Aust's Berry to feel heat against Patriots
Jan 21, 2017 - 6:08 PM Jordan Berry knows the Pittsburgh Steelers are just one win away from the Super Bowl, but the lanky Australian punter doesn't want think or talk about it.The reason is simple.
That one win his Steelers need is against the New England Patriots on Sunday (Monday AEDT), a team with four Super Bowl trophies since 2001, is led by elite quarterback Tom Brady and enters the game on an eight-game winning streak.
Berry and the Steelers will also encounter a hostile crowd at the Patriots' Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
"We still have one game to get through and it's not like the Patriots are going to be easy beats," Melbourne-born Berry, who hoped to play in the AFL but instead found his big boot desired in the NFL, told AAP.
"We just have to stay focused on this week, get a win and then we can really start looking at the Super Bowl, but it is something that is creeping in.
"You notice the media in the locker room has tripled and quadrupled in the playoffs and the buzz is getting around the city."
The Steelers-Patriots AFC Championship game is a mouth-watering match-up for NFL fans.
The Steelers have their own nine victory streak going, an elite quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger and more Super Bowl wins than any other team, with six championship trophies.
Pittsburgh has been so efficient on offence Berry has only had to punt three times in their post season wins against the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins.
That has been tough as both games were played in subzero temperatures.
"It's definitely tricky coming from a background in Australian rules and a little bit of rugby in high school where you are running around the field all the time and then here you're sitting on the sideline and going for stretches of two or three hours without hitting a ball," Berry said.
"Then suddenly you have to go out and be able to perform."
The "warmest" the Steelers' first round playoff win against Miami at Pittsburgh's outdoor Heinz Field got was minus nine degrees Celsius.
Berry said when he is on the sideline he puts on "an extra pair or two of track pants" over his legs and stuffs heat pads around his body.
"In that Miami game I had eight of the heat bags in my pants and hand warmers," the 25-year-old said.
"I slide them in the pockets where you are supposed to put the leg pads."
The good news for Berry is the often snow-covered Patriots' stadium will not be so inhospitable.
"It's actually going to be pretty nice," Berry said.
"It's going to get up to about three or four Celsius I think, chilly by Melbourne standards, but it will be warm compared to what we have had."
Source: AAP
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