games in December.___AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, contributed to this report.___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Golden State Warriors DeMarcus Cousins Jersey . 1. AMIR JOHNSON: Nice to see him back in the lineup Tuesday night in Washington DC. Played with great energy and purpose. Its amazing when a guy gets those few precious days to recover what it does to the bounce in their step and overall game/confidence. Cheap Warriors Store .J. - The New York Jets have signed former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Graham Harrell, giving them some added depth at the position. http://www.cheapwarriorsjerseys.net/ . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. CLEVELAND -- Justin Verlander showed signs of his old form. However, the Detroit Tigers still needed someone to bail them out Saturday night. Two-time AL MVP Miguel Cabrera was the right man for the job. Cabrera doubled with one out in the 10th inning to drive in the go-ahead run and lift the Tigers to a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Indians. Verlander was one out away from winning for the only the second time in seven starts, but closer Joe Nathan (4-2) blew a save for the fifth time this season when Michael Bourns two-out single tied the score. "Nobody said this game was easy," Verlander said. Ian Kinsler opened the 10th with a single off Cody Allen (3-2). Following a sacrifice, Cabrera hit Allens second pitch off the wall in left-centre, scoring Kinsler. Indians manager Terry Francona was faced with a tough decision -- pitch to Cabrera or walk him intentionally and go after Victor Martinez, who homered in the second and had an RBI single in the sixth. "Sometimes you have to choose which one you are going to pitch to," Francona said. "Youd rather not face both of them, but sometimes youve got to. Sometimes youve just got to get them out." Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was happy he didnt have to make that choice. "I knew they couldnt walk both of them so I felt good taking my shot," he said. Phil Coke pitched the 10th for his first save. Verlander allowed two runs in seven innings, and Rajai Davis and Kinsler homered in the sixth, giving Detroit a 4-2 lead. The Indians scored in the eighth, but Nathan laboured in the ninth, throwing 32 pitches in the ninth. He struck out the first two hitters, but singles by David Murphy and Yan Gomes put runners at first and third. Bourn slapped a single through the left side to tie it. Verlander rebounded from a stretch where he had lost five of six decisions, including three straight starts. The former AL MVP and Cy Young winner, held the Indians to four hits and struck out eight. Verlander, who was 2-5 with a 7.83 ERA in his last seven starts going into the game, gave up a solo homer to Carlos Santana in the fourth and allowed an unearned run in the second. "This last month has been pretty frustrating, but I saw some swings that were different out there," Verlander said. Francona wassnt fooled by Verlanders recent numbers. Cyber Monday Warriors Jerseys. "I know he looks human, which I guess we all are, but you see his name and you dont run to the ballpark thinking youre going to get healthy," Francona said. "His stuff is still really good." Davis broke a 2-all tie with a one-out blast into the home-run porch in left field. Kinsler, whose fielding error in the second cost Verlander a run, followed with a homer into the bleachers in left-centre. Both came off Trevor Bauer, who allowed four runs in 6 1-3 innings. The Tigers are 12-20 since May 18, but have won three straight for the first time in a month. Detroit leads Kansas City by 1 1/2 games in the AL Central. Verlander had allowed 38 earned runs in 43 2-3 innings in his previous seven starts. He lost all three starts in June, when he was rocked for 19 earned runs in 18 2-3 innings. "He was definitely good, but ironing out mechanics does not happen overnight," Ausmus said. "I wanted him to leave on a good note and feel good about his start." The Indians recorded their second sellout of the season, thanks mostly to Omar Vizquel being inducted into the teams Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony. Vizquel, who played for the Indians from 1994-04, is Detroits first base and infield coach. The Tigers winning streak is their longest since they won six straight May 12-18. Brantley, who returned after being sidelined with a concussion Monday, was 0 for 5 to end his nine-game hitting streak. J.D. Martinez singled in the second, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, in which hes batting .429. NOTES: Tigers LHP Ian Krol, who has a 15.75 ERA over his last five appearances, was on the 15-day disabled list with a sore shoulder. He allowed two home runs un the eighth inning Friday and admitted he is "kind of going through a dead-arm period." LHP Pat McCoy, pitching at Triple-A Toledo, was recalled. ... Indians C Yan Gomes threw out Davis at second base in the fifth, the sixth straight time he has caught a runner trying to steal. Gomes hasnt made an error in 35 games after committing nine in his first 29. ... Detroit OF Torii Hunter (strained right hamstring) missed his fifth straight game. ... Tigers RHP Max Scherzer (8-3) meets RHP Josh Tomlin (4-4) in the three-game series finale Sunday. Cheap Chargers Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys Cheap Texans Jerseys Cheap Ravens Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Titans Jerseys Cheap Chiefs Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Colts Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Rams Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Falcons Jerseys Cheap Bengals Jerseys ' ' '