Do you trust Hatcher if Rat is injury prone this year?

[Arkyvarminter]

I'm just assuming Hatcher will play Rat's spot in his absence. I have been impressed with Hatcher in the past and in the pre season. He has also been a force in practice. I'm not an authority on Kiffins scheme so I'm not sure if my question makes sense. I guess what i'm saying is I think Hatcher can play Rats spot very well and the drop off from Rat to Hatch is not that great IMO. What do you think? I know Hatch is no spring chicken but he seems ready and able to play wherever and do a good job there...Thanks

 

[Gameover]

Not really. Hatch is a great third man. He'll get exposed as your best guy.

And he picks up dumb late hit and roughing the passer penalties.PMO

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Not really. Hatch is a great third man. He'll get exposed as your best guy.

And he picks up dumb late hit and roughing the passer penalties.PMO

Third man? Are we talking about the same Jason Hatcher? The guy is the most underrated player on the team by about a mile. He's been much more productive than Ratliff the past few years, even when Rat's healthy. The question should be, do you trust whoever fills in for Rat?

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

I trust Hatcher absolutely. There's little doubt in my mind that Hatcher is actually the better player at this point in their careers.

What concerns me is whoever will be starting next to Hatcher when Ratliff inevitably misses games due to injury,

 

[Eskimo]

Hatcher is great and should be given a 3-year extension, ASAP.

He is going to be lights out in this new defense. He seems to be getting better as he ages and doesn't have a lot of wear and tear on his body for a 31 year old. After the very weak FA market this year for aged players I think he'd be happy to sign for a reasonable deal. He still hasn't had a mega-pay day yet as he came in as a 3rd rounder.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

I'm just assuming Hatcher will play Rat's spot in his absence. I have been impressed with Hatcher in the past and in the pre season. He has also been a force in practice. I'm not an authority on Kiffins scheme so I'm not sure if my question makes sense. I guess what i'm saying is I think Hatcher can play Rats spot very well and the drop off from Rat to Hatch is not that great IMO. What do you think? I know Hatch is no spring chicken but he seems ready and able to play wherever and do a good job there...Thanks

At this point in their careers, Hatcher is better than Ratliff. He's been our best DL'man for a couple seasons now. Very underrated, imo.

 

[jobberone]

I trust Hatcher's play but he's had his share of injuries as well.

 

[Lonestar94]

I don't really understand this thread, both players are DT's in this scheme (am i right?) So they will be playing their our spot. A NT in a 3-4 is not the same as a DT in a 4-3.

So the question is if Ratliff goes down can Bass/Lissemore play well.

 

[CATCH17]

Hatcher looks really really good right now.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Hatcher looks really really good right now.

Easy there, sailor.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Easy there, sailor.

Oreo cookie crumbs all over the keyboard now.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

People have this weird mindset that players over 30 are basically useless. I agree that you don't want to give a big long-term contract to a player on the wrong side of 30. But there's nothing wrong with offering a 32 year old who is relatively healthy and doesn't seem to be in decline a 3 year contract. I definitely agree that we should lock up Hatcher. He's an excellent DT. He's also always healthy. That's why I'm all for getting Brian Waters, who is 36 but has never been injured. Hopefully Ben Bass becomes a solid rotational guy for us. I'm not sold on Lissemore and I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't make the team this year. We really need to find Ratliff's replacement next offseason. That should be our first round draft pick.

 

[Eskimo]

People have this weird mindset that players over 30 are basically useless. I agree that you don't want to give a big long-term contract to a player on the wrong side of 30. But there's nothing wrong with offering a 32 year old who is relatively healthy and doesn't seem to be in decline a 3 year contract. I definitely agree that we should lock up Hatcher. He's an excellent DT. He's also always healthy. That's why I'm all for getting Brian Waters, who is 36 but has never been injured. Hopefully Ben Bass becomes a solid rotational guy for us. I'm not sold on Lissemore and I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't make the team this year. We really need to find Ratliff's replacement next offseason. That should be our first round draft pick.

I think there is a good chance that we go DE with the first round pick next year because good pass rushing DEs are harder to come by then good DTs, in general.

A lot will depend on where we are picking and how some of the developmental players play this year and whether Hatcher gets an extension.

At DE, I see very little chance that Spencer gets an extension and am not convinced Wilber is more than a rotational guy and Selvice a scrub who had a good game. I don't know how good Crawford is going to be in the new scheme after the injury so that is a bit of an X-factor. We may get a chance to see Ben Bass flash at DE during the year, too.

At DT we have Lissemore, Bass, Crawford and then the new group of developmental players - Hayden, Pendelton, Long. I'm still now sure how good any of them are but at least we have the best DL coach in the game watching and grooming them.

I wouldn't be surprised if our first two picks are DL next year. By passing on the situation this year in the draft we could have a potentially catastrophic offseason if Spencer and Hatcher leave as UFA and Ratliff plays very poorly and ends up being a post-June 1st cut. That would be 3/4s of the DL for a team without a lot of money to spend in FA to bring in replacements. So the draft will be heavily slanted to the DL position.

Jerry is living in fantasy world if he thinks all these guys are going to play very well into their mid-30s and still be affordable.

 

[Bullflop]

There's no reason not to trust Hatcher whether Ratliff is able to play or not. Aside from Ware, he's been one of the most impressive players on our defensive line lately and is probably the most improved one at that. He's also taken on a role as one of our leaders, something that has been said to be one of our most pressing needs. I'm looking forward to seeing just what he has to offer in this 4-3 scheme. Reportedly, it suits him well. I'm reasonably optimistic we'll be impressed.

 

[Vertigo_17]

Absolutely. He's looked very good.

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

Yes, I think Hatcher is primed and ready for a break out year. Playing in the midst of a Ware Ratliff and Spencer, it's easy to go unnoticed.....until this year IMO

 

[hutch1254]

I trust Hatcher more than Ratliff right now. Hatcher has really come along IMO. He seems to be generating positive team vibes, saying the right things. This is opposed to the road Ratliff took downhill with Jerry for a point last year with his comments. While I think Ratliff is the better athlete of the two Hatcher is making a case for himself and Ratliff just can't seem to stay on the field. I have confidence in Hatcher's role right now.

 

[CowboysLegend365]

I trust Hatcher absolutely. There's little doubt in my mind that Hatcher is actually the better player at this point in his career.

What concerns me is whoever will be starting next to Hatcher when Ratliff inevitably misses games due to injury,

This.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I'm not sold on Lissemore and I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't make the team this year.

This is another player who needs to step up or step out. The Cowboy brass spoke well of him last year but his play didn't impress me that much. With a new DC and DL coach my expectations are high for him this year.

 

[RS12]

Do you trust Hatcher if Rat is injury prone this year?

What do you mean, if?