With the Redskins in first place as we near the half-way point of the NFL season, I can’t shake the feeling that somehow team owner Dan Snyder can still find a way to screw this up. While I can’t truly blame Snyder for all of the team’s on-field disappointments, I often find myself wanting to blame him. Snyder has been a controversial figure. It seems fans can’t even agree on the man’s name. While most printed accounts refer to the team owner as Dan Snyder, I frequently hear some long-time Redskin fans pronouncing his first name with an “m.”

Redskins: What's in a name?

As one Redskin fan explained to me, “Dam Snyder won’t let the coaches do their job,” adding that, “It all goes back to Fat Albert.” Slightly confused by what I thought was a reference to either Bill Cosby or a Herbie Hancock lp, I decided to call an audible to Siri.

The iPhone temptress, lead me to a bleacher report story detailing Albert Haynesworth’s short and disappointing tenure with the Redskins. Further research led to reports of the Haynesworth signing being called the “worst free agent acquisition in NFL history.”

It seems Dam Snyder insisted on signing a defensive lineman despite his coach’s insistence that the said lineman didn’t fit into the team’s defensive scheme. Not only was this bad for team morale it was also damaging to the defense’s on-field performance. It was so bad, sports writer Andrew Brandt called the Haynesworth deal, “The $36 Million Mistake.”

What may be a more likely scenario for Snyder to ruin the Redskins chance of making the playoffs, the owner could just fire the coach.

You may think it is far-fetched but, during the 2000 season, he fired Norv Turner despite the team’s winning record. The firing came less than a week before the team was scheduled to play the Cowboys. Losing that game to the Cowboys killed any chance the Redskins had of making the playoffs.

Many Snyder haters are already aware of Dave McKenna’s “Cranky Redskin Fan’s Guide to Dan Snyder.” The article contains a list of some of the team owner’s least popular decisions.

While selling beer in the men’s room or trying to profit from the 9-11 terror attacks may make your skin crawl, they are not damaging to the team's on-field performance.

Redskins: Benching the best

It’s the choices that have affected the win-loss count that keep me wary of jumping on the Redskin bandwagon. Just remember that this is the guy that let Rich Gannon getaway and chose to bench Brad Johnson in favor of Jeff George. Rich Gannon went on the face Brad Johnson in the Superbowl and Jeff George posted a career-low 34.6 passer rating with the Redskins.
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