The New York Giants are enjoying a four-day break after a grueling training camp, with preparations for the Sept. 13 season opener against the Dallas Cowboys shifting into high gear Monday. But interest in this team never rests, so the mailbag was full as we try to bridge the gap to get closer to kicking off the John Harbaugh era.(Editor’s note: Questions have been edited for clarity.)What do you think John Harbaugh’s biggest impact has been? — Steven K.Harbaugh has brought credibility to the organization. No one knows if this will ultimately work. Plenty of accomplished coaches have flamed out at later stops. But no other coach on the market this offseason could have generated this level of buy-in. A leader with a clear vision is leading the organization. Everyone believes in Harbaugh’s methods because he can point to his lengthy track record of success. The Giants feel like a professional organization for the first time in a long time. How that translates to wins and losses remains to be seen, but Harbaugh’s impact has already been profound.Why it's refreshing that Harbaugh wants to 'win games' this seasonDan DugganWhat are the vibes you’re getting from Harbaugh and the team as we approach Week 1? — Pat D.To Harbaugh’s credit: confidence. It used to drive me crazy at this time of year when general manager Joe Schoen and former coach Brian Daboll always ran from any expectation of winning games. That’s what made Harbaugh’s comments Wednesday about expecting to win so refreshing. Surely there has to be some anxiety about starting this new journey with a roster that clearly has flaws. But Harbaugh and the players seem genuinely eager to get started.The Commanders defeated the Giants 21-6 in last season’s opener. The Giants have been outscored by a combined 89-12 in their last three openers. (Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)It’s been apparent that the Giants were never ready for Week 1 under the last few head coaches. After what seemed to be a grueling John Harbaugh training camp, can you say with confidence that this team is prepared to compete on “Sunday Night Football” against a division rival and get a win? — Hasib H.The common thread to the slow starts has mostly been bad teams. But it’s impossible to ignore how poorly the Giants have come out of the gate in recent seasons. They’ve been outscored 89-12 in their past three openers. Harbaugh has mostly been successful in openers, although he lost his last two in Baltimore.The Giants are unquestionably better prepared this year. It’s not just the hard practices. It’s also the heightened emphasis on situational football and attention to detail. Now, none of that guarantees a win against the Cowboys in Week 1. Dallas has a better team on paper. But the Giants have a chance to prove otherwise on “Sunday Night Football.”What schematically should we expect to see from the new offense compared with previous seasons? — Chris H.Chris’ full question included the words “ground-and-pound,” and that’s a fitting description. Making 300-pound Pat Ricard the highest-paid fullback in the league was a clear signal of the offensive identity. The Giants spent a ton of time drilling quarterback Jaxson Dart on play-action passes from under center, which is designed to build off their power run game. Wide receiver Malik Nabers and tight end Isaiah Likely add a dynamic element to the offense, but expect the Giants to seek explosives in the pass game after grinding teams on the ground. Don’t expect a wide-open passing attack.Should there be any concerns with so many “chefs in the kitchen” when it comes to the offense? Between Greg Roman, Brian Callahan and Matt Nagy, you have a lot of voices. Will there be enough cohesion for Jaxson Dart to be successful? — Chris S.This is a valid question, and it’s obviously too soon to answer definitively. Everyone has been saying the right things. But it’s unconventional to have Nagy as the play caller needing to fit in with a bunch of assistants he has no history with. I’m curious how that will come together. The optimistic view is the Giants have many coaches with loads of experience, so if they put their egos aside, they can tap into a deep reservoir of ideas and knowledge.The upcoming draft is thought to be a “generational” QB draft. Given that Dart was “Daboll’s guy,” do you think there will be any pressure on his performance this year with the crop of new QBs who could be drafted? — Michael D.Harbaugh had options this offseason, so one can make the case that Dart became his guy when he chose the Giants. The answer to these questions always comes from how the player and team perform. It wasn’t long ago that Daniel Jones was facing a make-or-break season in the first year under Schoen and Daboll. Jones performed well and the Giants won in 2022, so he cashed in. He was at another crossroads in 2024. Jones and the team flopped, so the Giants moved on to Dart.If the Giants are bad enough that they’re in the Arch Manning sweepstakes, that means Dart — assuming he’s healthy — will have played poorly enough for them to be open to moving on. There’s no added pressure on Dart. He simply needs to perform well enough to prevent this from becoming a conversation.Which week does Najee Harris take over as RB1? — AnonymousIt will be fascinating to see how this running back room shakes out. I’m confident Cam Skattebo will open the season as the No. 1 back. Harris could be anywhere from the No. 2 to inactive if the Giants don’t deem him fully ready to contribute. If it’s not by the opener, my sense is it won’t be long until he’s RB2. From there, workload distribution will depend on the performances of Harris and Skattebo. It wouldn’t surprise me if Harris becomes the lead back at some point this season.It seems like Darius Slayton ended up in the doghouse. Is it because of his history of drops or did he lose a step coming off surgery? If it was the drops, could a player like Theo Johnson be in danger of falling into the doghouse, too? — Daniel A.Slayton’s history of drops certainly hasn’t helped, and the double sports hernia surgery he had in the spring slowed him down. But he also just didn’t have a productive summer. He’s not new to the doghouse and has managed to claw out in the past, so it wouldn’t shock me if he does so again.Johnson has the benefit of upside overshadowing some of his flaws. But continued drops will be a fast way to lose the faith of a new coaching staff. As it stands, Johnson is already in a complementary role to Likely.Will John Michael Schmitz be the starting center by the 10th game? — Ed R.Yes. The time to upgrade the starting center position was in March or April. It’s tough to upgrade a starter at this point in the calendar. The Giants like the upside of backup center Bryan Hudson, but he has essentially no game experience. It’s hard to imagine Schmitz playing so poorly that he gets benched midseason for Hudson.Harbaugh has raved repeatedly about his cornerbacks. All I see is four question marks. Is it likely that a new system and an upgraded coaching staff can take these guys to the level Harbaugh expects? — Brian G.Giants brass has insisted at every turn that it believes this is a quality group of cornerbacks. I can see the best case based on the pedigree: first-round picks Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome, second-round rookie Colton Hood and big-money veteran Paulson Adebo. But I’m skeptical. The faith in the corners is reminiscent of former general manager Dave Gettleman vowing the team had “more confidence in our offensive line than you guys do” before the group was a woeful disappointment in the 2021 season.With Darius Alexander’s poor preseason, do you think the Giants should be confident that they have sufficient depth on the interior defensive line? — Nico U.Nico’s question included a concern about pass rush at defensive tackle, but that shouldn’t be a major issue. The Giants will use Chauncey Golston, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter inside on passing downs to boost the pass rush. The much bigger concern is the run defense. The Giants did what they could to patch the Dexter Lawrence-sized hole in the middle of their defensive line, but I think it’s been underrated that they’re relying so heavily on 35-year-old Shelby Harris and 32-year-old DJ Reader. Even if Harris and Reader perform to expectations, they’ll leave plenty of snaps to be played by an uninspiring group of backups. It could get ugly if either vet misses time.The Giants didn’t make any waiver pickups. Are there veteran free agents that you’re hearing as targets? — Adam D. Schoen said Wednesday they’re probably going to sign a veteran defensive tackle to the practice squad next week. They had Benito Jones in for his second workout of the offseason Wednesday, so he stands out as a potential target. Otherwise, take your pick from the available veteran defensive tackles.It was interesting that Harbaugh re-signed so many of his own players to the practice squad rather than dumpster diving for someone else’s castoffs. Do you see this as a reward for hard work during the offseason and training camp? — Edward K.The Giants’ 17-man practice squad features 11 players who were with the team before cut day, and that number figures to decline when they add the aforementioned mystery defensive tackle next week. Anecdotally, that seems like a typical amount of retention/turnover. Most of the players they kept on the practice squad were brought in by Harbaugh this offseason, with wide receiver Jalin Hyatt a glaring exception.What are we looking at Week 1 for practice squad elevations and inactives? — Matthew F.I got multiple questions about potential inactives for the opener. That’s a beautiful sign of the audience we’ve cultivated here! So, to dive into the nitty-gritty roster decisions that I love, Braxton Berrios is assured of a practice squad elevation to serve as the punt returner. That figures to be the only practice squad elevation.That means the Giants will need to make six players inactive to get to the 48-man game-day roster. Assuming health, my prediction is the six inactives will break down like this: 1 RB, 1 WR, 1 TE, 1 OL and 2 DL. Tight end Thomas Fidone, offensive lineman J.C. Davis and DL Bobby Jamison-Travis are near locks to be healthy scratches.Running back is tricky because Tyrone Tracy may have fallen to fourth on the depth chart during the preseason, but his ability to play special teams offers value on game day. That leaves Harris or Devin Singletary as the odd man out. I’ll go with Harris being inactive for the opener as he continues to work back into game shape from a torn Achilles.Wide receiver is the juiciest decision, with Odell Beckham Jr. pitted against Slayton for a spot. Slayton’s slide combined with Harbaugh’s comments this week on Beckham that “he’ll be playing” causes me to lean toward Slayton sitting out. The other defensive line call comes down to Alexander or C.J. Okoye, who was acquired in a trade with the Ravens on Saturday. Assuming Okoye is up to speed, I think he gets the nod to be active because of his value as a run defender.