Desert heat shouldn't be an issue Sunday

Neither the teams nor a sellout crowd of 65,000 should sweat it. The University of Phoenix Stadium's retractable roof undoubtedly will be closed.

"I know they don't want to play in the heat just as much as we don't," Colts safety Aaron Francisco said.

Consider him the voice of experience. Francisco spent his first four years in the NFL with Arizona before signing with the Colts earlier this month as a free agent. The Cardinals don't have access to a covered practice facility, so they practice outdoors no matter how high the temperature spikes.

"Your body gets used to it," Francisco said. "It's a dry heat."

Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney spends a portion of each offseason training in the Phoenix area. He hopes the roof remains closed.

"Yeah," Freeney said with a laugh. "I've actually worked out, out there . . . 118, 110s. They say it's dry heat. An oven's dry heat, too."

NFL policy for teams with retractable roof stadiums requires a decision be made -- open or closed -- 90 minutes before kickoff. With the heat factor in Glendale, the comfort of fans always is taken into account. However, the team likes to have the roof closed because of the increased noise level.

Since the University of Phoenix Stadium opened in 2006, the roof has been open for 10 of the Cardinals' 26 regular-season and postseason games. Both of the 2008 home playoff games were played with the roof closed.

In the 10 open-air games in which the Cardinals are 5-5, the temperature never exceeded 81 degrees at kickoff.