Cold fact: Bears in need of a victory

The Bears are only 3-2 at Soldier Field this season, which doesn't appear to be much of a homefield edge.

But this time of year their advantage should increase, especially in the first two games of the current three-game home stand against warm-weather teams from Jacksonville, Fla., and New Orleans.

Today's noon opponent, the Jaguars, are followed four days later by the Saints, who play their home games in a dome.

Bears coach Lovie Smith has no doubt that the frigid weather will adversely affect certain warm-weather opponents because they cannot duplicate the conditions they'll face on the lakefront.

"I know it can (because) there is nothing like it," Smith said to shivering media members on the Halas Hall practice field after Friday's practice.

"You think you know (what it's like) until you get out here. Once you get out here, the ball's a little bit harder, it's a little bit harder to hold on to it and, as much as anything, you're thinking about it.

"But this is where we live; it's just a part of our everyday life. There's no way you can simulate playing in this right here. You've got to get out there in it."

It was 66 in Jacksonville on Friday, and Saturday's predicted high was 67, about 45 degrees warmer than the expected high today at Soldier Field.

That might seem balmy to the Bears after practicing outside Friday in temperatures that never got out of the teens. After a week of frosty weather, the Bears are acclimated.

"We're set up to play well this time of year," Smith said. "We're a running football team, and normally the passing game drops a little bit once you're out in the elements like this.

"I think you adjust when you're just going around getting in and out of your cars and things like that. It doesn't surprise you. It's just a part of your everyday life."

Maybe for the Green Bay Packers, who visit Dec. 22 to conclude the homestand, but not for the Jaguars and the Saints.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees is on pace to surpass Dan Marino's NFL record of 5,084 passing yards in a season, but he probably won't have ideal conditions Thursday at Soldier Field.

"Drew Brees has been in San Diego and in New Orleans in a dome," Bears quarterback Lance Briggs said. "So when he comes out here, and he's got his hand-warmer fanny pack, it's a whole different ballgame. He's freezing; his blood is real thin.

"But we like stuff like that, we enjoy stuff like that. It's been an advantage for us against New Orleans every year we've played them here, and it's going to need to continue to be an advantage this week and the rest of the (homestand)."

The Bears defeated the Saints 33-25 last season at Soldier Field on Dec. 30. Brees had 320 passing yards in that game, but he threw 60 times, completing 35 with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and a passer rating of 75.7.

Just more than 11 months earlier, the Bears trounced the Saints 39-14 in the NFC championship game on Jan. 21, 2007, at Soldier Field, where the game-time temperature was 28 degrees.

Brees completed 27 of 49 passes for 354 yards with 2 touchdowns, 1 interception and a passer rating of 83.2.

Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye has experienced a variety of climates.

He grew up in New York, played his college ball at Indiana and his first four years in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins before coming to the Bears in 2004, and he knows the cold will be a problem for some players.

"When I was in Miami, the mind-set was just to get on the plane, play three hours, work hard and get back on the plane as soon as possible," Ogunleye said.

"If you've never felt this type of cold, it will affect you. The younger guys especially will be affected."

Ogunleye said the scoreboard is a factor in dealing with the elements.

"When you're in the lead it's not as cold," he said. "When you're losing it's freezing. Hopefully get some points on the board early and the weather won't be a factor."