Tag: DE / OLB Dante Fowler

Dan Quinn: ‘Former Cowboys have been effective Commanders’

Multiple former Cowboys are helping turn around the Commanders in 2024.

When Dan Quinn came to Washington, he knew he needed help on the line of scrimmage.

Sunday, in a Week 12 contest, the Dallas Cowboys (3-7) come to town to face the Washington Commanders (7-4).

Quinn was asked by the media on Wednesday why he wanted to sign former Cowboys such as C Tyler Biadasz, DE Dorance Armstrong, and LB Dante Fowler.

“Yeah, I think the line of scrimmage is a big deal and I saw firsthand with Tyler, and Dorance and Dante and what they could do and how they could affect the game,” Quinn said.

Quinn continued that he also saw maturity in those players, which he felt could be an asset in explaining to other players Quinn’s reasoning for some things he wants.

“I knew having some people along those lines to maybe look around the corners as I was just getting started. ‘What Dan’s trying to say here might be X, Y, or Z.’”

Having worked in practice against WR Noah Brown during the 2021 and 2022 seasons for the Cowboys, Quinn wanted him when the Texans released him on their last cuts to their 53-man roster. The Commanders certainly needed a receiver with size.

“Then, the addition of Noah, as well, was somebody that although we didn’t spend years together, I did get a sense of what the worker was, the competitor was. And he really just wanted a chance to compete, and that’s something that he knew he would get the opportunity with us here, saying that was going to be kinda the central theme of what we were going to do. So, that’s kinda the backstory there.”

Consequently, some former Cowboys will lead this Commanders team in its preparation to face the Cowboys Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Landover.

 

Two oddities regarding the Commanders’ depth chart

Some takeaways from Washington’s Week 1 depth chart.

So the Commanders’ defensive depth chart is “unofficial,” they say.

When I was looking through it on Tuesday, I read each name quickly and didn’t notice anything unusual. I caught Michael Davis and Dominique Hampton being listed as the backup not once but twice.

So, I looked a second time at the starters, and this time, I noticed they had listed an extra starter. The Commanders had listed 12 instead of ll as their starters. Why?

Though listed as such, the Commanders are not going to start Clelin Ferrell, Dorance Armstrong, and Dante Fowler at the same time. They could, yes, but not if they also start cornerbacks Emmanuel Forbes, Benjamin St-Juste, and Mike Sainristil.

https://Twitter.com/Mason_Kinnahan/status/1822802490443641122

This was not an error. The truth is that, for some reason, the Commanders wanted 12 starters on defense and 11 on offense listed. Had they not yet personally informed one of the 12 that he is not starting? Perhaps they felt it best that the player hear it first from the coaching staff and not social media?

Looking at the Week 1 opponent, the Tampa Bay Bucs, I noticed the Bucs list three wide receivers as starters: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan.

Perhaps the Commanders listed three cornerbacks to combat the three Bucs receivers. Does that mean they will alter the depth chart each week accordingly?

Over to the offensive chart, in the minicamps and training camp, Dyami Brown was often praised. Luke McCaffrey, on the other hand, not so much. Yet, the surprise on the chart was that Brown was listed as a backup and McCaffrey and Olamide Zaccheaus as the starters.

Perhaps the key word in the depth charts is “unofficial,” and we should simply view them as a guide from week to week, but not official.