A strange thing happened last season, either I completely forgot how to scout defensive players, or the entirety of the Dallas Cowboys fanbase did. I am not sure quite how this happened, however I felt as though there was a noticeable lack of recognition given to a certain player's meteoric rise to greatness. This player, and their somewhat recently acquired ability to effect an NFL game, was overlooked to the team's detriment in my opinion.

Ok, that is REALLY overstating things.........but how many times does a player nearing 30 show such a vast improvement? Not often; and it seems I was the only person who noticed. I felt like I was taking some of Mugatu's "crazy pills"

Perhaps we can go back to the tape, and get a better idea of what I am talking about. Rarely do 5-tech ends have the power, penetration, and pass rush abilities that Jason Hatcher showed when healthy at the beginning of last year.

Just watch the tape. Watch him get low and penetrate. Watch him hold the point. He is our best 5-tech when healthy and it really isn't even close...........

I was flabbergasted. In the first part of last season, I felt we had a guy that could make the predicted future impact that JJ Watt might have as a rookie last year. Look at their numbers, with Hatcher getting hurt - they are favorably comparable when not considering age.

So I assumed that there would be others on the Hatcher bandwagon just like me. I was wrong.

Pundits claimed Dallas did not have a true end. No one seemed to notice Hatcher's breakout level of play - which was very high. It is odd that we want to discuss how much potential Lissimore has, or old Coleman is, or how Spears never really panned out, or how we lost Bowen and didn't draft Watt, or why we don't move Ratliff out.

WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HATCHER. If he can stay healthy, Hatcher is as important as any defensive lineman we have right now, including Ratliff; who was himself coming off double elbow surgeries last year and didn't play up to his usual standards.

That is right, I'm saying Jason Hatcher might be our best D-lineman............but then again............. I must have been taking the crazy pills again.

Hatcher doesn't just have "one look", and hopefully he is gonna drop "Magnum" on us....... this year.