Marc Davis is a wealthy man with a poor man’s Beatles haircut and among his fellow Raiders, the team owner is sticking out like a sore thumb. Charged with the unenviable task of following in his late father’s footsteps, the man in control of the franchise forges his own path. While Marc emphasizes honoring Al Davis’ memory, his father’s iconic mantra, “Just win, baby!” rarely makes his active vocabulary. The Raiders’ heir seems to favor “Vegas, baby! ”
As one of the NFL’s marquee franchises, the Oakland Raiders are blessed with a notoriously passionate and loyal fan-base. However, they are set to abandon said fan-base and skip town on many of them. The team will leave the city of Oakland (it’s home for 47 seasons) seeking greener pastures — and most importantly a new stadium — in Las Vegas. Among a sheer multitude of resulting questions, one reigns supreme:
What could possibly go wrong?
Quite a lot, actually. First and foremost, the Raiders’ new state of the art dome stadium — priced at a casual two billion dollars — needs to be completed in time for the 2020 NFL season. The spectacularly ambitious decision to squeeze five years of work into a construction phase of just 31 months ensures the team is in for a nail-biter of a race to the finish line.
Also, when Marc Davis decided to leave for Paradise (ironically, of all places), Nevada, he left the eighth biggest media market in the United States … for the thirty-ninth. As a result, the Raiders will need to compete for relevance both nationally as well as within the manifold of entertainment options that is Las Vegas. An excellent way to start? Start winning, baby!
Tasked with building a roster capable of returning the Raiders to relevancy is first-year (and first-time ever, for that matter) General Manager Mike Mayock. And judging from his first months on the job, Mayock has a type! To put it politely, a spotless track record does not seem to be a necessary condition to join this season’s Raiders roster.
Players with a checkered past like G Richie Incognito or LB Vontaze Burfict are not only getting their second or third chance in Oakland. They are relied on to “be the straw that stirs [the team’s] drink,” according to Head Coach Jon Gruden! In an additional attempt to leave no stone unturned, Ronald Ollie, a crowd-favorite on two seasons of Netflix’ hit show Last Chance U, was given a spot in Oakland’s training camp. However, Ollie was cut rather unceremoniously before he could cause too many distractions for the team.
Hard Knocks Life
Speaking of distractions, being featured on this year’s season of the NFL’s training camp docu-series Hard Knocks, would probably rank right up there. “It would be disruptive,” Davis said about it in March. “I appreciate that they might think we’d be great TV, but we got something to accomplish.” The league obviously thought alike and after having weighed the Raiders’ concerns, chuckled and dubbed the silver and black this season’s choice for the HBO documentary anyways.
The NFL’s decision is an absolute no-brainer and as such, hardly came as a surprise to anybody. Unfortunately for the Raiders though, there is absolutely nothing the team can do against it. As a result, 32 cameramen are currently invading the Raiders’ training grounds, gathering a total of 1750 hours of footage. Twenty cameras reveal everything from delightful character quirks to deep-rooted organizational issues. Just comply, baby!
Yet, the extra-sweet cherry topping off the already impressive sundae of distractions also known as the Raiders’ 2019 season joined the team via trade during the offseason. And it’s wearing number eighty-four. Antonio Brown is more than a perfect Ewing-theory candidate for the Pittsburgh Steelers, from whom he was acquired. This summer, the 31-year old wid receiver has also proven to be the absolute zen-master of creating distractions for his team through his need to continually draw media attention upon himself.
To put things into perspective — and to avoid the risk of being branded a hater — here is a list of what Brown managed to do through the first three weeks of training camp alone: He chose to narcissistically report to camp in a hot air balloon. He revealed the severe case of frostbite on his feet that he suffered from improperly using a cryogenic chamber. He left training camp not once but twice, refusing to part way with his embosomed helmet. He filed grievances regarding his helmet being deemed outdated and therefore unsafe not only by the NFL but also by the Players Association. Twice. An independent arbitrator ruled against Brown both times. Consequently, he threatened to retire from the NFL immediately. Holy Stomach Aches, Batman!
“Antonio Brown can do whatever he wants. There is nobody who works harder in between the lines. Does he have some fun? Does he do some things? Yes.” While the very last part of this quote by Jon Gruden might be an understatement, the following sentence is the Head Coach sugarcoating the living hell out of the situation. “But we’re rolling with it because we love what he does.” A more accurate interpretation of the circumstances is that the Raiders are in desperate need of Brown’s excellence on the field. They’re therefore forced to put on a brave face and put up with whatever shenanigans the troublesome but unquestionably talented wideout produces off of it.
What happens in Oakland stays in … Vegas
The team needs to establish a winning identity. And it needs to do it quickly as there’s one irrefutable truth the Raiders can’t outrun on their way to Nevada. The metaphorical kind of grass might very well be greener pinned against the picturesque backdrop of the Vegas Strip. However, the games played on the natural grass of Allegiant Stadium will still be against the AFC West, one of the toughest in football. Despite their relocation, the Raiders will not only face a flurry of elite pass rushers (from Von Miller to Joey Bosa and Frank Clark) but also line up across from reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes twice every season for the foreseeable future. The 2019 season will hence serve as a guidepost in the Raiders’ quest to establish a new identity, both on the field and in their soon-to-be home.
In 2017, when the Vegas-deal was announced, the Raiders were coming off a 12-4 campaign, and their future did indeed look quite promising. Today, less than a year away from the targeted relocation to Nevada, the Raiders “are 4-12 “. What Jon Gruden is citing here is the team’s record from last season, his first as the team’s Head Coach. In year two of his ten-year and 100 million dollar commitment from the Raiders, he is expected to deliver more than his trademark one-liners on the sideline. In fact, Al Davis might have a fitting one of those for Gruden.
