I like Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, I do. But when I see him on TV with his bowl haircut, I imagine him going to NFL Owners Meetings with a backpack on and the other owners bullying him.
With that said, I'm now going to bully Mark Davis.
Last week, the Browns had nearly half the team test positive for Covid despite the whole team (minus one player) getting the Covid vaccine. The Browns pleaded for more time, hoping, maybe, Covid would run its course and they could, possibly, get some players back.
Mark Davis threw a tantrum and claimed that if the game was moved his team would have a competitive disadvantage and would only agree to moving the game if it was in Vegas.
Thankfully the NFL stepped in, tweeked the rules, and moved the game from Saturday to Monday. Even with the 2 extra days of practice with their 3rd string quarterback, the Browns are still headed into the game with a 5 pm kickoff short 18 players, including:
1st string QB: Baker Mayfield
2nd string QB: Case Keenum
2nd string RB: Kareem Hunt
1st string WR: Jarvis Landry
1st string TE: Austin Hooper
2 starting offensive linemen
Their only punter: Jamie Gillam
(11 of the 22 starters from just 2 weeks ago will be out)
Since First Energy Stadium is technically Baker Mayfield's House.....
I hope Baker and his teammates make their way to Mark Davis' suite and give him a hug. I hope they lounge around with the Raiders' Front Office in their suite and share hors d'oeuvres. I hope they partake in a beer or two and spin some yarns from yesteryear. If Mark Davis doesn't welcome the players in his suite, they should escort him out of the stadium and follow him to the airport.
Why would I suggest such a thing? If the Raiders win tonight, the Browns are going to be at a competitive disadvantage for a playoff spot. If Davis and his front office take Covid back to Vegas, it increases the chances of the Browns making the playoffs in a Browns/Raiders tiebreaker scenario.
Just Win Baby! As your Dad used to say.
Addendum: December 22, 2021
A few of Mark Davis' uneducated team members had taken a run at the NFLPA leader, who happens to play for the Browns, JC Tretter, earlier in the week. I didn't include it in the article because I wanted to publish it before game time.
Revealed today by Tretter, the game WAS almost called a forfeit, but in case of a forfeit, even though the Raiders would have won on paper, NO PLAYERS WOULD HAVE BEEN PAID. So Mark Davis was pushing for the forfeit from 2 angles.
The Raiders would have Won.
Mark Davis would get the W without having to pay his players.
Tretter IMPLIED that after the situation was explained to the Raider players, Davis was the only one pushing for the forfeit. If the average NFL salary is $860,000 , one missing paycheck would have cost the average player, about $50,000. If you are one of the elite players in the league, a name even the casual fan would know, like Derek Carr, not playing that game would have cost him about $1.4 million dollars.