Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff’s media silence this spring was apparently not an accident.
He didn’t talk to reporters at OTAs or minicamp, and said in a radio interview he was hoping for less talk, more action this year.
“We’re not going to sit here and talk about what we’re going to do this year or all the expectations everyone else has for us,” Ratliff told KTCK. “I think the attitude for us this year needs to be we’re going to be quiet. To put it bluntly, we’re going to shut up, not say a thing and do our jobs.”
The Cowboys defense was decidedly middle-of-the-road in 2011, but Ratliff said there was a different feel about his side of the ball this offseason.
“The defense is way more confident this year,” he said. “You have players really stepping up. One player that comes to mind is Jason Hatcher. We’re looking for him to have a breakout season. He’s more confident in the defense. He’s doing great things, creating a lot of disruption. The defensive backs are all over the place. Those guys are communicating. Everyone’s challenging the pass.
“No one’s sitting there waiting for the ball to come to make a tackle. They’re going for the ball. It’s a really aggressive defense. Everybody seems to have a great understanding of it. Everyone’s on the same page. We’re expecting great things from ourselves.”
Of course, Ratliff doesn’t have to look far for motivation, or reason to keep his trap shut.
“Honestly, we don’t have room to talk,” he said. “The Giants are the Super Bowl champions. They’ve won two Super Bowls in the last five years. We just need to be quiet and do our jobs. Nothing else.”
That kind of humility is rare in Dallas, but it might be exactly what they need.