There is a difference between what should be done and what can be done. James Bettcher, in his debut as defensive coordinator with the Giants last season, was unable to properly imprint the defense in his image. Anyone familiar with his work in Arizona knows it. All those grumpy Giants fans who witnessed meltdown after meltdown late last season know it.
And the man himself knows it.
“I think, and this is the truth, you do what you feel needs to be done for your players to have success and also to put your defense as a group in position to have success, and your team,’’ Bettcher told The Post on Wednesday after minicamp practice No. 2. “However that is. That might be a bunch of pressure, angles, all this stuff, but if that’s not what’s best then you don’t do it, because that’s not good coaching, that’s putting round pegs in square holes.’’
There were many — painfully too many — round pegs crammed into all sorts of non-round holes in 2018 and, as a result, Bettcher’s first Giants defense was a mess. The Giants last season finished 24th in total defense, 23rd in points allowed, 23rd in passing yards allowed and 20th in rushing yards allowed.
All the exotic packages Bettcher took from the Cardinals and brought to the Giants? Must have not been packaged up by Amazon Prime and shipped out East, because they never arrived.
It is all there, though, trapped in Bettcher’s mind, waiting to come out. If it does, the Giants have a chance to be a competitive team. If it remains tucked away in the crevices of his cranium, the Giants are bottom-feeders, again.
“I know what my DNA is, I know what our DNA is, and that’s attacking, aggressive scheme, 100 percent,’’ he said, more of a promise than a statement of fact.
So many working inside the building need to come up big in 2019, and Bettcher is near the top of the list. His unit will mostly get trashed in all the preseason prognostications, rightly so. Consider this: Who scares an opposing offense? Last season’s best pass rusher, Olivier Vernon, is wearing Browns colors. Their top safety, Landon Collins, is in Redskins burgundy and gold.
Bettcher, though, senses he has more to work with than outsiders believe.
His front group is young and strong, and rookie Dexter Lawrence should quickly move front and center.
The pass rush, so shabby in 2018, might be enlivened in a big way with the signing of Markus Golden and, even more so, the development of Lorenzo Carter, a possible star-in-waiting. The secondary is a fascinating mix of experience and really young talent, and a potential Mr. Everything in Jabrill Peppers. It is Bettcher’s job to stir the pot and come up with something savory and not acid-reflux-inducing.
It is Year 2 in Bettcher’s system, meaning the returnees can no longer use unfamiliarity as an excuse.
“I will say that we will be able to take the next step,’’ safety Michael Thomas told The Post. “What is next step? It’s not just ‘I want to go out there and execute the defense that coach calls.’ It’s ‘I know this defense like the back of my hand.’ ’’
Bettcher knows it took time for his principles to set in with the Cardinals, and when they did, the result was a top-five defense. Outside linebacker Kareem Martin was with Bettcher for four years in Arizona before joining him with the Giants last season. Martin saw Bettcher’s handiwork at its most effective.
“You get up and you just see a bunch of guys moving around, you don’t know who’s dropping out, who’s coming and week by week it changes,’’ Martin said.
This is not how the Giants operated in 2018. Bettcher did not trust the back end and thus could not call the blitzes he wanted to. He had to play it safer than he preferred, going against his coaching DNA.
“We got to step and try to be elite because he’s seen what good defenses are and he knows what it takes,’’ Carter said. “We just got to listen to him.’’
The cornerbacks are mostly an incredibly young group.
“You have to manage youth in the right way,’’ Bettcher said. “Some people take that to mean ‘Hey, you got to pull the reins back.’ But sometimes that means just let ’em go.’’
Bettcher must let ’em go this season. All of them.