Dallas’ Hatcher leading with words, actions
IRVING, Texas—Jason Hatcher doesn’t think of himself as a vocal leader for the Dallas Cowboys, just a guy who speaks his mind.
Except when he hears that Jerry Jones wants to keep the defensive tackle past this final year of his contract and someone suggests the Cowboys owner should back up those words with some cash.
“I’m not saying nothing,” Hatcher said, playfully biting his tongue.
The eighth-year pro is letting his play do most of the talking, and certainly giving Jones something to think about when it didn’t seem even a few months ago that a long-term deal in Dallas would be an option.
Hatcher was a steady substitute his first five years with the Cowboys before getting his break when Rob Ryan came in as defensive coordinator two years ago. The 31-year-old has
now started 25 straight games, and he’s more than just a consistent presence on a line that has lost Anthony Spencer for the season with a knee injury, and might not get anything significant out of Jay Ratliff for the second straight year.
Hatcher’s making a lot of plays in the revamped fourman front under new defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and line coach Rod Marinelli. He’s just one sack behind star pass rusher and new franchise sack leader DeMarcus Ware this season.
“More than anything else, you’re just seeing him play with a relentless spirit both defending the run and running to the football at the end of the down but also getting to the quarterback,” coach Jason Garrett said. “He’s playing really, really good football.”
Hatcher wanted out of Dallas three years ago. He simply couldn’t get on the field much, and didn’t think he ever would. Ryan saw something in him about the same time he signed a three-year deal, and he was a full-time starter by the end of Ryan’s first season in 2011.
“He kind of got my career started off, rebirthed again,” Hatcher said. “So yeah, I definitely give a lot of credit to Rob.”
But he might give more to Marinelli in a new scheme that looks like a better fit for a taller interior lineman. The 6-foot-6 Hatcher is only a sack and a half from his career high three games into the season, and he holds court with reporters to discuss the post-sack dances that might be next.