IRVING – There's a new picture hanging outside the Dallas Cowboys' locker room at their Valley Ranch practice facility. A photo of former Cowboys defensive tackle Jay Ratliff has been replaced by one of defensive tackle Jason Hatcher.
To some, maybe it's not a big deal to get their picture on a wall. For Hatcher, it meant a lot. He tweeted a photo Wednesday, standing in front of the image alongside nine of his defensive line teammates.
"Just to understand that my hard work finally paid off," Hatcher said Thursday. "Just to be on that wall is just an honor and a privilege to be there. It wasn't given. I earned that.
"It makes me feel a lot better that I earned that and they just didn't put it up there and I wasn't doing nothing. It's an awesome feeling. I'm really honored to be up there."
In three years, Hatcher has transformed himself from a rotational player in a 3-4 scheme to a starter, leader and one of the team's most valuable players in a 4-3 defense.
The 31-year-old's leadership was on display Thursday when he discussed the faith he has in a bounce back performance from a defense that ranks last in the NFL.
"I don't like to look back on last year, but if we would have lost a game like that we would've packed it in," Hatcher said, referring to Sunday's 31-30 loss in Detroit. "We don't have guys like that on this defense, on this entire team, so that's what makes me have the faith. Just the guys we have, they just want to win for each other. We are a brotherhood and we're going to continue to play until the end.
"I think we'll be in a good situation come late December."
Why didn't Hatcher tell reporters last year that guys were packing it in?
He smiled and said: "I wasn't in no position to say anything. I was trying to hang on to a job, like I am this year."
Hatcher, who is a free agent at the end of the season, is currently having the best year of his career, highlighted by a team-high seven sacks.
According to the website Pro Football Focus, Hatcher ranks as the top defensive tackle in the NFL this season. And yes, that means he has a higher overall grade than players like Ndamukong Suh, Geno Atkins, Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe. Pretty impressive company.
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
