RICHMOND — Jason Hatcher’s sack total last season was half of what it was the season before with the Dallas Cowboys. He made just 15 tackles, his fewest since 2010. Hatcher turned 33 on July 12. The Washington Redskins have him under contract through 2017. Hatcher’s four-year deal is off to a bad start.
Continuing the everything-is-sunny-in-Richmond theme, Hatcher said things will be better this season for him and the team. There is little room for the Redskins’ defense to be worse. It tied for 29th in the league in points allowed last season. Washington was also 20th in yards allowed.
“I’m not even focusing on a bounce-back year, I’m focusing on the being the best Hatcher I can be to help this defense get better,” Hatcher said. “I’m not focused on last year at all. That kills some players, that they just focus on last year. I forgot about last year, there’s nothing I could do about it. I was banged up, there’s nothing I could do about it. My season starts [now].”
Hatcher played 13 games last season — tied for a career low — but was hurt much of the year and finished it on injured reserve because of a right knee injury. He said he feels great now.
He also provided warnings. Hatcher pointed out that the Redskins have acquired more talent, yet that didn’t mean much beyond paper. He said he had been on teams with multiple capable pieces, which provided perspective of how the season could play out if that talent isn’t interested in work.
“I’ve definitely been on a team with this much talent, but we wasn’t very good,” Hatcher said. “We had the guys to do it, but we didn’t make it happen. Same thing this year. We’ve got every chip in place. So, we’ve just got to come out here, make it come off paper and come alive. It all depends on us.”
Hatcher tried to sidestep questions about last season, insisting he was looking forward. Though, he did concede things multiple things went wrong in 2014.
“It’s just a lot of stuff,” Hatcher said. “Not going to go into detail about it, but it’s just all about the right approach if you want to put together a winning football team.”
Hatcher would only go as far to say that they “didn’t have the right approach” last season.
Entering his 10th season, Hatcher acknowledged he’s no longer a “spring chicken.” During training camp, he’ll manage his body with the consideration that September is much more important than August.
Considering the amount of defensive line help brought in during the offseason, the Redskins are managing him as well.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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