The Musings of Brian Groce

Trolley Dodgers #51 and Trolley Dodgers #52 are now available. Spend 40 minutes with myself and Jeff getting caught up on the sports happenings from the past few weeks.

Last weeks loss to the New England Patriots at home was a little disappointing, but it did show that if you play your “A Game” and play the entire game, that New England is not the unstoppable juggernaut that the sports media would like you to believe. (Through the first three quarters the Patriots had one touchdown and one field goal. And not to mention their paranoid cheating allegations. Enough said.)

But in the overall scheme of things, the loss last week wasn’t such a huge deal. It only means that there’s a better chance that we’ll have to play in Foxboro in January instead of the comfy Dome.

Now to the game tonight against the San Diego Chargers…

I’ll start on a positive note as to not sound too bitter.

• Our defense (which supposedly sucks according to all “expert” accounts) was excellent. They allowed only 10 points, all in the first half. They had two interceptions. And they recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Oh, and did I mention that they suck?
• Our offense controlled the ball for 60% of the game.
• We had 386 yards of total offense.
• We only had 21 penalty yards.

Now to the more negative, the excuses as to why we lost this one that should have been another mark in the “W” column.

• We just came off of a bad loss.
• Peyton Manning threw a career high six interceptions. Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four. Not even five. SIX interceptions. He had four interceptions total in the whole first half of the season.
• It was raining.
• Peyton Manning threw six interceptions.
• We only had 17 active offensive players (and 15 by the end of the game).
• Peyton Manning threw six interceptions.
• Our special teams were anything but special, allowing for two touchdowns and not realizing that a touchback, or even an out of bounds kick, is better than giving up a touchdown.
• Peyton Manning threw six interceptions.
• Vinny was apparently having trouble seeing where the uprights were located. Twice. (Dare I mention nightmares from our previous kicker who was also one of the NFL’s elite?)
• Peyton Manning threw six interceptions.
• We received the losing end of an “inadvertent” blown whistle after an interception.
• Dare I mention for a sixth time that Peyton Manning threw six interceptions?

Say what you will about the above game killer list, but in my opinion this loss has to rest on Peyton Manning’s shoulders with the ridiculous amount of interceptions. Sure, it’s tempting to point to the special teams issues and the fact that so many players were out of the game on both sides of the ball, but you can’t really do that when your quarterback has an extremely unusual “off night”.

Yes, a few weeks ago Tony Romo proved that you can pull out the win while playing very poorly, but he was really lucky with his five picks and he knew that. And yes, we had ample opportunities to win the game and came close to doing so, but regardless if we had pulled it off, the interception issue seriously needs to be evaluated so it doesn’t happen again. (And you know Peyton is probably already watching the game film as I type this.)

Now don’t get me wrong. Being 7-2 still isn’t bad. And looking at our schedule I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose one or two more games to finish the regular season at either 12-4 or 13-3, still winning the AFC South. But my worst rational fear is that we’ll do this sort of thing in playoff game against a team that can capitalize on these sort of silly mistakes (like the Patriots or the Steelers). It has happened in the past and I’d rather not go there again.

So let me stop rambling about the past and look toward the future. We have seven games left and have a good shot at wrapping up the division and possibly even getting a first round bye for the playoffs (depending upon how the Steelers play). So there’s an outside shot at one home playoff game and a handful of really good playoff games. Another trip to the Super Bowl will not be an easy task, but it is doable. Let’s see how the rest of the regular season shapes up first though.

NOTE: If you want to leave a voicemail comment for The Trolley Dodgers Podcast, you can do so at 317-565-425.

This has to be the oddest PR I’ve seen around town in sports marketing (even toping some of the Indianapolis Ice promos in the past)…

Now if only the “aliens” would abduct certain players and plant a “common sense chip” in them.

The site that this video/commercial mentions, worldunexplained.com, just takes you to the plain Pacers home page. I think that would have had some marketing potential for the season as a whole (and would be kind of fun to organize), but hey, it’s a start of thinking outside of the box, right?

(Shameless plug: we’re for hire if they need some help.)

Here’s the Naptown Roller Girls / Tornado Sirens 2008 home bout schedule (a.k.a. “Season 2″). This coming season we’re treated to six home bouts instead of five. And while not officially announced yet, I’m assuming that the bouts are going to take place out at the Indiana State Fairgrounds again this year.

December 29 – “It’s a BOUT Time”
NRG vs. Kalamazoo Kamikaze Roller Girls from Michigan

February 9 – “Shove ‘em & Leave ‘em”
NRG vs. Burning River Roller Girls from Ohio

March 22 – “Lucky Harm”
NRG vs. Cincinnati Roller Girls from Ohio (WFTDA)

April 19 – “The Pint of No Return”
NRG vs. the Brew City Bruisers from Wisconsin (WFTDA)

May 17 – “Valley of the Brawls”
NRG vs. Pikes Peak Derby Dames from Colorado (WFTDA)

June 14 – “Hoosier Daddy”
NRG vs. Dixie Derby Girls from Alabama (WFTDA)

It’s hard to put into words the ambiance of a roller derby bout (and the crowd)…it’s just something you need to check out for yourself firsthand. I only made it out to one bout last year and was totally amazed at how much fun it was. The excitement was similar to when we had a “real” hockey team in Indy (the IHL version of the Indianapolis Ice)…and I might go out on a limb and say it’s even more exciting than hockey if you sit in the “Suicide Seats” where you’re actually right up on the track, sitting on the floor (remember, this is flat track, not that stuff you saw on TV in the 70’s and 80’s). And if you’re a fan of Arena Football, you’ll probably get into this.

I’d probably suggest leaving the really little ones at home, though there is a “family section” if you choose to bring them. That suggestion is based on your own enjoyment more than anything else…and there*may* be some things, mainly roller girls and refs “names”, that you don’t really want to explain to your kids in case they ask, or have them repeat them. Also, if you’re brave (or stupid) enough, like me, and actually want to sit in the Suicide Seating area, you do have to be 18 years old to do so.

See you there, down in front!

Trolley Dodgers #50 is now available. Get caught up on the sports happenings from the past week.