Redskins fans got the weekend off. Mercifully, they were allowed to rake leaves, ready the garage for winter or watch more functional NFL teams compete last Sunday, which was Washington's bye week.

What's coming out of Ashburn, Va., these days has become almost comical. I write "almost" because I know for many loyal followers of the burgundy and gold, it's not funny. A franchise that boasts five world titles, including three Super Bowls, and 17 Hall of Famers in its history shouldn't be subjected to the increasingly frequent and loud calls for change.

Those calls aren't directed at the embattled head coach, Jim Zorn, though. He seems to have earned sympathy points from many around the league, although it is quite clear that he is in over his head and needs a change of scenery. The masses are turning on the one person who can't be fired — the owner.

Dan Snyder has never been a particularly popular figure. He has shot himself in the foot so many times that he should be walking with a permanent limp.

In May of 1999, he alienated the media on the day he was approved as owner of the Redskins by walking right past the cameras and reporters anxious to hear from the new head of Washington's most beloved sports franchise. There's the legendary story of him firing longtime secretaries upon his taking control of the team, and his ill-fated experiment to charge fans to attend (and to park at) Redskins training camp in 2003. He has tried to buy championships by acquiring over-the-hill players (remember the Jeff George debacle?). He has made bad hires at coach (Steve Spurrier, among others) and in the front office (Vinny Cerrato, twice, actually).

Snyder has done some good along the way, to be sure. Reportedly, he's generous when it comes to charities. He has used his savvy business and marketing skills to increase the value of his franchise significantly, which has been a good thing for his fellow NFL owners. He has worked long and hard in an attempt to deliver a winning team, and some thought he might be onto something when he lured Joe Gibbs back to the sideline in 2004.

But, ultimately, his efforts have failed. The bottom line is that he hasn't built a winner. He's failed to deliver a championship-caliber team, let alone a championship. In his first 10 seasons of ownership (1999-2008), the Redskins amassed a regular-season record of 76-84, for a winning percentage of .475. He has overseen just three seasons that included the playoffs, and only two postseason wins.

All of Snyder's antics in his first decade, though, were just his warm-up act in anticipation of the giant sideshow that 2009 has become.

In addition to suing season-ticket holders who defaulted on contracts because they no longer could afford to keep them in a bad economy, the 'Skins are now trying to limit fans in FedEx Field from exercising their freedom of speech by banning signs critical of the owner. Throw in the fact that Washington is sitting at 2-5 with a lame-duck head coach, and you've got to ask whether it can get any worse.

The only good news for Redskins fans is that it's hard to imagine that's possible.

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