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The Commanders and Cowboys are about to collide at 4:25pm on Sunday afternoon! Adam Peters is locked in and fired up for Washington’s opportunity to redeem themselves after their loss to Philly. What’s your prediction for Sunday’s big game?
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00:00Adam Peters, Commanders GM. What's up, Adam?
00:04What's up, guys? How's it going?
00:05Hey, Adam, you know what? We spent a lot of time talking about the week one matchup last week,
00:10and we'll dive into the week two matchup, but I don't know if we spent enough time kind of getting
00:14to know you.
00:15And last week, I had a back-to-school picnic with former teammate of yours, Kevin Brandt.
00:21Oh, K-Bo.
00:22Yeah, and it got me thinking about your college career.
00:25How much did your playing days at UCLA inform where you are now?
00:30And then I was also thinking of your track.
00:32A lot of guys that play go into coaching.
00:35You got in on the personnel side.
00:36How did that happen for you that you didn't go into coaching?
00:40Yeah, that's a cool story, and my playing career wasn't very illustrious, so let's start with that.
00:46I was a walk-on that didn't get a whole lot of time.
00:50I got some special teams time, but unless we were blowing somebody out,
00:54it wasn't really a ton of PT for me, but that actually kind of led me into this track
01:02where I knew I wasn't going to play pro ball.
01:04So I was like, well, how can I stay in football?
01:07And so I just stayed working at UCLA, kind of just hung around, you know,
01:11where they just couldn't get rid of me.
01:12And so I just hung around working at the office, and, you know,
01:16Kevin was my teammate.
01:17He was a couple years younger than me, and I GA'd really the year after I finished playing,
01:21helped with recruiting, and I was actually going to get into coaching, as a matter of fact.
01:27But I was helping with recruiting, and then I got to meet some of the guys with the Patriots
01:32who came in as scouts, and they ended up hiring me.
01:35So instead of being a coaching GA the next year at UCLA, I started as a scouting assistant in New
01:40England.
01:40Who were the quarterbacks while you were at UCLA?
01:43Ooh, so I just missed Cade McNown, and then my quarterback really was Corey Paz.
01:49So Corey Paz, and then Drew Olsen came behind him.
01:53So Corey was really good for a college quarterback and a good teammate.
01:57And we actually had a really – I mean, we can get into my glory days here.
02:01We had a really good team.
02:03We were 6-0, and then the wheels came off.
02:05But we were like number three in the BCS, and then ended up 7-4 and didn't go to a
02:10bowl game.
02:10So it started off great and kind of went off a cliff after that.
02:14We could probably want some more detail at some point.
02:17Adam, were you preferred walk-on, or did you literally just fall out of the sky for them?
02:23Well, preferred walk-on.
02:24Yeah.
02:24I kind of – it was – I played in – this is – I mean, we're really getting into
02:29me here,
02:30but played in junior college, actually.
02:33My track wasn't the typical track, but I played in junior college.
02:36I was pretty good there.
02:37I was pretty good in high school.
02:38And then I got to UCLA, and they recruited me to come there and play, and that was cool.
02:44But, you know, once I got there, I was like, all right, I'm not as good as I think I
02:48was.
02:50Right.
02:50We had this guy, Ken Young Coleman.
02:52He was like 6'5", 270, like ripped, like shredded.
02:56And he's playing my same position.
02:57I'm like looking up at him.
02:59I'm like, this is not my sport anymore.
03:01Yeah, I'm out of place here.
03:03Well, AP –
03:03One eye on coaching and scouting after that.
03:05Yeah.
03:06Well, AP, we played your walk-up.
03:08You chose the Rolling Stones.
03:09Miss you.
03:10So, we got that.
03:11Yeah, I love it.
03:12We got that going.
03:12I got me going this morning.
03:13I appreciate it.
03:14Hey, we've been trying to dissect everything from last week
03:18and just kind of wanted to get your take on a couple things.
03:20The one thing, I guess the main topic from last week,
03:24and we're kind of on both sides, depending on what side of the table we're on here.
03:29Would you chalk up the first half struggles offensively last week to the defense
03:35and how good Philly is, or was Jaden and some of the other guys just a little off,
03:40a little stale?
03:42Well, I think it's always both, right?
03:44It's always a little bit of everything, and you've got to tip your hat to the Eagles defense.
03:49They're a good defense.
03:50They will be a good defense, and they've been a good defense.
03:53They're well coached.
03:54They've got really good players.
03:56I mean, Zach Vaughn was all over the field, and he made a lot of nice plays.
04:00So you've got to tip your cap to them and their scheme, but we were a little off, too.
04:04It was the first time Jaden's played in a while.
04:07It's the first time we've called a game with all those guys in it.
04:10So it was really, it wasn't one player on the offense.
04:13I think it was kind of everybody.
04:15Somebody was off on this play.
04:16Somebody was off on that play.
04:18But I do think, even though the stats weren't good for Jaden,
04:21I thought he really managed the game well in the first half
04:24and didn't get us into a ton of negative plays.
04:27It's just we weren't hitting on all cylinders until the second half.
04:30People are, I take offense to it because I'm the president of the Jaden Daniels fan club.
04:35I'm even ahead of you, Adam.
04:37I don't think so.
04:38I think he can be the vice president.
04:40Have you given him a gold jacket yet?
04:42Because EB has.
04:43No, here's what I've said.
04:44He hasn't earned it yet, but this is a Hall of Fame talent, right?
04:47So if he stays healthy, I think he's going to the Hall of Fame.
04:49That's how good I think he is, right?
04:50So if he has a game where he's not as productive, people attack me.
04:53And I really do think that now there's this narrative,
04:58oh, he's holding the ball too long.
05:00He's afraid to take shots.
05:02He's not seeing things.
05:04And I just think it's complete BS.
05:06Like you say, I think he made great decisions.
05:09All I hear is DQ talk about what the great decisions he's making,
05:11including now throwing the ball away, being smart when he runs, and getting down.
05:17I don't have any issue.
05:18I literally have no issues regarding his ability.
05:21Does that mean he's perfect?
05:22No, but there's no fatal flaw that he holds the ball too long
05:27or doesn't see the receivers.
05:30I don't know.
05:30Do you have a response to any of that?
05:33Yeah, I think you're right on.
05:35I think Jaden is the complete quarterback.
05:38He sees it.
05:40He's got a great mind.
05:41He sees it.
05:41He processes it really well.
05:42He saw that on some of the plays where he got all the way to the backside on the read.
05:46If you guys remember the play to Antonio where he got down to the one.
05:50But Jaden can see it.
05:51He can process it.
05:52He doesn't hold the ball.
05:53And you're right.
05:54He does make really good decisions with the ball too.
05:57He did really well in keeping us out of negative plays, like I said.
06:01And yeah, I mean, I don't think there's not a whole lot of weaknesses with Jaden.
06:06There really isn't.
06:07And, you know, anytime we don't have success on offense, it's a combination of things.
06:11And sometimes it's him, sometimes it's the receivers, sometimes it's the line, sometimes
06:16it's the play call, you know.
06:18But really, we got into a rhythm in the second half, and that's what I'm excited about.
06:22Right.
06:22Joined by Adam Peters, Commander's General Manager on the Rude Guest Hotline.
06:26So, Adam, I want to take a trip in the Wayback Machine, not too far back, April 23, 2026,
06:32NFL Draft Night.
06:33So, you're sitting there in the war room, and you're seeing all these wide receivers
06:37go off the board.
06:38You're seeing Carnell Tate go early.
06:40You're seeing Jordan Tyson get drafted by the Saints.
06:42You're seeing the Browns take two wide receivers before you select Antonio Williams in the third
06:49round.
06:50I want to go back into your mental state.
06:52Like, I know you obviously had dialed in on Williams.
06:55You wanted him.
06:56Were you afraid that other teams were going to grab him before he fell to you?
07:00And what a debut he had.
07:01I mean, you saw, like, the separation score numbers compared to the other rookies, his
07:06ability to get open.
07:07I mean, he had a great debut.
07:08I want to get into your brain on Draft Night.
07:11Like, how great did you feel that he fell to you in the third round?
07:15Yeah, he was definitely someone we were targeting.
07:18And those guys came off the board pretty quick.
07:20You're right.
07:20Even a guy like Stribling that the Niners took, you know, first pick of the second round.
07:26Those guys were coming off pretty quick.
07:27So, the board got thin.
07:29And we had targeted Antonio.
07:31We thought he would probably be maybe a second-round pick.
07:35We were at the top of the third.
07:36And so, we were kind of holding our breath there for him.
07:39And there was a couple other guys we would have taken if he wasn't there.
07:43Not necessarily receivers, but other guys.
07:45But with Antonio, I think the reason he lasted until the third round is because he had a fantastic
07:512024 season, playing all over the field, outside, inside, beating a lot of really good corners.
07:57And then 2025, you know, him and Clemson really didn't have a great year.
08:01He battled through a hamstring all year.
08:04To his credit, he played really through the whole year.
08:06So, he wasn't as productive or explosive in that year.
08:10I think that's what ultimately put him down to the third round because he was predicted
08:15sometimes at the beginning of the year as a first-rounder.
08:18So, for him to be there and just seeing what we saw on tape, especially, you know, you look
08:23over both years, his ability to win outside and win inside, he's just got a great feel for
08:28the game.
08:28He's got, he knows how to change up the tempo in his routes.
08:31He just knows how to get open.
08:32He's a friendly target.
08:34He catches everything.
08:35So, he's the guy that we targeted and we were thrilled that he was there in the third
08:40round because, honestly, he really shouldn't have been.
08:42Yeah.
08:43No, he played great last week.
08:44Hopefully, that continues.
08:46It's gonna.
08:46It's gonna.
08:47He's legit.
08:48Speaking of the receivers, I was just, it was a head-scratcher that Terry was only targeted
08:53four times and only had the two catches for 14 yards.
08:58I'm not sure why.
08:59I mean, I don't study the film.
09:01You probably do.
09:02Was he just not open?
09:04Was Jaden not seeing him?
09:06Were they just doing a great job in coverage with him?
09:09And I expect those numbers to certainly go up this week.
09:12Yeah.
09:13That's a great question.
09:14And you're right.
09:15I think, you know, we always want to get the ball to Terry.
09:18But these guys, they, what they did was they rolled the coverage over Terry.
09:22And because Terry's a true number one receiver.
09:24And he's a really good player.
09:26And so, they didn't want him to beat us or him to beat them.
09:29So, you saw a lot of cloud coverage and what you could call double coverage on Terry.
09:35They rolled the coverage to him and he's a huge part of our offense.
09:38So, they just did a really nice job of trying to take him away as much as possible.
09:42And that's really what the offense is, is like trying to find the open guy.
09:46And if they're going to roll coverage to Terry, we've got to beat him in other ways.
09:50And there's going to be games where he doesn't get as many balls because they do that.
09:54And other guys have to step up.
09:55But we know that, like you saw in the fourth quarter, when we need a got-to-have-it moment
09:59on a fourth down,
10:00Terry's going to make that play.
10:01And Terry's going to make plays against double coverage, too.
10:04So, you know, I think, you know, understandably, you know, they did a good job taking him away.
10:10And we still got to find ways to move the ball.
10:12But, you know, Terry's going to get his.
10:14And he's had an incredible camp, like an incredible camp.
10:17So, I have no worries that he's going to have a really good year.
10:21So, Adam, as a diehard fan of this team, over 50 years, right, since I was a freaking kid, five
10:27years old, six years old,
10:30that's as excited as I've been about a defense in quite a while,
10:33even with the explosives that we gave up that were so frustrating.
10:37Like, man, Durante and these guys and the guys you brought in,
10:41they kind of delivered as advertised with the pressures and the sacks.
10:45And it was just so exciting to watch.
10:49So, I'm thrilled.
10:51I feel like this defense is going to give us a chance every week, no matter who the opponent is.
10:56But then I look at Dak is 22-2 and home starts against the NFC East since 2016.
11:03He's won 19 in a row.
11:05Yeah, did you know that?
11:06At home.
11:07That's ancient history, Adam.
11:08I heard that.
11:09Yeah, I mean, I'm just sitting here now.
11:11I got diarrhea, you know.
11:13So, I don't know.
11:14Calm me down a little bit.
11:15Give me some hope.
11:17Yeah, I mean, look, Dak's a great quarterback.
11:19He really is.
11:20And they've got two really, really good receivers that we've got to account for.
11:23But you're right.
11:25The defense came to play.
11:26They came with great energy.
11:28They're relentless.
11:29They're fast.
11:30They were physical.
11:32And really just impressed with how many negative plays we created, which puts the offense – it makes it really
11:38hard for the offense when you create those negative plays early in the drives.
11:41Seven punts you forced.
11:42I mean, when was the last time we'd done that?
11:43In the era when no one punts anymore.
11:46Right?
11:47Yeah, they didn't have a whole lot of third and short, so you didn't see the tush-push that much.
11:51But we've got to do better on third down, I think, and especially those third and longs.
11:55And we've got to get some of the stuff cleaned up in the back.
11:58And the cool thing is all the things that we – you know, the plays that we gave up on
12:04were things that are correctable on our end.
12:06They weren't just guys getting smoked or anything like that.
12:09We just made mistakes on our end, which is not good, but we know that's correctable.
12:15And I think, you know, our defensive front, I'm really, really excited about that front.
12:20Now we're getting Dorrance Armstrong back this week.
12:23I think those guys are going to create a lot of havoc throughout the year, and that will keep us
12:27on track on defense
12:29and making the offenses get back on track tight downs and second and third and longs.
12:35And then we've just got to stop them on those.
12:37Talking to Commanders GM Adam Peters as the Commanders get ready for their second game this Sunday, 425 against the
12:44Dallas Cowboys.
12:45As you mentioned, Dorrance Armstrong, what does he bring to the table for the Washington Commanders on the defensive side?
12:51Yeah, it's just another great rusher.
12:52And he was on pace last year to be one of the league leaders in sacks before he got hurt.
12:57Actually, he was in Dallas, coincidentally.
13:01And he was playing great, great ball.
13:03Like, he was really ascending.
13:05And so having him back, and you can get him on the field with Adafi, you can get him on
13:09the field with Casey.
13:11And really, that just adds another really high-end rusher.
13:15And somebody that they're going to have to account for.
13:17So that package is going to be even more robust this week in terms of having him on the field.
13:22And, you know, he looks great.
13:25He really does.
13:25He's been rehabbing his tail off.
13:27And it really looks like he's ready to go.
13:29So, and obviously, he played in Dallas.
13:33He's from Dallas.
13:34So it's going to be a big game for him.
13:37But I think, you know, having an extra really high-end rusher, that just makes it harder on the offense.
13:43So I do think you're going to see a little bit of those packages where it's going to be tough
13:47for them to account for everybody.
13:48Hey, P, you know, I'm sure you've been asked about it, and DQ certainly was.
13:53But it wasn't the best Mike Sanders still game of his career last week against Philly, especially when Wicks caught
13:59that touchdown.
14:00You guys pulled a guy off the practice squad, Isaac Yadam, who I believe was a third-round pick, used
14:08to be with San Francisco.
14:08I'm not sure if you knew him from then, but he was pulled up to the active roster.
14:13Now you're facing two legit receivers who had bad games last week.
14:18So, you know, Dak's obviously going to target them.
14:20What does Mike Sanders still have to do this week?
14:23Yeah, I think, you know, first I think he acknowledged, you know, he didn't have his best game.
14:27And he didn't have a good game, and that's, you know, Mikey knows that.
14:30We all know that.
14:32But at the same time, we have a lot of confidence in Mikey and his resilience and his ability to
14:38bounce back.
14:38And he knows what he did, and he knows what he needs to work on.
14:41And I have all the confidence in the world that he's going to do that.
14:45And you're right, the Cowboys receivers, they didn't have their best game, and we can't expect that to happen this
14:50week.
14:51You know, that's not going to happen this week.
14:52Those guys are really, really good.
14:54So, we just, we have to play really good defense as a whole.
14:58And it's not just Mikey, it's not just Amik, it's not just Rasul.
15:02In the back end, it's the rush marrying with the coverage.
15:05And if we can get pressure on Dak and make him get rid of the ball and kind of get
15:09in his face, that's really going to help the coverage.
15:11And that's, you know, the way this defense is built.
15:14So, Mikey knows what he needs to work on.
15:17And like I said, I have a ton of confidence in him.
15:19He is who we thought he was.
15:21He had a bad game, and I think he's going to bounce back.
15:24Was that just like a, can you explain to the fans, and like those of us who are just on
15:28our couches, and I never played DB.
15:30Like, was it just like a brain fart type thing on a couple of those?
15:32Like, when they say technique, was that just mean, like, it just wasn't locked in mentally for a second?
15:38Yeah, I think that's, you know, I think sometimes you have lapses.
15:41You know, we all do, and that's just not a good time to have them.
15:44You know, there's a couple plays, I mean, and it's been kind of talked about, but, you know, the deep
15:49pass where he slowed down, and they got the 64-yard reception, and then obviously the play that a lot
15:55of people are talking about in the red zone, and just needs to lock in.
15:59Needs to lock in on those plays, and he knows that.
16:01And, you know, I, you know, the last couple days watching him practice, he's really been locked in.
16:06And I think that was, that was good.
16:07Like, you know, it's never good when that happens, because that's, you know, obviously it has results in the game.
16:13But I think, you know, he's been really locked in this week, so that's been cool to see, and I
16:19don't think that's going to happen again.
16:20A couple rapid-fire Adam Peters questions.
16:22On game day, what time do you get up?
16:26Oh, gosh, game day, what time do I get up?
16:28I wake up a lot on game day.
16:31So, I get up early, I try to lay in bed, but really once I wake up, there's no going
16:35back.
16:35So, get up pretty early, and then just kind of go and try to get a workout in, try to
16:42get a little breakfast in,
16:43and then I just stress out for a really long time, to be honest with you.
16:47All right, so post-game, rapid-fire post-game on a win, do you have a post-game cocktail?
16:55You know, you're not supposed to have post-game cocktails, but maybe we do.
17:02I mean, it could be at home, it could be on the flight, it's okay.
17:05I can tell you I'm not driving.
17:08Got you, good.
17:09And then, I'm just curious, maybe for a 425 game, it's tough, but let's say it's a 1 o'clock
17:13game,
17:13you guys get the game in, you get home, will you watch Sunday Night Football like a fan?
17:20Oh, yeah.
17:21Yeah, I mean, especially when we're at home, we usually have a lot of people in town,
17:25and that's a fun time.
17:26You know, win or lose, you're around people that you love that make the day better, regardless.
17:30And so, get home and watch a little Sunday Night Football and just unwind, and hopefully
17:35you're celebrating a win, it makes it a lot more fun.
17:37But yeah, definitely watch that as a fan and love that product, love seeing that game at
17:42night.
17:42Do you pay attention to the 1 o'clocks when it's a 4 o'clock?
17:45Yeah, yeah, because you're in the locker room, you're kind of just hanging out and waiting
17:49for, you know, your game to start.
17:51So, you usually have red zone on in the locker room, just kind of following what's going on
17:54and just kind of seeing what's happening around the league, taking notes.
17:58So, you know, what are the cool plays?
18:00What are the turnovers?
18:01What are the game management things?
18:02Like, those are the times where you see those things, like people screwing up game management
18:06or people really doing a great job at game management, making notes of those plays
18:09and making sure our team sees that so they know how to execute in those moments.
18:14All right, Adam, best of luck.
18:16Hopefully next week we're talking to you after a win.
18:18Yes, sir.
18:19Yes, sir.
18:20Let's do it.
18:20All right.
18:21Thanks, Adam.
18:22Appreciate it.
18:22That's Adam Peters, Commander's GM.
18:24He doesn't get too high or too low.
18:26Nope.
18:26Nope.
18:27That's what you have to do with GM, man.
18:28You got to stay steady.
18:30Yeah, you do.
18:31Yeah.
18:32Part of the deal.
18:33I would not want that job.
18:35That's Adam Peters joining us on a Football Friday presented by Adios Premium Can Margaritas.
18:39Say hello to Adios, DC.
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