Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Duke

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 finish up their three-game road swing at Duke on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 3:30 p.m.

(Ref.: opening statement)
"Good afternoon everybody. We are back here after a week of being off. It was a disappointing loss on the road at Buffalo and we had a chance to regroup with this past weekend off. Hopefully we are getting our team back in the spirit to win. As disappointing as it is to fall short of expectations, it doesn't change the fact that we are going to have to play the next game on the schedule.

"This is certainly going to be a real challenge and test for us against Duke that, quite frankly, beat the pants off of us last year here at home. They have a really talented football team and as well coached a football team that you'll find anywhere in the country. They have an outstanding coach who has proven his ability to win in multiple programs and he is very well respected. He is certainly respected by us.

"Duke has a quarterback who is averaging over 300 yards a game total offense. They have only one guy in the history of their school to do that who was a successful player there and in the NFL. He is certainly doing a good job leading their offense. Their back is really talented, especially on the kick return. He does so much for their team and they have a lot of big tight ends. Duke has a big offensive line and like I said they steam rolled us last year. Watching film, every time they've faced the option they've done a terrific job against it, and specifically against us. A lot of those guys are back and we have to prepare for a really good defense and a lot of guys who know our scheme. They've done a good job against us and Georgia Tech. There is a lot to prepare for. Our guys understand the challenge that is ahead of us this weekend."

(Ref.: on the disadvantages of sloppy conditions)
"Both teams have to play on the same field. I don't know that there's an advantage or disadvantage for either team. If it's windy and rainy, we've both got to kick the ball and throw the ball. Balls will have to exchange hands one way or another, whether it's a pass downfield or a pitch or toss. The ball will exchange hands and we've got to take care of it. I'm sure they're going to emphasize the same thing.

"We've been trying to follow the weather, but you just never know what you're going to get. We'll see when we get there."

(Ref.: on using the bye week to regroup after the loss at Buffalo)
"We really concentrated on the fundamentals this week and we do that all the time. We can't ever stop working on fundamentals, we have to be a very sound fundamental football team. The bye week gave us an extra bit of time to look at ourselves and self-evaluate. Even in the first three games that we won, we weren't doing everything correctly, there were still things we needed to improve on. We were able to take more time to hone in on those things rather than preparing for schemes and having the sense of urgency of having a game on Saturday. We were able to work on us and get better. Every team needs a week like that."

(Ref.: on how winter and spring conditioning has translated to on-the-field production)
"I think we came into the preseason camp in really good physical condition, and I felt that way last year as well. As the season progresses, it's more difficult to maintain that same level of conditioning. We have a lot of guys who have lost some weight this season and that's just because of the demand of their schedule. They aren't always able to concentrate all day on their bodies, but we do lift and we continue to monitor their nutrition and try to maintain the strength of our guys and work with them to get stronger."

(Ref.: on special teams)
"Mitchell Howard will be out this week, so Blake Wilson will handle the PATs and field goals. Also, right now Nick Schrage will handle the kickoffs. But Blake can do all of it, and certainly he may end up as the kickoff guy as the week progresses. That's our plan for now; we have several kickers in this program that are working but I think those two guys can handle those jobs right now.

"We work on special teams every day. We have an individual period and a specialist period, where kickers, holders and snappers are doing their jobs, and catchers work on punt and kick returns. We are working on it every day, as well as some individual things like blocking and covering kicks. Our guys really try to concentrate on that each day and make sure it's right."

(Ref.: On leading the nation is rushing)
"We have a lot of guys on our offense that have been here with us, certainly a lot of them for two years, competing in their third year in a row. I think they have just gotten better. We have improved as a team and gained some confidence. We have matured some guys, you can tell the difference in maturity from Jordan Asberry, Tyler Campbell, Chris Carter, Ahmad Bradshaw, Andy Davidson and Bryce Holland from two years ago. Those guys have gotten more mature and developed and I think that has helped us.

"Running the ball is one thing but the bottom line is you have to score points, we did that enough in the first three games and this is where we really lacked last week. We got the ball down there close and we would settle for three when we needed to get seven. We had some penalties, whether they were called for the penalties, that took us out of scoring position and we have to get the ball in the end zone. When you do that, you certainly have a better chance of winning."

(Ref.: on the biggest thing you're looking for from your team this week in practice)
"Just improvement. I'd like to see our guys get better at the fundamentals. As I said, we missed far too many tackles and I'd like to see our guys work hard at the fundamentals of tackling. We didn't do a very good job blocking them. We didn't sustain base-blocks and use good technique at the point of attack. We didn't do a great job on the perimeter and we missed some blocks at the perimeter. I'd like to see our guys work at those little things to improve in those areas.

"And certainly if we don't, Duke will beat the pants off us again. They have a bunch of guys that can play and play at a very high level. This team has been to four straight bowls games so we've got our work cut out for us and it will take a great team effort on the part of our guys in improvement in the way we've played in order to get it done."

(Ref.: on your plan for the quarterbacks this week)
"We want to keep the plan the same. Continue to play Chris Carter in spots in the game. We're not going to wait until we feel like it's the time and we will just kind of set the play and say here's our plan. It was a little bit different last week than it had been. Again, we're conscious that there may come a time where he's the fulltime quarterback and we'll be glad we've had those reps with him in the game. So it will probably likely be the same."

Army West Point Athletics

Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Duke

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Players Mentioned

Jordan Asberry

Ahmad Bradshaw

Tyler Campbell

Chris Carter

Andy Davidson

Bryce Holland

Mitchell Howard

Nick Schrage

Blake Wilson

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