ARLINGTON, Texas -- Jason Hatcher is entering his seventh season. He has played in 88 games and started 11, including a career-high 10 last season.

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You would think he wouldn’t need a preseason game to get ready for the regular season.

“Not a whole lot, but I definitely need snaps to get the game speed down,” said Hatcher, who missed the first two preseason games because of a hamstring strain. “It’s different than in practice and to get those snaps against St. Louis, it will be beneficial for me just to get ready to move on to the Giants.”

Remember those words when thinking about Miles Austin, Jason Witten and Phil Costa as they return from injuries entering the Sept. 5 opener at New York. Austin and Costa have not taken a snap in a preseason game, although Costa might play Wednesday against Miami. Witten took a handful of snaps against Oakland before suffering his spleen injury.

The defense will be close to 100 percent Saturday against St. Louis, but DeMarcus Ware won’t play because of a hamstring injury. Having Hatcher, Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff back will help.

“We’ve got to get on the same page,” Hatcher said. “It’s good to have Rat back. He’s taking snaps there, but we’ve got to get D-Ware back on the field before so we can all get some camaraderie on the field, get the system down and move forward.”