Sep 16, 2026 · 51 min · 23 segments
On Bleav in Giants, Bob Papa and Carl Banks welcome The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor to discuss what makes John Harbaugh tick, his takeaways from the opening game, the culture Harbaugh is building, and…
Carl BanksHost
Ian O'ConnorGuest
Bob PapaHost
Carl, as, as a, as a guy who sat in locker rooms and, and sat in pregame speeches, um, you know, the impact, you know, it's not like a movie because the, the, the, the conversation happens the night before the game.
It's not like they stand in the locker room before a game and you get some big speech.
Rarely is there any big speech, right? But when you, when you believe in somebody, as these guys obviously believe in their head coach, and then you get that kind of messaging, it serves as a reinforcement, doesn't it?
They believe in the messaging, and they also, there's a belief system amongst the players, because I think what happens is when expect-ations are set from day one, and there's not a lot of browbeating to remind you, just quiet conversation saying, "This is what we expect from you," that repetition is why you see a confident football team, why you see a team that, that looks like and genuinely do care for each other.
You saw the coach give hugs around, even he pulled Tyrone Tracy close and gave him a hug, um, after the game.
But that is the consistency, and you don't need hype speeches to get a team like, uh, John Harbaugh's team ready to go.
Um, and so they're just sitting there saying to themselves, "He got a point." Like, there's, every message, I believe, has a point to it.
It was something that they probably needed to hear, um, as they entered the first game.
We have to, um- Earn that respect, and we gotta keep punching them until they say our name.
I, I believe it hit the right tone when I heard that's what that speech was about.
But, you know, I, I think guys, when they probably heard it, I don't think anybody got up screaming and clapping like it's a, you know, TV show.
It was just like they probably let that sink in like they let all the other messages sink in.
And this is the type of football team and type of football players they have now.
Carl, as, as a, as a guy who sat in locker rooms and, and sat in pregame speeches, um, you know, the impact, you know, it's not like a movie because the, the, the, the conversation happens the night before the game.
It's not like they stand in the locker room before a game and you get some big speech.
Rarely is there any big speech, right? But when you, when you believe in somebody, as these guys obviously believe in their head coach, and then you get that kind of messaging, it serves as a reinforcement, doesn't it?
They believe in the messaging, and they also, there's a belief system amongst the players, because I think what happens is when expect-ations are set from day one, and there's not a lot of browbeating to remind you, just quiet conversation saying, "This is what we expect from you," that repetition is why you see a confident football team, why you see a team that, that looks like and genuinely do care for each other.
You saw the coach give hugs around, even he pulled Tyrone Tracy close and gave him a hug, um, after the game.
But that is the consistency, and you don't need hype speeches to get a team like, uh, John Harbaugh's team ready to go.
Um, and so they're just sitting there saying to themselves, "He got a point." Like, there's, every message, I believe, has a point to it.
It was something that they probably needed to hear, um, as they entered the first game.
We have to, um- Earn that respect, and we gotta keep punching them until they say our name.
I, I believe it hit the right tone when I heard that's what that speech was about.
But, you know, I, I think guys, when they probably heard it, I don't think anybody got up screaming and clapping like it's a, you know, TV show.
It was just like they probably let that sink in like they let all the other messages sink in.
And this is the type of football team and type of football players they have now.
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