Army West Point Athletics
Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Rice
October 20, 2015 | Football
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army West Point football head coach Jeff Monken met with members of the local media on Tuesday afternoon for his weekly press conference inside Nowak Auditorium. The Black Knights are preparing to take on Rice on Saturday afternoon in Houston, Texas.
(Ref.: opening statement)
"Good afternoon everyone. I am glad to be here and be able to talk about a victory. It's been a few weeks since we've been able to do that. I'm really proud of our team's effort on Saturday, in the second half particularly. The defense did a great job of slowing their offense down in the second half and getting the ball back and giving our offense a chance to control the ball, which I thought they did effectively. We didn't score as many points as we'd hope to. We certainly would have liked to have made it a little more comfortable, but our guys held the ball and kept some drives alive, particularly that last one where we had the lead and we were able to run the clock all the way out to zero. That was a big drive there for us. I thought we played better in the second half, but still displeased with some of the things we did. We made some mistakes in the first half, certainly turning the ball over hurts us. We gave up a big play for a touchdown. For their first touchdown we were out of position and then that drive before halftime that they had, they did a great job of executing and converting a fourth down play, which is disappointing to give that up.
Again, as I said, I'm proud of our team for having their backs to the wall, coming from behind at halftime, which is something we hadn't been able to do, and finding a way to get a win. I'm proud of those guys and it's a really good springboard going into this week, which is a tough Rice team. They've won a bunch of games at home in the last few years under Coach Bailiff, he does a terrific job. He was an outstanding coach at Texas State before going to Rice and has really got that program in great position to be a contender for their conference championship and to be a bowl team each year. He's done all of those things. We know it's going to be a challenge for us, they have some outstanding players. I think having the confidence to just find the way to win a football game helps us going into this week."
(Ref: Ahmad Bradshaw's injury situation)
"He should be ready to go, but we aren't sure how much he will practice this week. We are holding him out today. I hope it will improve as the week goes on, but it is not something our trainers feel will keep him out the whole year. It may hold him out this week, but we just don't know right now."
(Ref.: How A.J. Schurr performed in the second half)
"I think he did a much better in the second half. He got in there and the two interceptions, he just forced the ball when he doesn't have to do that. He was trying to make a play. It is okay to punt, if it's third down, just throw it away and we will punt. To toss the ball up and not have a guy open, or not have a place for it is not a great decision and he has played enough football to know that. He settled down and did a much better job in the second half. He threw some nice passes to Edgar. The second one Edgar did a great job getting over the top of the kid. I think it will help his confidence, knowing he doesn't have to make those throws to prove himself. He has played enough football and we are confident enough in him that he is able to do his job, come over and get criticized, know it's coming and move onto the next series. "
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(Ref.: Rice's defense changes with Christian Covington moving onto the NFL)
"I don't know that they've changed philosophy, I don't think they've changed defense. He's a great player, but they've got a lot of other guys who have played a lot of football for them too. A couple defensive linemen started all the games last year and all games this year as well as guys on the secondary with experience. It's not the first go around for these guys playing us and they did a great job defending us last year. They had a good plan and I'm sure they'll make tweaks and changes and hone in on their playing."
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(Ref: where team is physically and mentally at this point)
"Bye weeks are difficult to figure out where the best place is to have one. I think it is great to get rest and get a week in when you don't play because it helps the guys get a rest physically. But, there is also the argument when you get a victory that it helps get your guys charged up and it propels you into the next week, so there are advantages there as well. I think our team is in good physical condition. We are not experiencing a lot of guys who are sore. The guys we have out are just injured. We have Ahmad Bradshaw with his shoulder, Justin Gilbert and Jaryn Villegas with their ankles, Bayle Wolf was out this past week and he will practice today so we are expecting him to be back. Brett Toth has been hampered with a nagging injury not related to fatigue or a long season and that is positive.
We have modified the days we practice, instead of going out on Mondays we've been practicing on Sundays and taking Monday off and I think that has helped us to recover. Â We changed a bit the amount of time we are on the field on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I think all of those things have contributed to our ability to stay healthy. I think we are a more durable team and having those guys gain strength over the summer has helped. We don't have a lot of guys who have played a lot of games and I think sometimes those guys can get beat up over the course of several seasons and sometimes aren't a durable as juniors and seniors as they were as young guys. Â I think all of those things have helped to contribute to us being a little healthier and fresh compared to this time a year ago."
(Ref: Rice offense, running back by committee approach)
"They do a good job with all their skill players. They are probably a little like us in that we have several guys who have played the b-back position and several guys at slot back. We have a philosophy that doesn't change all that much depending on who is in the game. I think they are very much the same, I don't know they have a different philosophy. All three of those running backs have each had a game with 100 yards, they have a couple of receivers with several starts and a tight end who has started a bunch of games for them. They do a really good job running the ball effectively. They have a lot of run-throw options with screen passes out on the perimeter, which may look like run plays, but a lot of those are run-pass options. They do a really good job with it and are a well-coached football team. You see the progress they have made since Coach Bailiff got there eight years ago and they are a completely different football team and have improved each year since he arrived."
(Ref.: on how you feel about the team coming off a win)
"I like our team. I think they're a tough group of guys. I think Saturday was a great example. We went into halftime and we were all extremely disappointed. We played poorly on special teams and on offense. We turned the ball over in both of those phases and we gave up a long drive just before halftime. I challenged them and they challenged each other and we had the determination to go out there and win the game. I think they've had that determination all year. We did a good job executing in the second half and that gave us a chance to make some plays and come out with the victory.
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"I can't say enough about our defense, I thought they had a great second half. They held Bucknell to under 100 yards of total offense in the second half, so that was a great job on their part. I'm proud of our team and I'm proud to be the coach of this team. These are great guys who are playing hard for each other. There's a great commitment and loyalty to each other when we get this football team together. They're committed to trying to accomplish their goal of winning each week. I thought we made a great step forward on Saturday to come from behind and win."
Â
(Ref. Rice's defensive experience triple option)
"They've got some experience coaching against the triple option, and that certainly helps them. They are a big, physical team. We've got to try to get some movement on their defensive tackles inside and knock them off the ball. They are fast in the secondary; very athletic. They have to cover a lot of really good receivers in Conference USA. To be able to do that and accomplish that effectively, you've got to be fast and athletic. I think those guys possess those qualities on that side of the ball. We've got to do a great job of sustaining blocks against them. Typically, when we look at drives where  we don't execute and have to punt or don't gain the yards even when we think we have a good play called. It makes it more difficult when you're going against big guys in there that are stout and good at shedding blocks and athletic guys on the perimeter that you have to go on and block in space."
Â
(Ref.: opening statement)
"Good afternoon everyone. I am glad to be here and be able to talk about a victory. It's been a few weeks since we've been able to do that. I'm really proud of our team's effort on Saturday, in the second half particularly. The defense did a great job of slowing their offense down in the second half and getting the ball back and giving our offense a chance to control the ball, which I thought they did effectively. We didn't score as many points as we'd hope to. We certainly would have liked to have made it a little more comfortable, but our guys held the ball and kept some drives alive, particularly that last one where we had the lead and we were able to run the clock all the way out to zero. That was a big drive there for us. I thought we played better in the second half, but still displeased with some of the things we did. We made some mistakes in the first half, certainly turning the ball over hurts us. We gave up a big play for a touchdown. For their first touchdown we were out of position and then that drive before halftime that they had, they did a great job of executing and converting a fourth down play, which is disappointing to give that up.
Again, as I said, I'm proud of our team for having their backs to the wall, coming from behind at halftime, which is something we hadn't been able to do, and finding a way to get a win. I'm proud of those guys and it's a really good springboard going into this week, which is a tough Rice team. They've won a bunch of games at home in the last few years under Coach Bailiff, he does a terrific job. He was an outstanding coach at Texas State before going to Rice and has really got that program in great position to be a contender for their conference championship and to be a bowl team each year. He's done all of those things. We know it's going to be a challenge for us, they have some outstanding players. I think having the confidence to just find the way to win a football game helps us going into this week."
(Ref: Ahmad Bradshaw's injury situation)
"He should be ready to go, but we aren't sure how much he will practice this week. We are holding him out today. I hope it will improve as the week goes on, but it is not something our trainers feel will keep him out the whole year. It may hold him out this week, but we just don't know right now."
(Ref.: How A.J. Schurr performed in the second half)
"I think he did a much better in the second half. He got in there and the two interceptions, he just forced the ball when he doesn't have to do that. He was trying to make a play. It is okay to punt, if it's third down, just throw it away and we will punt. To toss the ball up and not have a guy open, or not have a place for it is not a great decision and he has played enough football to know that. He settled down and did a much better job in the second half. He threw some nice passes to Edgar. The second one Edgar did a great job getting over the top of the kid. I think it will help his confidence, knowing he doesn't have to make those throws to prove himself. He has played enough football and we are confident enough in him that he is able to do his job, come over and get criticized, know it's coming and move onto the next series. "
Â
(Ref.: Rice's defense changes with Christian Covington moving onto the NFL)
"I don't know that they've changed philosophy, I don't think they've changed defense. He's a great player, but they've got a lot of other guys who have played a lot of football for them too. A couple defensive linemen started all the games last year and all games this year as well as guys on the secondary with experience. It's not the first go around for these guys playing us and they did a great job defending us last year. They had a good plan and I'm sure they'll make tweaks and changes and hone in on their playing."
Â
(Ref: where team is physically and mentally at this point)
"Bye weeks are difficult to figure out where the best place is to have one. I think it is great to get rest and get a week in when you don't play because it helps the guys get a rest physically. But, there is also the argument when you get a victory that it helps get your guys charged up and it propels you into the next week, so there are advantages there as well. I think our team is in good physical condition. We are not experiencing a lot of guys who are sore. The guys we have out are just injured. We have Ahmad Bradshaw with his shoulder, Justin Gilbert and Jaryn Villegas with their ankles, Bayle Wolf was out this past week and he will practice today so we are expecting him to be back. Brett Toth has been hampered with a nagging injury not related to fatigue or a long season and that is positive.
We have modified the days we practice, instead of going out on Mondays we've been practicing on Sundays and taking Monday off and I think that has helped us to recover. Â We changed a bit the amount of time we are on the field on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I think all of those things have contributed to our ability to stay healthy. I think we are a more durable team and having those guys gain strength over the summer has helped. We don't have a lot of guys who have played a lot of games and I think sometimes those guys can get beat up over the course of several seasons and sometimes aren't a durable as juniors and seniors as they were as young guys. Â I think all of those things have helped to contribute to us being a little healthier and fresh compared to this time a year ago."
(Ref: Rice offense, running back by committee approach)
"They do a good job with all their skill players. They are probably a little like us in that we have several guys who have played the b-back position and several guys at slot back. We have a philosophy that doesn't change all that much depending on who is in the game. I think they are very much the same, I don't know they have a different philosophy. All three of those running backs have each had a game with 100 yards, they have a couple of receivers with several starts and a tight end who has started a bunch of games for them. They do a really good job running the ball effectively. They have a lot of run-throw options with screen passes out on the perimeter, which may look like run plays, but a lot of those are run-pass options. They do a really good job with it and are a well-coached football team. You see the progress they have made since Coach Bailiff got there eight years ago and they are a completely different football team and have improved each year since he arrived."
(Ref.: on how you feel about the team coming off a win)
"I like our team. I think they're a tough group of guys. I think Saturday was a great example. We went into halftime and we were all extremely disappointed. We played poorly on special teams and on offense. We turned the ball over in both of those phases and we gave up a long drive just before halftime. I challenged them and they challenged each other and we had the determination to go out there and win the game. I think they've had that determination all year. We did a good job executing in the second half and that gave us a chance to make some plays and come out with the victory.
Â
"I can't say enough about our defense, I thought they had a great second half. They held Bucknell to under 100 yards of total offense in the second half, so that was a great job on their part. I'm proud of our team and I'm proud to be the coach of this team. These are great guys who are playing hard for each other. There's a great commitment and loyalty to each other when we get this football team together. They're committed to trying to accomplish their goal of winning each week. I thought we made a great step forward on Saturday to come from behind and win."
Â
(Ref. Rice's defensive experience triple option)
"They've got some experience coaching against the triple option, and that certainly helps them. They are a big, physical team. We've got to try to get some movement on their defensive tackles inside and knock them off the ball. They are fast in the secondary; very athletic. They have to cover a lot of really good receivers in Conference USA. To be able to do that and accomplish that effectively, you've got to be fast and athletic. I think those guys possess those qualities on that side of the ball. We've got to do a great job of sustaining blocks against them. Typically, when we look at drives where  we don't execute and have to punt or don't gain the yards even when we think we have a good play called. It makes it more difficult when you're going against big guys in there that are stout and good at shedding blocks and athletic guys on the perimeter that you have to go on and block in space."
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