Last year as a rookie, New York Giants defensive end B.J. Hill opened some eyes with his spurts of dominant play. Hill racked up 48 tackles (32 solo) with 5.5 sacks, eight quarterback hits and six tackles for a loss.

This year Hill has taken a step backwards. He has 22 combined tackles (seven solo) through seven games, but more importantly, he has no sacks, no quarterback hits and no tackles for losses.

On Thursday, Giants’ defensive coordinator James Bettcher was asked his overall impression of Hill’s play thus far this season.

“I think we’ve seen some really good snaps, just like other guys at the position interior wise, we saw some really good snaps. I think we have seen some snaps that he would really like himself to play better. We’re all in on working on getting those other snaps out of his game just like the other guys,” he said.

Bettcher explained that stats don’t always tell the entire story. Hill is still the same player, doing things that don’t show up in the boxscore or get his name announced on television.

“I think disruptive plays are, whether they’re plays that show up in a stat sheet or not, I think disruptive plays are really what define players in this league,” said Bettcher. “Whether you are changing the math or knocking guys back, you are displacing offensive linemen, whether you are on the second level setting a tight edge knocking the ball back to the rest of the defense or on the second level seeing pulls, fitting fast, and disrupting the run game. I think that’s really what defines players. Sometimes it’s not always a TFL (Tackle For Loss), it’s not always a sack, it’s the other things that go along with it.”

Hill has been noticeably quiet, as has most of the Giants from seven this season. That is something that Bettcher must change if the worm is going to turn for this franchise.

The Giants are near the bottom of the NFL in defense this season, allowing 26.7 points and 388.4 yards per game. They are relying on young players such as Hill to improve to help them turn the corner on a half-decade of losing.