JUNKIES: Anthony Armstrong believes in long-term Commanders success

Anthony Armstrong plied his trade here as a wide receiver for the Redskins back in the day, and he’s now the host of the Bleav in Commanders podcast, so he’s still following his old team – and as they get set for a Divisional Round showdown Saturday night in Detroit, he’s feeling EB’s wonder why the ‘Manders are almost double-digit dogs and people think they’ll get smoked.

“I can't call it. I've been trying to figure it out myself, because Detroit is an explosive offense and you can't disrespect a squad because they put 50 on people twice and 40 multiple times, but I don't know what type of adversity they've been through,” Armstrong said. “I know they've had a lot of injuries, but on the field adversity, Washington has done it seven or eight times and won multiples ways, and I don't see why they can't come up with another one in Detroit. So that's why I think Washington has a little bit of confidence about them, because they've been through some stuff.”

Armstrong will be wearing his own jersey as he watches Saturday night, which is simple preference as opposed to just not wanting to buy gear, because there’s probably gonna be plenty of Jayden Daniels or Terry McLaurin jerseys inside Ford Field with the Commanders fans in attendance.

But as Armstrong broke down just how prolific Detroit’s offense is and how Washington will have to defend them (perhaps by staying on offense as long as possible like they did in Tampa), he also mentioned how those other unheralded players have to step up, like Dyami Brown did last Sunday.

“It’s always been WR2 by committee, and that includes running backs as well with screen games and things like that, but Dyami is the guy who I'm so excited to see him come on as of late,” Armstrong said. “I think you're missing that downfield presence and it's something that you've been missing all year. Jayden does a great job pushing the ball downfield and is selective when he does it, but it's generally been to Terry outside of a few shots to Dyami.
But, since he's been able to add the intermediate reception to his game, now he can be on the field more often and you can really open up that offense. I love seeing how Kliff has moved Terry around because of how teams are treating him, and with Dyami being a consistent threat out there, I think that's gonna help him grow. It's gonna give this offense a little bit more dynamic look, and I think Dyami can make a play this game, get behind those safeties, and if you could hit a couple of haymakers, you're gonna give yourself a chance in this one.”

And even if the Commanders lose, well, 13 wins and a trip to the Final 8 ain’t bad in year one of the new era – but that consolation prize isn’t why the team is on the way to Detroit right now.

“There’s no reason to not feel good – they fell behind Philly 14-0 real quick and came back and we’ve played explosive offenses – so why not?” Armstrong said. “There’s a recipe for beating this team, and if they're in that down position, this is something that we're gonna have to see if they can answer. Washington has been here before, it's house money at this point; all the pressure’s on Detroit, so they ain’t got nothing to worry about.”