Oakland Raiders: "Boys will be Boys" Book Opens Up a Can of Worms

It's not uncommon for a Raider Nation member to sneak and look at other team pages just to get a feel for what's going on.

The Oakland Raiders are not in a vacuum, so it makes sense to study the context of their experiences and image not only on BR but in all media.

Snooping around other Bleacher Report team pages can be a lot of fun.

A book was reviewed titled, "boys will be boys" and it tells some stories of how "bad" the Dallas Cowboys were off the playing field. The review was on the Dallas Cowboys' BR page.

After reading the review, I thought that the Oakland Raiders had a "boys will be boys" attitude, too. But, one thing is different.

The book records the days when several Super Bowls were won by Dallas, and yet the players were notoriously naughty off the playing field.

One young woman said as she observed me writing this article, "they were rewarding themselves for a job well done on the field."

If that is the case, then the Oakland Raiders can only be naughty off the playing field, making trips to Las Vegas and so on, if they have given us outstanding performance on the playing field in 2010.

There's a new rule. It will reverse the reward system. It goes like this:

"Play hard in order to party hard."

You see, for the past seven years it seems that the Oakland Raiders should have a very bland lifestyle because the performance has not been up to par. Am I right?

To say it again, the NFL players, especially the Oakland Raiders, should only get a chance to play hard (off the football field) if and only if they have worked hard (on the football field) to win more NFL games.

Well, I know that some folks won't like the principle that is being promoted here. However, something has to change so let's re-think how our team is coached as it relates to getting rewards.

Would you give a child candy for poor behavior? No.

Would you give a teenager the keys to your car, if he or she has received too many traffic tickets during a certain period of time? No.

Would you give a man or woman a bonus on a job if he or she constantly makes errors and causes the company's ratings to fall below a certain standard? No.

So, apply this idea to our team, the Oakland Raiders.

Yes, this type of discussion opens up a "can of worms" and worms don't look good to most folks. Nevertheless, something needs to be changed even if it is nothing more than the reward system for performance on the playing field.

What do you think?

Note: Inspired by C. Douglas Baker, BR Writer, and Jeff Pearlman's book, "Boys will be Boys." Thanks for a good article, Baker. Thanks to Pearlman for a good book.