The Las Vegas Raiders are living the movie, The Hangover, in the 2021 season. The Raiders season has been up and down like a roller coaster when it comes to playing the games on the field. The Raiders’ troubles off the field have been so bizarre. The death of Chucky as the Raiders lose their head coach, Jon Gruden, from emails he wrote in the past. Emails he wrote when he was a football announcer. Gruden stepped down. Raiders players racking up the DUI’s . One of those driving DUI incidents killed an innocent person. Throw in some social media outbursts by one player and Raiders have one dysfunctional family in the locker room. Raiders’ play on the field so far this season has been good, bad, and just ugly. How many times did experts paint the picture that the toe tag is on this Raiders season, because they looked horrible? If the Raiders win next week versus the Chargers, they could get in the playoffs for only the second time in their last 19 seasons. This Hangover movie may have a thrilling ending that might involve a Tiger. Maybe Mike Tyson playing the piano.

Only the Raiders would trade their coach to have it come back to haunt them in the next upcoming season. It seems like it was many blue moons ago when Raiders sent Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gruden built the Raiders up and were a playoff team on the rise. Tony Dungy had the Buccaneers built up as a playoff team as well and a team on the rise when he was fired. In 2002, Gruden led the Buccaneers over his former Raider team in the Superbowl. Ain’t that a kick in the “Pirate” ship? Years and years later, Raiders pry Gruden out of the broadcast booth and sign their former head coach to a ridiculous ten year deal worth a lot of cheddar. Gruden’s arrival in Oakland cleans house trading veteran guys for draft picks. It is the plan and gets the team moved from Oakland to Vegas as painlessly as possible. This was going to be the year for the Raiders as they did get out of the gate winning some games. Then the skeletons of Chucky’s past come back to haunt the former coach. The league was investigating former Washington Redskins President, Bruce Allen, on a workplace misconduct investigation. Gruden was an analyst at the time for the Monday Night Football booth. Gruden for years exchanged emails with Bruce Allen that the league found. Gruden’s emails involved anti-gay slurs, racist comments and sexual remarks about NFL higher-ups, players, sideline reporters, & just anybody he did not care for that worked in the league. Out of the 650,000 emails the league found, only Jon Gruden’s were leaked. He had to step down. It seemed like the Raiders were starting to come together. Interim coach went to Rich Bisaccia. Raiders won the first game under Bisaccia’s leadership. I have a feeling we have not heard the last of Chucky.

Damon Arnette was drafted by the Raiders in 2020 in the first round, 19th overall. Arnette played football at the Ohio State University where coaches stood by him as good character references when the Raiders came calling. Raiders used the draft pick they received from the Chicago Bears they got in the Khalil Mack deal. Arnette has not played like a number one draft pick in a Raiders uniform. Arnette is another Raider that has had car problems. Arnette is still involved in lawsuits from a car accident in October. Raiders cut the troubled corner back for going on social media brandishing a firearm while making death threats. Maybe Arnette’s belief was what is done in Vegas stays in Vegas. The rule does not apply when you go on social media, which everyone can see. This is a wasted pick. Not a good guy to have on your team as he was not even a starter. Arnette is obviously a guy who’s troubled and not playing with a full deck.

Then last Sunday in the wee hours of the morning, technically Monday, police in Vegas find rookie corner back Nate Hobbs sleeping at the wheel parked on an exit ramp by a parking garage. The Raiders had a big win versus the Colts in Indianapolis, a game they needed as to stay alive in the playoff chase. Hobbs was two sheets in the wind as he failed the sobriety test. Nothing wrong with celebrating a big win. Why is this cat driving? Especially being intoxicated the way he was, he could have killed someone. Has Hobbs forgotten about his former teammate Henry Ruggs III, who killed someone from his actions going out after a game only weeks ago? Hobbs was maybe going by the saying inside his head, “This will never happen to me.” Vegas Police I take it are not on the same page as the Raiders about what is done or said in Vegas stays in Vegas.

I have not forgot about the wide receiver Henry Ruggs the 3rd. Ruggs will never play professional football again. Ruggs III driving his Sting Ray Corvette up to the crazy speed of 156 MPH as he was half in the bag. Ruggs’ actions with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit killed a 23-year-old girl. Then Ruggs had his girlfriend, the mother of his one year old daughter, in the car when he lost control of the Corvette. He caused an accident that involved injuries to his woman and his own self while now having to live with the death of a innocent girl who had her whole entire life still in front of her. Many would say what Henry Ruggs is a waste of the sperm that created this guy. When you kill someone being that stupid, no way this kind of incident would stay in a certain circle. The Vegas motto should not be used in this situation because it’s just heartbreaking.

The Raiders top brass and head coach Rich Bisaccia need to set a tone with this dysfunctional team. The Raiders need to bring down the gauntlet on this off-the-field behavior that can not be tolerated. This is not Oakland, this is Las Vegas. Plenty of temptations for the players playing in Vegas such as gambling, drugs, legal prostitution, and getting bush-whacked at the night clubs with the best booze. This is sin town. You could say Rich Bisaccia had done a very good job coaching this Raiders team with all the off-the-field headlines this team has made. Something needs to be done with the Raiders organization to put the scare into younger players or anybody on present and future teams that this behavior will not be tolerated. I’d love to see the Raiders make the post-season. They have players I like that work hard and put in the effort to win games. If the Raiders beat the Chargers this Sunday night, do you consider a guy like Rich Bisaccia to be coach of the year with the headlines his guys made? Bisaccia did not ask for this job. He did accept it though. After the Henry Ruggs situation, another DUI arrest would make me go berserk. Part of the coaching is getting a hold of these off-the-field actions. These guys are adults and should police themselves. However these adults make a lot of money and play a violent sport. Management has to do some of their own policing. I’m sure the Raiders may have other offenders involved in breaking the rules off the field where they were able to use the motto, “What is done in Vegas stays in Vegas,” like passing some tickets to the victim of the situation like old time hush-hush money. With social media in a city with so much temptation, Raiders need some serious rules to get ahead of future incidents so they don’t happen. Players would be scared to get caught driving intoxicated, not from the police but from the organization. Nate Hobbs may need to make a statement so this kind of shit does not keep happening. Bisaccia is keeping the train on the tracks for now, but the post-season if the Raiders make it, could be a derailment. Especially if this Raider team invades another town in the post-season. Head Coach Bisaccia may be in over his head and whatever outcome happens, he may want to leave town to do something less stressful. The sequel of any Hangover movie are usually worse than the original. Reality will bite down hard the next time.