When the Washington Redskins gave Jason Hatcher a four-year, $27.5 million contract back in March, they expected to get a strong presence on the defensive line to help rush the passer and generate pressure from the inside. Hatcher has missed a lot of time during training camp and preseason with injuries, but he did make his Redskins debut on Sunday in the loss to the Texans. When he was fresh, he made exactly the impact they were hoping for. However, as the game wore on, you could see how Hatcher’s lack of reps over the offseason impacted him. His production dropped.

But Washington will be encouraged by the Hatcher they got when he wasn’t tired. Right from the second snap of the game, he made his presence felt to the Texans offense.

The Texans ran an empty backfield set, spreading out the Redskins defense. Hatcher moved wide outside, on his own against Houston left tackle Duane Brown.

Hatcher engages in the block, getting his hands inside and winning initial leverage.

That leverage allows him to drive Brown back towards the quarterback. Hatcher keeps Brown at arms length, stopping Brown from getting his hands back on Hatcher.

Hatcher drives Brown all the way back into quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, forcing a hurried throw that falls incomplete.

Later on, Hatcher registered his first sack as a Redskin.

Again, the Texans run this play with an empty backfield. Hatcher lines up directly over the center.

Hatcher gets a great jump off the snap, quickly batting down the hands of the center.

Hatcher uses a good swim move to get past the center, who as you can see above, doesn’t even get a hand on Hatcher.

Hatcher is past the center and into the backfield before Jarvis Jenkins or Trent Murphy have even engaged in their blocks. In fact, Hatcher gets his hands on the left guard and is past him before Jenkins engages him.

Fitzpatrick fumbled the snap and did a good job to recover the ball moments before Hatcher was wrapping him up for the sack.

Even when he couldn’t get the sack or provide pressure, Hatcher found other ways to impact the pass rush.

Here, the Redskins disguise an overload blitz from the right side of the offensive line. Safety Ryan Clark and linebacker Keenan Robinson will blitz from the second level, while Brian Orakpo will drop into coverage from the other side.

Hatcher plays a crucial role in this blitz. The Texans have enough blockers to pick up the five-man rush, but Hatcher occupies two off the snap, leaving three offensive linemen against four rushers on the other side.

Had the Texans been able to slide their line to the right, they’d have been able to pick up the blitz. But Hatcher stays inside long enough to keep the attention of the left guard before working to the left tackle.

Robinson comes through untouched and forces Fitzpatrick to get rid of the ball quickly. Hatcher knows he wasn’t likely to get to the quarterback on this play, but keeps his eyes in the backfield and be ready to try and block the pass.

Hatcher sees the pass the whole way, getting his hands up and deflecting it incomplete.

Against the Texans, Hatcher wasn’t just a pass-rushing threat. He played his role in the run game too.

The Texans call for a stretch run to the left. Hatcher faces a double team from the left guard and tackle.

Hatcher holds firm against the double team, keeping his linebackers clean by occupying the left tackle and stopping him from getting to the second level. Hatcher keeps his eyes in the backfield and watches keenly for the cutback from Arian Foster.

Once Foster begins to cut back, Hatcher works his way back inside towards the cutback lane.

Hatcher makes the first contact on Foster and, along with linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, was credited with the tackle.

Hatcher did a good job making his presence felt while still holding his role in the defense. He knew when to try and beat his blocker, and when to just occupy blockers and let someone else make the play. His play did drop off noticeably in the second half when he became fatigued, but that is to be expected from someone who wasn’t available in many offseason activites. One he gets caught up on his conditioning, he should be the player the Redskins hoped he was when they signed him.

Mark Bullock is The Insider’s Outsider, sharing his impressions of the Redskins without the benefit of access to the team. For his previous work, click here.

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