Coach John Harbaugh sits down with Giants.com for a weekly conversation about the latest at 1925 Giants Drive.

Q: Two news items to start with. Jihad Ward is back in the building. What made that a good fit? There's obviously a lot of familiarity there.

Harbaugh: Of course, you have the familiarity in the sense of you know who Haddy is, what he's about, and then what kind of player we feel he is. He brings hopefully – and that's the plan – an element that we can use right now in terms of the physicality and the inside pass rush, which is something that he's always been good at. So that's kind of the plan here.

Q: Jevón Holland won NFC Defensive Player of the Month on Thursday.

Harbaugh: I'd say well deserved, more than well deserved.

Q: You've been around some of the greatest safeties. What common trait do they all possess?

Harbaugh: Safety is a really unique position because it's much more of a free-flowing position, much more of a space awareness-type with geometrical angles. Like it's almost, you think about sports like hockey where you've got a little bit of room and you've got to figure out the angles with the speed. I see it like that and those guys all had that, the ability to be in the right spot, time things up the right way, get to where they need to be. Then of course the skills to move and get there and catch the ball and all of a sudden have the toughness to come up and make tackles. You have to do everything in football really besides blocking. You have to be able to do everything in football as a safety. It's a very versatile position, so I think those guys all had those kinds of skillsets.

Q: Excuse me if this one's a little out of left field, but you opened yesterday's press conference talking about the Beatles, so I feel like anything's on the table this week. I've been to a lot of postgame press conferences, but I'm confident it's the first time I've heard Saint Francis of Assisi quoted as you talked about doing what's necessary and required first, then what's possible, and then the impossible. Was that something on your mind just that week or is that a guiding principle as you build this thing?

Harbaugh: That was something that came to me in the last couple of weeks, last week or two, that someone shared with me. And it was just so fitting. It was so fitting, and Jameis (Winston) and I talked about that a couple of days before the game, like on Thursday before the game, because it just seemed fitting in terms of what he was going to have to do or what we were going to have to do as a team and how we want to play, the step we want to take after the Rams game, those kind of things as a team. So I shared it with the team, too. It's a universal truth, so it seemed like it applied.

Q: I just made all of my old Catholic school teachers happy with that question.

Harbaugh: Yeah, how about that? I would think that all the Catholic high schools around here, they had to have used it.

Q: You're undefeated at home. Kayvon Thibodeaux said this week "Defend MetLife." Has that been the mantra this week?

Harbaugh: I haven't really talked about that. I mean, it's true. I'm glad the players say it. I'm glad they feel that way. They're the ones out there, and they should take pride in that.

Q: When you took over here, was that on your list of priorities?

Harbaugh: It goes without saying. Yes, it's very important. You should try to win all your home games. You used to say you win all your home games and half your road games. That used to be the old school. Jim Johnson taught me that, the old coordinator from the Eagles. That was kind of the mantra. So yeah, if we can win all our home games, we're going to have a heck of a season. But all I know is, all I really think about, is we've got a game this week that we need to win. And to me, all attention and focus should be on that.

Q: The rookies are getting to that point now where they have a couple hundred snaps under their belt. It's been a gauntlet for them from bowl games to Senior Bowls to combine prep to the NFL. Is this the time you see them start to settle in and start to pick things up?

Harbaugh: You hope so. They're starting to probably get a feel for the game, the guys who are playing so much. They're probably starting to understand that, OK, I can do this, and this is kind of the floor. This is what's required. Now what's possible, you know, to quote Saint Francis.

Q: I heard that somewhere.

Harbaugh: And to me, Arvell (Reese) kind of took that step in the last game.

Q: It seemed like last week he was making those plays that we saw all the time in the spring and in training camp. Is that what you're seeing?

Harbaugh: I think that's a really good observation. I agree with that. We always say now take it from the practice field to the game field, right? And it's easier said than done because there's a lot of bullets flying in the game. Yeah, I agree with you totally.

Q: How about Sisi Mauigoa?

Harbaugh: A lot of good things, a lot of good things. I'd say again the floor is really high with Sisi right now, especially for a rookie starter, but I think he's going to start feeling that he wants to start pushing towards the ceiling a little more too. I'm sure that's on his mind right now.

Q: How much does it help him to have the continuity of the offensive line? They've played every snap together.

Harbaugh: That's great. It's only three games, but we know we have a lot of work to do. We're doing fine. We're doing good. We're just getting started, but yet the clock's ticking. I give that group, the whole team is like this, but I give that group a lot of credit, they are very intentional about their work. I mean they want things to be right. It matters to those guys a lot. I think that's reflected in how they're playing.

Q: Who are your game captains this week?

Harbaugh: DJ (Reader) on defense, Jermaine (Eluemunor) on offense and Micah (McFadden) on special teams.

Q: What did Najee Harris give you last week? He got going.

Harbaugh: He sparked us, man. Skatt (Cam Skattebo) was running as hard as could be, and then all of a sudden it popped for Najee. I'm sure Skatt's like, "Doggone."

Q: He was just softening them up, right?

Harbaugh: But that's how it works, you know. I think those guys played well off each other in the game, and they continue to build on that.

Q: Tyrone Tracy gets the one carry but it was on a third down and he converts it, which leads to a field goal. What does that do for his confidence and your confidence in him?

Harbaugh: Both, both. That's why he was in there because we knew he could do it and he was the best man for the job. He did a great job and got us a critical, critical first down that we needed to have. But none of us doubted that he could do it or would do it, and to see him do it, that's good. Real confidence, trueborn confidence, comes from actually doing stuff well. He knows he can do it, but going out there and doing it is a great thing.

Q: That applies to your rookie kicker too. Skatt talked after the game about he put Dominic Zvada through the ringer in camp and was always chirping at him. Was that by design? Did you tell the guys to give him a hard time to see if he could handle it?

Harbaugh: It seems like every team I've ever coached, that's pretty organic. They all like giving the kicker a hard time.

Q: Did you do anything to put a little pressure on him? I know some coaches maybe will go stand right over a kicker.

Harbaugh: Occasionally, probably, but I don't usually have to. I mean, plenty of guys are willing to do it. The best ever at it – Skatt's pretty good. Skatt's in contention for the best ever, and the other guy is Abdul Carter. Abdul does it too, but the best, the guy that they would have to compete with would be (former Ravens linebacker) Terrell Suggs.

Q: He would do it?

Harbaugh: Oh, he was vicious. And he would say some of the most cleverly biting things. Cutting things. He was pretty good at it.

Q: Like he stayed up at night thinking about what he was going to say?

Harbaugh: Either that or he was a genius at it.

Q: Switching gears to this game. This will be your fourth time facing Jacoby Brissett with his fourth different team. What are you seeing from him?

Harbaugh: I think he's playing some of his best football right now, the last couple of games. He's really been on time. He's been in good rhythm. He's got a good feel for the offense. He's firing. It's like he's on the mound, he's firing the ball, kind of coming off the mound, firing fastballs, making good decisions. Plus, he's not an easy tackle. He's a big, strong guy, so yeah, we've got our hands full.

Q: Before, we had the Harbaughs and the Grudens. Now there are the LaFleur brothers. Did you welcome them to the club?

Harbaugh: It's crazy. Here's the craziest thing about it. Their dad was a defensive coordinator at Central Michigan when my dad was the head coach at Western Michigan. So Jim and I, we were both in college and their dad was D coordinator. It was a huge rivalry. It still is – Western Michigan, Central Michigan, giant rivalry. (Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur) were kids. They were like seven, eight, nine years old then. But they grew up in the same thing and they remembered. So when we practiced against Green Bay three years ago, I think it was, Mr. and Mrs. LaFleur, Denny and his wife were there. We had a great time talking and reminiscing. I think not just the fact that they're brothers, but the fact that they're a coach's kids, there's a lot of similarities.

Q: It's been all these years, but do you still appreciate the fact that you and your brother are head coaches in the NFL?

Harbaugh: Can't believe it. Can't even believe it. I think my dad's more amazed than anybody, you know, these two knuckleheads are head coaches?