Dark Days in Hog Country

My reaction to the neutering of Zorn (indie directors, take note: the preceding four words would make a great title; if you're interested, we'll talk price in the comment thread) largely mirrored Gregg Easterbrook's:

The Redskins have a losing record against opponents who are a combined 9-26. Now, Jim "Dan Snyder Hasn't Fired Me Quite Just Yet" Zorn finds his play-calling authority removed by the team's general manager, and handed to a "consultant" (that's what the Redskins are calling him!) the GM just hired. In what sense are you head coach if the front office tells you that you're not allowed to call plays? Redskins management is likely to discover that staging a coup against its own coach will not improve team spirit, nor are there magical uncalled plays which will now be called. Zorn should have said, "If you want to fire me, then fire me; I will not accept an impossible position."

This was a transparent panic move. There's no way that Sherman Lewis is going to make the difference for the Skins' anemic offense. It's turning the inevitable coaching change into a long, drawn-out process, when a band-aid approach is the only way to go.

As long as we're on the NFL: every football season has a weekend in which the few prognosticatory rules of thumb holding my gambling record together are flung into oblivion. After said weekend, picking games becomes a total crapshoot, and one can only make a buck at the local casino by sheer luck (imagine that!). I think that last week, with the Bills, Rams, and Raiders all covering, was that hinge weekend for 2009.