Dallas Cowboys have considered playing Jay Ratliff at defensive end position – NFL News
Dallas Cowboys’ Jay Ratliff has long been playing as a nose tackle – a defensive position that demands high level of fitness and strength, but his name has come up in a number of discussions whenever the team management planned anything about introducing
any defensive end in the roster.
Ratliff has been favoured by many as a player who could also be equally beneficial at defensive end position as he is at nose tackle.
While answering a question during a show, Talkin' Cowboys, the franchise’s executive vice president, Stephen Jones, admitted that Cowboys had contemplated moving Ratliff to the defensive end position.
However, the team is apparently pleased with the way the player is performing his duties as a nose tackle.
Ratliff started his professional National Football League (NFL) career with the Cowboys in 2005 and has been playing for the team since then.
In his rookie season, he only made one start while playing four games in which he made a total of four tackles and 1.0 sack.
In his second season, Ratliff was given an increased role, but he was still yet to become the starter. He played 15 games in the season and recorded a total of 18 tackles and 4.0 sacks.
He earned the starting role in his third season with the team. In 2007, he started 14 games while playing 15 in which he posted a total of 30 tackles and 3.0 sacks.
In the next four seasons, he played and started all games of the regular season and stayed fit and healthy.
In 2008, he recorded his career-best statistics and made a total of 51 tackles and 7.5 sacks. In the next season, Ratliff got 40 tackles and 6.0 sacks and in the 2010 season, he made 31 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
In the last NFL season, Ratliff made 38 tackles and 2.0 sacks and his impressive performance certainly pleased all the team’s front office personnel.
Jones also appreciated the player’s talent and his services to the team. He said of Ratliff:
“He does his job against the run because he’s elite with his quick twitch and his first step coming off the ball. And of course he’s very good in the pass rush. . . . I think he enjoys being quicker than those interior guys. It’s an advantage.”
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