Army West Point Athletics
Postgame Quotes | Army 42, Fordham 31
November 22, 2014 | Football
Head Coach Jeff Monken
(Ref.: opening statement)
“I am proud of our team. I am proud of the effort in the second half. I did feel that we didn’t play particularly well in the first half. Just the fact that we couldn’t move the ball very effectively. We were giving up a lot of easy throws and not contesting those throws and not having a pass rush. Going into halftime I felt like we couldn’t play any worse than we were playing. We managed to get a couple of scores and get the play on the blocked kick by Josh (Jenkins) and LJ (Lamar Johnson-Harris) recovering it in the endzone. There were several guys that had their hands on that thing before we recovered it, so fortunately for us the time didn’t run out before we were able to get our hands on it. It was a big play and it changed the momentum for our team. I was able to go in at halftime and tell the guys we were not playing well and we were fortunate to be ahead. That was heartfelt and true, we were fortunate to be ahead. We made more plays in the second half and sustained some drives and really nice job by our offense getting in the groove and a great job by our offensive staff and Brent Davis calling the plays and giving us long drives, which we needed because they scored quickly. That is a good football team. We mentioned earlier in the week that they had won 22 games in the past two years and they score a lot of points and they do a great job defending people. They have a lot of good football players and a well-coached team so I was proud of our effort and glad that we were able to get a victory. We certainly needed that one. I mean you need every win, but going into this next game, it is the biggest game of the year, no question about it. To get a victory today was really great for our team.”
(Ref.: how big was the blocked punt)
“There was less than 10 seconds on the clock when we scored and if they get the punt off, we were going to try and take a shot and get close enough that we can maybe get a last-second field goal or take a shot at the end zone, but it could possibly be 10-7 going into the half if we don’t make a play. I think it was a big play for us and to have the comfort of having the lead and knowing we were going to get the ball to start the second half, that was a huge play. It was a nice play by Josh. We got some pressure in there and I don’t remember exactly where the ball was spotted or what the line of scrimmage was, but they were packed in there pretty well. They had a shield where they had three guys up front. We were fortunate to get through there and Josh is a good player and he finds a way to make plays at big times.”
(Ref.: Bringing in A.J. Schurr down 10-0)
“The quarterback was running the ball quite a bit and A.J. is a good athlete. He did a good job at hanging onto the ball. He has had some issues with the center exchange, dropping a lot of those snaps and so those could be very costly. The ball hits the ground and we kick it and they fall on it and you lose the possession on it. He is a good runner and a tough runner, so they were making the quarterback run a lot and we thought let’s put him in there and see if he can make some plays for us and he did. He got banged up a little bit, but I thought he did a nice job and it was a decision that Mitch Ware made, our quarterbacks coach.”
(Ref.: defense performance in the first half)
“Just the fact that they were catching the ball in front of us and down the middle of the field was a little frustrating for us. You would like them to have a little bit of a tougher time in the middle of the field. There were times where it looked like they were uncontested, like they were throwing routes on air. We didn’t do a great job sticking to them. We did that a little better, but better towards the end of the half and did it better in the start of the second half and then gave up more big plays in the second half. Not giving up the scores is certainly a positive for us and not giving those up in the first half over the top. We gave up that one-play drive, right after our 20-play drive, and we just got in poor position there and I am not sure if he slipped or tripped, but as soon as our defender opened up the receiver was by him, so we have to eliminate those.”
(ref.: the offensive line getting in rhythm in the second half)
“I think the offense in general got in a rhythm in the second half. We really weren’t running a lot of plays. We were running three or four different plays and that was it. We tried to simplify the game plan this week and once again it was a team we hadn’t played before, so we didn’t know what they were going to line up. We tried to speculate based on what they had done in the past and tried to fit their defense to our offense, but it was a little different than what we practiced all week. We kind of had to improvise and that is what I like about our offense, it really doesn’t matter what defense they align in at least we got a rule that tells each guy what to do, so our guys did a nice job of executing that and we happened to change on the run. We made some adjustments on the sideline and a few at halftime, but I thought the guys did a nice job.”
(Ref.: on throwing the pass late in the game to the 1-yard line)
“They were trying to win the game and so they were playing it all the way to the end so we were going to play all the way to the end.”
(Ref.: on possibly taking the knee before the pass)
“I am competitive.”
(Ref.: on momentum going into Navy)
“I hope we are improving as a team. We are going to have to play a lot better. We are going to have to play a lot better than today if we have a chance to beat Navy. There are still a lot of things that we don’t do well enough as a football team in certain areas. Those are things that we need to focus on and try and get better at those things week in and week out and every day at practice. Navy has an outstanding football team and we have so much respect for their staff and for that program and that institution. I was a coach there and on the staff for six years. I was part of that staff for Paul Johnson when we went there and started this streak that is going on right now. I know how those guys are coached and how well coached they are. They are an athletic team. They have some talented football players and perhaps the best quarterback in college football. You don’t have to put up stats throwing and running and you just have to be the best player in the offense you are running and I don’t know if there is anybody that does a better job for their team or offense than Keenan Reynolds does for Navy. It is a tremendous challenge for us and we are going to do our best to get ready and try and play our best football game and we will need to.”
(Ref.: the impact of those two long drives)
“I think it is just an example of how we can’t rely on being a one play drive team. If we go out there and chuck it three times and punt and they score on one play drive. We wouldn’t have run a lot of time off the clock if we were that type of a football team. To be able to sustain a drive and keep it away from them, we limited their opportunities to do that. We went out there and scored on a five or six minute drive and they came right back at us and four plays later they were in the end zone again, so it’s clear they are capable of doing that and we didn’t do a great job on that one play that we got beat over the top. The sustain drives are important for our football team. It helps our defense as much as it helps our offense.”
(Ref.: on the senior class today)
“It was great for our whole football team to get a win today at home. Winning at home is important and we should be at an advantage dressing in our locker room and being in front of your home crowd and certainly in front of the corps. I was really glad some of those seniors made some plays and made plays that made a difference in the game and were able to contribute. Senior day is a big day because it is the last time the guys can be here and be part of this environment as an Army football player. Not so much that it is the last game at home. I think it is the combination of the four years they have been here and the opportunity to be here to represent our team and our program and this institution one more time at this great stadium.”
(Ref.: on the team stepping in the right direction)
“I am not measuring the step in the right direction by how many wins. It is just how we play. That is more important and how much we have improved or the lack of improvement in some areas. It is an evaluation process every week and some weeks we have played better than others and today we played a better second half than we played in the first half. Certainly the first half wasn’t a lot to go off of, but we got out-played the first half and they did a nice job. They have a good football team and we are working to get better every day and trying to improve week-to-week and I think it was positive that we played better in the second half.”
Senior RB Terry Baggett
(Ref.: on playing your last home game)
“I’ll remember winning this game. I’ll remember the preparation we put in and going out there with my teammates and getting the winning. Coach (Jeff) Monken prepared us and Coach (Brent) Davis gave us the game plan and we executed and won the game.”
(Ref.: on looking ahead to Navy)
“Every week, the game that we’re playing is the most important game. Navy is the most-important game of the year and is something we prepare for every day. But that game didn’t matter. On Saturday, the only thing we could do anything about was against Fordham. Our preparation and focus was to win this game.”
Senior RB Larry Dixon
(Ref.: on your rushing struggles in the first half)
“They took away the middle. We have great senior running backs in Terry Baggett and Raymond Maples, who were getting to the outside. You can’t say enough about the linemen. We rotate a lot of guys in there and part of our offense is that we do a lot of blocking.”
(Ref.: on closing the first half with a special teams touchdown)
“It was huge. You have to talk about (Lamar Johnson-Harris), he made a gigantic play. Josh Jenkins came in there and got the block and LJ scooped it up in the end zone. That just shows how we’re a team. Our offense was struggling in the first half and we leaned on our defense and special teams, and they stepped up for us.”
(Ref.: on having a positive performance in your last game at Michie Stadium)
“It was awesome. The most important thing was that we got the win. If you ask me next year how many yards I ran for, I won’t remember. I’ll remember that I stepped on the field with these seniors and that’s what matters, that’s why I came here. Football is a great thing and I’m happy that I get to play it; it’s one of the most-important things in my life. But the brotherhood is what matters to me.”
(Ref.: on Lamar Johnson-Harris making the play to score a touchdown at the end of the first half)
“He’s a fantastic athlete. He comes in and goes to work every day. He’s had a lot of growth this season and he’s done everything the coaches have asked him to. It’s no shock that he made the play, because he does everything right. I’m extremely happy for him.”
Senior DL Richard Glover
(Ref.: on the play of your defensive line)
“The pass rush has been one of our focuses on the defensive line and we’ve been pretty good at stopping the run for most of the season. We just needed to listen to our coaches and come together as a defensive line to work the edges and do everything we’re coached to do.”
Sophomore DB Josh Jenkins
(Ref.: on blocking Fordham’s punt at the end of the first half)
“They put me in the right spot. I dipped my shoulder and by the time I got there, I dove for the ball and made a play on it. The real playmaker was (Lamar Johnson-Harris). He landed on the ball and got us the touchdown. He’s a senior and getting a touchdown in his final game at Michie Stadium is great.”
(Ref.: on the defense’s mindset when Fordham lined up to punt from its own end zone)
“We had them backed up and we needed a play at that time. Our coaches put me in a great position and allowed me to get the block and LJ just fell on the ball.”
Senior DB Lamar Johnson-Harris
(Ref.: on recovering the blocked punt for a touchdown)
“I was fortunate enough to have Josh Jenkins make a good play. I heard the roar from the crowd and I turned around and was lucky enough to make a play and dive on the ball.”
Head Coach Jim Moorhead
(Ref.: On what the team learned today)
“First and foremost you have to give credit to Army. Coach Monken and his staff did a very good job putting the game plan together. Obviously the triple option is something that is unique and you don’t have the opportunity to prepare for it the entire season so they did an excellent job making adjustments in the second half and moved the ball pretty well. This week we talked to the kids about needing to do three things to be successful: being urgent, having energy and having precision. I think we were urgent, I think we gave great effort for four quarters, but I don’t think we were precise enough. In the first half the defense played very well. We moved the ball between the 20’s offensively, but had a turnover and didn’t convert in the red zone so that hurt us there. The second half was just the opposite, we weren’t able to move the ball on offense and didn’t stop them on defense. I’m proud of our collective team effort. Losing is never acceptable and I told the team that we aren’t in the business for moral victories. It should sting, but it should only sting for about 12 hours. A positive to take from this is to play a team a week before the playoffs that have beaten three FBS teams and came close to Wake Forest and is a very good football team. Hopefully the caliber of opponent will help prepare us for what we will see in the playoffs.”
(Ref.: On early fake punt)
“It is something we have worked on the entire season, it’s really a call for when you’re in a position where you can’t make the field goal because it’s out of your range and you’re too tight in to punt because you’re really not going to gain anything if the ball goes into the end zone. It is a call we made and the kids executed it well. Essentially you want the defense to think it is a punt, you send your punter in and then hopefully the other team doesn’t see that it’s not kicked. Actually, Army was in a safe look and not in a punt look which is the worst setup possible to have it against, but we felt the yardage we would have gained with a punt wouldn’t have garnered us anything.”
(Ref.: On Army’s blocked punt before half)
“There was a tangible shift in momentum heading into the locker room. A blocked punt is a momentum shifter in any game, especially when it is recovered for a touchdown. We tried to reinforce that it was still a four-point game at that point and that we would have opportunities. We told the team that we had a great special teams play that gave us a touchdown and one that gave up a touchdown so it was a push at one point. That one play didn’t cost us the game, but it did give Army some momentum going into halftime.”
(Ref.: On if fatigue was a factor)
“Possibly. This offense, they call it the triple option for a reason because you have to have someone devoted to the dive, someone devoted to the quarterback and someone devoted to the pitch. You have to commit to doing something during the week to defend it, which you don’t do during the season. Obviously they ran the quarterback sneak very successfully and they ran very successfully with [Larry] Dixon on the dives. Our kids fought and they tried hard. That’s part of the FCS having 60 scholarships as opposed to a full complement, but that’s not an excuse, that’s facts. [Army] did a good job. I tip my hat to them and they did a good job of converting third and fourth-and-short when we needed to get off the field. And that’s something we can certainly take away and learn from.”
(Ref.: Thoughts on Fordham offense scoring quickly)
“I was happy with the way we moved the ball between the 20s in the first half. I wasn’t happy with the way we capitalized in the red zone with the penalty and the turnover. I think we had 219 yards at half, if I’m not mistaken, and you should have more than 10 points off of that. We ran four plays in the third quarter, that was one series, and then we got it rolling a little bit in the fourth. It would have been nice to have that productivity in both halves because we certainly moved the ball in that regard, we just weren’t able to punch it in, which you need to do against a great opponent like Army.”
(Ref.: On what he told the players after the loss)
“Losing should sting, it should hurt because we haven’t lost much around here and it’s not acceptable. But by the same token, I’m giving them about 12 hours to hang their head. We talk about our preseason goals and what we’ve accomplished throughout the season, and I told them nowhere on that list is beating an FBS opponent as one of our goals. We played fairly well against a good opponent and I said we’re going to come in tomorrow at 11 a.m. for the selection show and we have to press forward and work to achieve the goal that’s still outstanding, and that’s a national championship. We talk about three more feet, this is where three more feet kicks in. What are we going to do for the next four to five games depending on whether we get a bye to earn the right to be a championship level team and complete our last season goal? Certainly the loss stings and certainly we’re not happy with it, but we’ll learn from it, get better and it’s a great opportunity to play a quality opponent for the type of teams we’re going to see going forward in the playoffs.”
