Wilson is blaming the defencecoughFingercough

Snyder has already tipped his hand as to what he wants for the offseason.. He wants abig-time coach like Jon Gruden or Mike Shanhan and he craves one of the star QBs entering the NFL draft It's up to Allen to preach some patience at Redskins Park. The 'Skins have arguably played some of the best football in the NFC East since last month's Denver game. The franchise is in desperate need of continuity and Allen has the football sense to realize this. However, he may see the need to put together his own staff and start from scratch. Zorn's win-loss record is underwhelming, and Campbell, despite his improvements, has yet to take that last step That would be all well and good.

No matter which approach Allen takes, Cerrato has left him with gaping holes along the offensive line. Cerrato made a litany of errors in both the draft and free agency and it has left Washington shorthanded at several positions. Snyder acknowledged that "it was time for a change." The question begs: has Snyder learned his lesson Will he practice moderation and avoid, "celebrity football" Or has he simply redirected his failures onto Cerrato to throw fans off the scent Only time will tell Snyder could very well be playing us He does it often. A telling sign will be who the Redskins draft this year with their first round selection. Everyone with a half a brain realizes the need for an offensive tackle, but Snyder has made it clear he would prefer to take a QB. Which side will win out, Snyder the businessman or Snyder the football owner And if Allen is here to create a winning franchise rather than serve as a the next yes-man, then he'll make sure he gets a tackle rather than a QB We don't know what the Allen hiring entails. It could be the turning point for a franchise mired in mediocrity.

Then again, it could be a hire to get an angry fan base off an embattled owner's back Either way, it just made things that much more interesting.. After the Leafs came out flat for the better part of two periods on Wednesday against Phoenix, they will need a substantially better effort against the Sabres tomorrow in Buffalo. Media is blaming the Grabovski line for the -3 they laid in the 2nd period. Wilson is blaming the defence(coughFingercough). But a better reason is the busy schedule and the fact that the Leafs don't have the time to address any of the nagging issues left over from the October/November melt down. Among those, the obvious deficiency on the penalty-kill, the free-falling power-play and the general defensive positioning of the team. As long as the Leafs continue to forecheck and get the puck out of their own zone at the right times, they can get back to winning. Pretty easy to type from where I sit, but with the holidays around the corner and families to think of, these players may still have 4 more games before then to plummet to that final spot in the East again. There are 2games against a Buffalo team thatalways presents a problem, a game against a Boston team that continues to embarrass Kessel and the Leafs as well as a 1 off against the Islanders. The Leafs could either be sitting pretty in 10th or licking their wounds in 15th. I'll try to get another article or 2 in before the holidays, but if I don't have a great week!. GM and its joint ventures sold 1.09 million vehicles in thecountry last year, it said in a statement. After years of double-digit growth, China in 2008 postedthree rare monthly declines in car sales as of the end ofNovember as a slowing economy dented consumer spending Auto sales in Asia, which followed the U.S. market into adownturn in the second half of 2008, are showing signs of adeepening slowdown as well and adding to automakers' woes The U.S. Sales at its flagship car venture with SAIC Motor Corp(600104.SS) fell 7.03 percent to 445,709 units last year due tolimited new models. Sales at its commercial vehicle venture in south China rose17.9 percent to 647,296 units, helped largely by the WulingSunshine minivan, popular in smaller cities and rural areas.