Giants D scrambling for answers

HOUSTON — Without coming out and saying it, sometimes a coach will explain a failing of his team by insinuating, “We taught it right, they played it wrong.’’ That is not the song being sung by James Bettcher.

The Giants’ defensive coordinator pointed at himself as the main reason for so much difficulty reading and stopping quarterback runs the first two games. It is an issue Bettcher knew had to get taken care of before Sunday’s game against DeShaun Watson and the Texans.

“I’m sure the question is going to come up of handling the zone-read stuff the last couple of weeks,’’ Bettcher said. “That starts with me. I got to coach it better, and then collectively as a group, we’ve got to execute it better. There’s no magic pixie dust to sprinkle on it, nothing like that.’’

One veteran Giants defender did not buy into Bettcher’s self-critique.

“We’re 0-2, we all got to do a better job,’’ linebacker Connor Barwin said. “I got to do a better job. That’s a good thing on this team right now, everybody knows that and everybody’s taking ownership.’’

Not everything is dire and dismal on the Giants’ offensive line. Rookie guard Will Hernandez has struggled at times with the speed of the NFL game and defensive line stunts in pass protection, but he has been as-advertised as a run blocker. Hernandez has the third-best run-blocking grade (76.3) among all guards with a minimum of 50 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Hernandez two weeks into the season is PFF’s highest-rated rookie offensive lineman.

The Texans through two games had the most rushing yards (315) in the league. … The Giants are averaging an NFL-worst 2.6 yards on first down, putting them in predictable down-and-distance situations and leading to quick offensive series. “Don’t wait until third down to make a first down,’’ offensive coordinator Mike Shula said. “Let’s be productive, efficient, productive on first and second down. Let’s make first downs on first down or second down.”

J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney get all the publicity, rightfully so, but the Texans have assembled a strong linebacker corps, led by Whitney Mercilus.

“I think the marquee players on their defense are their linebackers,’’ Giants coach Pat Shurmur said. “We’re going to have to get them blocked.’’