John Munson | NJ Advance Media f

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By Matt Lombardo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

EAST RUTHERFORD -- During his first press conference since being named defensive coordinator back in April, James Bettcher vowed to bring a "relentless" defense to the Giants this season.

With only one practice remaining in the offseason program on Thursday before training camp begins in earnest next month, Bettcher says that he believes the Giants are well on their way to bringing his promise to fruition.

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"Starting back in April," Bettcher said following Wednesday's practice. "I think we sat in as coaches and defensively, you start to try to formulate what your vision is for how you want things to go. And I stood here, same place back then and talked about what we were hoping to accomplish during the offseason was to build a mindset in our defensive room. And that doesn’t happen unless players buy in, players believe.

"That doesn’t happen unless guys are willing to come and be here and be present when it’s voluntary. And that’s one thing I can say about our guys here, is our players have had their hands in the pile, they’ve been working extremely hard. You’ll ask me probably about multiple guys and the common theme that I’m going to say about all these guys is they’ve been working their butts off. They’ve been working extremely hard and we’ve asked a lot of them as they’ve been here. Both from a mental standpoint, and really, from an effort standpoint on the field.

"It’s building that, as I’ve said it before, that relentless mindset of how we’re going to work in the classroom, how we’re going to work outside the building, how we’re going to work in a walkthrough period at practice and how we’re going to take that over to team periods in practice. And I’ve loved that about our guys and I think we made some great progress to this point."

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Last season, only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished with a worse defense than the Giants, who allowed an average of 373.2 yards per game.

Following Wednesday's practice, Bettcher gave updates on several players including rookie B.J. Hill, veterans Olivier Vernon and Alec Ogletree, and opened up about the All-Pro caliber players he believes are the foundation of the Giants' defense.

Here's what Bettcher had to Wednesday, along with our key takeaways:

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Saquon Barkley on being called out by Harrison: 'His nickname is Snacks for a reason'

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Seth Wenig | AP Photo

Bettcher believes Landon Collins, Damon Harrison, Alec Ogletree can be All-Pros in 2018

JAMES BETTCHER: "You just said three Pro Bowl players that are potential All Pros that I think all three of those guys can still play at the highest levels of their careers. Shoot, that's one of the reasons you want to run this defense and have a chance to coach this defense, is the first and last guy you said when you looked at who was here, and guys that are playmakers. Snacks [Harrison] being a guy that can win – we went and looked initially, all the one-on-ones that he had in the run game, and there wasn't anyone that blocked him one-on-one in the run game. And I think what he'll find and what we'll find is we'll be able to get him some one-on-ones. Whether that's matched up on a center, on a guard, we'll be able to get him some one-on-ones in the run game. And Alex has done an outstanding job. He's growing into the leadership role of this defense."

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TAKEAWAY: Collins, Harrison, and Ogletree have the chance to be the Giants' best defensive players this season, and if they grow into leadership roles on a defense and in a locker room that was lacking it last season, all the better.

Ogletree will likely serve as the quarterback of the defense and wear the communication headset with the coaches on game day while calling out the defensive signals. Ogletree's amiliarity with Bettcher's scheme from playing in the NFC West will serve the Giants well at inside linebacker.

Meanwhile, great defenses are built with talented players up the middle, and Collins is one of the more physical safeties in the league. Last season, Collins 104 tackles and two interceptions. With an improved pass-rush, Collins and the secondary have a chance to improve dramatically in 2018.

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Rookie B.J. Hill making a strong first impression

JAMES BETTCHER: "I think B.J.'s (Hill) really coming along. I'm really excited with where he's at right now. Again, another guy excited to get his pads on, excited to see how we play in the run game when we get to training camp and have some padded practices. We know it's going to start with the run game and if we're going to be good in the run game, it's going to start with those interior guys up front."

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TAKEAWAY: B.J. Hill has been taking extensive reps with the first-team defense during this minicamp alongside Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson.

If the Giants are going to improve on a meager 27 sacks in 2017, it is going to have to start up front. A strong pass-rush from the defensive line would certainly have a trickle-down effect on the rest of a passing defense that surrendered an average of 252 passing yards per game.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Olivier Vernon making 'great strides'

JAMES BETTCHER: think some of that will just come as we get into it. Finding what some of the strengths of the guys that we have on the field and trying to put those guys in the best possible position. OV [defensive end Olivier Vernon], we know is a dynamic guy. A guy that can rush from different angles, a guy that you can move around and put in different matchups. And he's embraced everything that we've done to this point. I've loved working with him and I think he's making some great progress, not just in this scheme, but I think as I've looked at him as a player, he's sharpening his tools right now.

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TAKEAWAY: Bettcher and the Giants are counting on Vernon to anchor the pass rush, as an outside linebacker.

After playing defensive end under the Giants' previous regime, Vernon returns to standing up after experience playing linebacker back in college and as a member of the Miami Dolphins.

Vernon finished with 6.5 sacks and one interception last season, but giving him a chance to focus primarily on rushing the passer in 2018 could yield an uptick in production.

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On William Gay's leadership

JAMES BETTCHER: "A pro's pro. He is a pro's pro. Everything that when we talked about having Will join us, anyone that you talk to, loves his work ethic, loves the seriousness and the professional mentality that he brings to the room. He is going to ask great questions, going to be very engaged, has done a great job with some of our younger players. And [taught] some of our guys that are three- and four-year players, about how to have longevity in this league and play at a high level. He knows what a great defense looks like from the inside and we're excited to have him here working with us."

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TAKEAWAY: Janoris Jenkins and Eli Apple are entrenched as the Giants' two starting outside cornerbacks but the competition for the nickel job could come down to Gay, undrafted rookie free agent Grant Haley, and Curtis Riley.

Gay received a pedestrian 51.4 grade from Pro Football Focus as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, but if he can rebound this summer Gay would be a steadying force from a leadership standpoint at a position group that saw Janoris Jenkins, and Eli Apple each suspended last season.

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