Tag: Dorance Armstrong

Commanders DE Dorance Armstrong weighs in on Cowboys’ struggles

What does Commanders DE — and former Dallas Cowboy — Dorance Armstrong think of his former team’s struggles?

Defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys. A fourth-round pick from Kansas in the 2018 NFL draft, Armstrong played his final three seasons in Dallas for Dan Quinn.

When Quinn departed Dallas to take the head coaching position with the Washington Commanders, Armstrong saw an opportunity and followed him. It’s been a good move for Quinn and Armstrong. Washington is 7-4, led the NFC East for much of the season, and remains firmly in the playoff mix.

This Sunday, Armstrong faces his former team for the first time. Things aren’t going so well in Dallas, as the Cowboys hold a 3-7 record and have lost five consecutive games.

What does Armstrong think about seeing the Cowboys from the other side?

“Obviously, when you play the team you came from, you have a more…..more urgency or something, I don’t know what it is about that, but that’s what it is right now for me,” Armstrong said.

With so many former Cowboys on Washington’s current roster, including Armstrong, Dante Fowler Jr., Tyler Biadasz and Noah Brown, they see the Cowboys’ current struggles.

So, has Armstrong paid attention to Dallas’ current struggles?

“Me, personally, yeah, I watch here and there,” Armstrong said. “Most of them are still my guys, for real, but I watch ’em; I see what’s going on.”

Armstrong was then asked what his thoughts were on the 2024 Cowboys.

“It’s not good, I’ll just say that,” Armstrong said with a smile.

Dallas allowed several players to depart in the offseason, some of whom followed Quinn to Washington. Each of those former Cowboys has played a pivotal role in the Commanders’ impressive turnaround.

 

Commanders Week 7 inactive list vs. Panthers

Brian Robinson is in. Dorance Armstrong is out. Week 7 inactives.

The Washington Commanders (4-2) host the Carolina Panthers in Week 7 action from Northwest Stadium. The Commanders revealed their inactives for Sunday’s game, led by starting defensive end Dorance Armstrong.

  • DE Dorance Armstrong
  • QB Jeff Driskel
  • S Tyler Owens
  • G Chris Paul
  • LB Dominique Hampton

Armstrong suffered a rib injury during last week’s loss at Baltimore and was ruled out on Friday. Driskel will serve as Washington’s third quarterback. Owens continues to miss time with a shin injury.

As Adam Schefter reported on Saturday, starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. will play. Robinson has been dealing with a knee injury for three weeks and missed last week’s game. He leads the Commanders with 325 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Carolina’s lengthy injury report for Friday listed six players out and three as doubtful. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson, one of those listed as questionable, will play.

Here are the Panthers’ inactives:

  • OLB Jadeveon Clowney
  • LB Josey Jewell
  • LB Jon Rhattigan
  • LB Claudin Cherelus
  • RT Taylor Moton
  • TE Tommy Tremble
  • DE A’Shawn Robinson

Commanders final Week 7 injury report: Several Panthers ruled out

Dorance Armstrong is out for the Commanders in Week 7.

The Washington Commanders wrapped up practice on Friday in preparation for Sunday’s Week 7 game against the Carolina Panthers. Head coach Dan Quinn announced the Commanders would be without two players, including starting defensive end Dorance Armstrong. Rookie safety Tyler Owens will also miss another game.

“Dorance will not make it up for this game and worked hard to get there, but just not quite to the spot that we need him to be to let him play in his own style,” Quinn said. “So, we’ll see what next week looks like, but he had a good week but not there yet then. And same with Tyler Owens.”

They were the only players listed as out for Washington. However, three were listed as questionable, including running back Brian Robinson Jr.

Meanwhile, Carolina will be without six players on Sunday. The Panthers also listed six players as questionable and three as doubtful.

Commanders final injury report:

Out: DE Dorance Armstrong (rib), S Tyler Owens (shin)

Questionable: RB Brian Robinson Jr. (knee), LB Jordan Magee (knee), DE Clelin Ferrell (knee)

Robinson missed last week’s game, while Ferrell played after missing three consecutive games.

Here’s a look at the Panthers final injury report:

Out: A’Shawn Robinson (knee) and linebackers Josey Jewell (hamstring/groin) and Claudin Cherelus (hamstring), OT Taylor Moton (elbow), special teamer Jon Rhattigan (knee/illness), RB Jonathon Brooks (knee)

Doubtful: OLB Jadeveon Clowney (shoulder), S Sam Franklin Jr. (foot), DT Jaden Crumedy (ankle)

Questionable: WR Diontae Johnson (ribs, hamstring, ankle), TE Tommy Tremble (back/concussion), WR David Moore (knee), RT Yosh Nijman (knee), DE LaBryan Ray (ankle/knee), cornerback Dane Jackson (hamstring)

Commanders DE Dorance Armstrong quietly excelling recently

Dorance Armstrong has been getting it done as a pass rusher recently.

The Washington Commanders’ defense struggled early this season. In Week 1, Washington couldn’t stop Baker Mayfield and had no answer for Malik Nabers in Week 2. In Week 3, the Commanders got just enough stops for quarterback Jayden Daniels to outlast Joe Burrow for the upset road win.

However, over the past two weeks, Washington’s defense has improved. Newcomers such as linebacker Frankie Luvu and defensive end Dorance Armstrong have gotten comfortable and emerged as impact defenders for the Commanders.

In last week’s win over the Browns, Luvu had seven tackles, 2.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. Armstrong didn’t receive as much attention for his play, but the former Dallas Cowboy had 1.5 sacks last week, giving him three over the past three games.

While Armstrong hasn’t posted huge sack numbers, his impact is helping others, such as Luvu. His career high is 8.5 sacks, which he set in 2022, playing only 47% of the defensive snaps. Now a full-time starter, Armstrong is positioned to set a new career high in sacks this season.

 

What is the Commanders’ most glaring hole ahead of the season?

What position is the most questionable for the Commanders ahead of the season?

The Washington Commanders are set to open training camp this week. The rookies reported late last week, but the entire team is due in Ashburn on Tuesday.

The rosters of all 32 NFL teams are primarily set. Over the next several weeks, teams will trim their rosters from 90 players to 53. Training camp and the preseason will help determine the back end of rosters across the league. While there are some veteran free agents still out there who could step into starting roles, finding impact players at this stage of the year is difficult.

So, as training camp kicks off this week, what is Washington’s biggest remaining hole?

It’s easy to say offensive tackle — specifically left tackle. But the Commanders feel good about the trio vying for the role: Veterans Cornelius Lucas and Trent Scott and rookie Brandon Coleman.

What about cornerback? There are some serious questions there, too. However, the addition of new head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. should help some of the Commanders’ talented young defensive backs.

Jared Dubin of CBS Sports recently looked at every team’s biggest roster hole ahead of the season, and he believes it is edge rusher for the Commanders.

And in Washington, Dorance Armstrong was a strong rotation edge rusher for the Cowboys and Dan Quinn over the last few years, but he’s now the No. 1 guy. That’s less than ideal. The Commanders are counting on guys like Clelin Ferrell, Efe Obada and Dante Fowler Jr. to supplement him.

This is fair. Armstrong, Ferrell, Obada and Fowler are all solid and reliable veteran players, but none of them is a dominant pass rusher at this juncture of their career. There is hope that Armstrong, with an increased role in 2024, will develop into a double-digit pass rusher.

Things are much different for the Commanders in 2024 than they were one year ago. Washington entered 2023 with Chase Young and Montez Sweat. The Commanders traded both and allowed their backups, Casey Toohill and James Smith-Williams, to depart in free agency.

Numbers prove the Commanders could not rush the passer in 2023

The Commanders could not rush the passer in 2023. Will that change in 2024 under Dan Quinn?

When the Washington Commanders opened the 2023 NFL season, they had Chase Young and Montez Sweat starting at defensive end. By November 1, both players were gone, and Washington turned to a pair of 2023 Day-3 draft picks and two other former seventh-round picks as its top pass rushers.

As you’d imagine, the Commanders struggled to rush the passer, but it wasn’t only because of the personnel. Washington was always seemingly at a coaching disadvantage, too. The Commanders didn’t have the pass rushers to win one-on-one, and the coaching staff didn’t do a good job of creating pressure.

That will change under new head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. While Quinn and Whitt will not have Micah Parsons in Washington, Quinn has always been excellent at finding ways to create pressure.

We’ve reviewed the Commanders’ defensive ineptitude a number of times, but Pro Football Focus recently gave us another statistic showing their struggles.

PFF used “clustering” to examine all 32 NFL defenses from the 2023 season. Before we review the assessment on Washington, let’s allow PFF to explain the clustering method:

Clustering is a mathematical technique used to group similar observations. The most common form is the k-means clustering algorithm, which completes its iterative process when each observation is in the cluster that best represents it. In other words, there is no other cluster whose center (or mean of all the variables) is closer to that observation than the one it currently belongs to.

Now, what about the Commanders?

PFF has Washington in Cluster One with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans.

The Commanders rushed the passer the least often of any defense in 2023 (29.3%).

In addition to Washington’s inability to rush the passer, the team struggled across the board defensively. This offseason, general manager Adam Peters signed Dorance Armstrong, Clelin Ferrell and Dante Fowler at defensive end. Armstrong and Fowler followed Quinn to the Commanders from Dallas.

And while none of the aforementioned newcomers are known as standout pass rushers, Washington will be much better at applying pressure in 2024. Armstrong, in particular, is the most intriguing addition.

Breer believes Commanders’ free-agent class already paying dividends

Washington’s free-agent class is already paying dividends.

The Washington Commanders had a busy offseason. Washington signed over 20 free agents, selected nine players in the 2024 NFL draft and added 11 additional undrafted free agents.

General manager Adam Peters chose to focus on free agents that he and the coaching staff were familiar with in their plan to rebuild Washington’s roster while not ruining any potential future cap flexibility.

Mission accomplished. Most of Washington’s signings were one-year deals. And the three-year deals given out (C Tyler Biadasz, DE Dorance Armstrong and LB Frankie Luvu) are still young and ascending players. Biadasz and Armstrong followed head coach Dan Quinn from Dallas to Washington, while Luvu was one of the most sought-after defenders on the free-agent market.

Two of Washington’s free agents, linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Ertz, are arguably the most important additions. Wagner and Ertz are not only counted upon to deliver on the field in 2024, but for their leadership, too.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated thinks the Commanders’ offseason spending was money well spent.

The Washington Commanders’ massive free-agent haul paid dividends in the spring. One thing a new coach can see over his first few months is how players are buying in and carrying the flag for the program he’s trying to put in.

And having been in that position before with the Atlanta Falcons, new Commanders coach Dan Quinn arrived in D.C. knowing that he’d need some flag-bearers for what he was trying to build. It’s a big reason why Washington went for volume in free agency—bringing in a massive number of players from across the NFL whom he and new GM Adam Peters saw as fits for what they’ll be trying to build over the next few years.

So far, so good.

Quinn saw it in the spring in the details on tape—in how players were finishing plays downfield, how they were going after the ball on defense and how the three new phases were being installed (the coaches tried to take their time and be deliberate with that).

The two guys in particular who really showed up in that regard were Bobby Wagner and Zach Ertz, who have a combined 23 years of NFL experience and have both won a Super Bowl. Quinn had Wagner in Seattle a decade ago, so he knew exactly what he was getting from the six-time All-Pro. And Quinn’s offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury, had Ertz for a season and a half in Arizona, so Washington wasn’t guessing about him, either. Both helped to set a standard and install the coaches’ systems.

Quinn was pleased with Washington’s offseason work. He praised the players and coaches and feels the Commanders are in a good spot heading into training camp next month.

Multiple players have spoken about Wagner and Ertz and how valuable they’ve been since arriving in March. Both may be at the later portion of their careers, but they can still play. However, with their ties to the coaching staff, their presence on the practice field and in the locker room is just as important to their contributions this fall. The coaching staff has trusted these veterans to help them teach Washington’s returning players and other newcomers what it takes to be a professional.

No one believes the Commanders will win 10 games or more in 2024. Peters and Quinn signed a free-agent class designed to lay a foundation.

Mission accomplished. That doesn’t they aren’t trying to win in 2024. They are. However, for once, the organization sees the larger picture.

Dorance Armstrong: ‘Turning the Commanders around will take everybody’

Dorance Armstrong liked playing for Dan Quinn in Dallas, and Wednesday he said it is exciting being here now with a divisional rival.

“It’s been smooth, it’s a new team.”

“We’re just trying to get the feeling of everybody getting to know each other,” said Dorance Armstrong to the media Wednesday at the Commanders OTA workouts.

The defensive end made his way to Washington via free agency, opting to leave the Cowboys for their divisional rival, the Commanders.

For now, during this week’s OTAs, Armstrong continued the theme of becoming a team. “Knowing this is going to be a long season, so we got to be able to play as a unit and be one.”

Armstrong revealed Wednesday that he has not been following the rumors of the NFL Players Association looking to reduce the number of OTA workouts they can have during the earlier portion of the offseason. When asked about it, Armstrong was unaware of it and even said, “I don’t care.”

Armstrong likes Dan Quinn’s approach to defense. He pointed to “the play style. If you watch film from the previous team, it jumps off the tape how fast they play, how fast they move. You don’t see that across the league everywhere.”

Others have mentioned how the coaching staff is vocal, energetic, and intense. Armstrong echoed this Wednesday and added, “We got to go out there and want to do it ourselves, too. But as long as we have those guys to make us go out there and push us and motivate us, then it’ll be that.”

See 2022-23 Dorance Armstrong highlights

If the Commanders are going to get this team turned around from the miserable 4-13 finish of 2023, at least Armstrong is realistic about how that change might occur. “It takes a lot, you know. You got to be willing to sacrifice a lot of things. It’s a big grind, man. It’s not easy. It’s gonna take everybody.”

Indeed, it will take everybody. The Commanders will be underdogs in all four games against the Cowboys and Eagles. They have not beaten the New York Giants since the 2021 season.

 

Commanders not projected to receive any compensatory picks in 2025 for free-agent losses this offseason

No surprise, the Commanders aren’t expected to receive any compensatory picks for 2025 after a busy offseason.

The Washington Commanders signed over 20 outside free agents this offseason and watched some former starters leave via free agency.

However, Washington signed much more than it lost, meaning the Commanders would not receive any compensatory selections in the 2025 NFL draft, per Over the Cap.

That’s not a surprise and something general manager Adam Peters knew before free agency. The Commanders had so many holes it would need to be aggressive in free agency just to field a competitive roster in 2024.

While Washington didn’t land any compensatory picks for 2025, three of its signings helped other teams land them. The Commanders’ signings of center Tyler Biadasz and defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. give the Dallas Cowboys a pair of fifth-round selections.

Also, Washington’s signing of running back Austin Ekeler means the Los Angeles Chargers will receive a sixth-round pick.

The Commanders were busy in free agency but also added nine newcomers via the NFL draft and 11 more undrafted free agents. Washington will look like a completely different team in 2024, which should be encouraging news to the fans.

Commanders release DE Shaka Toney

Toney was just reinstated last week.

That didn’t take long. Days after the NFL reinstated defensive end Shaka Toney from an indefinite suspension for gambling, the Washington Commanders released him on Monday.

Toney, a seventh-round selection in the 2021 NFL draft from Penn State, played two seasons for the Commanders, appearing in 26 games, finishing with 16 tackles, including two for loss, three quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks.

The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Toney faced long odds at making Washington’s roster in 2024. While the Commanders are without their top four edge rushers from a year ago, new general manager Adam Peters rebuilt the position this offseason, adding veterans Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler Jr. and Clelin Ferrell.

Armstrong and Fowler are close with new head coach Dan Quinn, while Ferrell followed Peters and new defensive line coach Darryl Tapp to Washington from San Francisco. The Commanders also re-signed veteran Efe Obada.

Additionally, Washington returns second-year edge defenders K.J. Henry and Andre Jones Jr., both of whom showed potential at times last season.

With nine picks in this week’s 2024 NFL draft, the Commanders are expected to select an edge rusher at some point. Washington hosted multiple edge defenders on top 30 visits.