Army West Point Athletics
Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Temple
August 30, 2016 | 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 open the 2016 season at Temple on Friday evening at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa.
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(Ref.: opening statement)
"Good afternoon everyone. We certainly have a great challenge to start this season. Temple has an outstanding football team which is a testament to the great job Matt Rhule and his staff have done to turn that football program into a national power. To watch the season they had last year, going undefeated into that Notre Dame game, was really incredible. What they've done and what they've built there is not just build a good team, but build a good program.
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"It will be a challenge for us, but our team has really worked hard this preseason camp. In particular, these past two and a half weeks as we have started the one-a-day practices with school has starting, the team has been focusing in on Temple. I am excited about our team and I'm excited about our guys and the confidence they have. Having come so close so many times last year, a lot of those guys are back. They recognize the issues that led to us not being able to overcome some of those very close losses and hopefully we will get some of those mistakes corrected and be able to change some of our fortunes.
Â
"Going into this game, all of those things we talk about in needing to do well, we are going to have to do those Friday night in order to beat Temple. It starts with winning the turn over battle, something we didn't do a great job of a year ago. It also includes scoring when we have the opportunity and in the red zone and on the goal line and having our defense keeping Temple from doing that. We need to execute on third drive, keep the drives along on offense and win the kicking game. A number of areas that if we do those better it'll give us a chance. Those are things we are going to have to do really well against Temple.
Â
"Temple is such a talented football team. They have a great quarterback, running back and skill guys. Everyone talks about the guys that graduated and went to the NFL from that team, but the guys coming back are awfully good players. Temple has a bunch of guys that made a huge difference on their team last year that will be lining up again as starters. Plenty of challenges, but excited about the opportunity and excited to go back to Philadelphia, a great city. We have a couple more days to get prepared and we will take every one of those minutes to get ready."
Â
(Ref.: on how set the lineups are heading into week one)
"Yes, most of our positions are pretty cut and dry. We've got a couple that will probably have multiple players playing in those positions slot-back comes to mind. I think we have a host of guys there that give us a pretty good chance such as Tyler Campbell, Jordan Asberry, Kell Walker, John Trainor, Elijah St. Hilaire, Joe Walker, all of those guys are guys that have been getting reps with the 1's and 2 's really on a rotating basis throughout camp.
Â
"On the offensive line we have some guys at the center position in Bryce Holland and Joshua Boylan, who have been really battling it out throughout camp, and I think both of those guys are capable of getting the job done for us. We'll likely play both of those guys at that position. Even at the QB position, Ahmad's (Bradshaw) gotten most of the reps in preseason camp, we've had Chris (Carter) healthy for the last couple of weeks and he continues to improve so we may likely play both of those guys. Right now, its Ahmad's (Bradshaw) game and he'll start. He's the No. 1 quarterback.
Â
"There are other positions too, and I think we have some places where we aren't completely uncomfortable playing a second string guy or giving a guy a rest so we can keep him fresh. Frankly we need that, as they're a big football team, especially up front on offense and defense. With our defensive line, hopefully we won't have to play the same 3 guys for 70-75 snaps; we can rotate some guys in there and give those guys some rest because when a guy who's much, much bigger than you are is beating on you all game, it wears down on you. So we will try to keep them fresh."
Â
(Ref.: on beginning the season in Philadelphia after ending the year there in 2015)
"I don't put anything from last year on this year's team. Last year's team is last year's team and this team has no responsibility for what happened last year. That season's over. That's the great thing about a new season: Â everybody's 0-0 and we get a chance to build our own team. We talk about the responsibility of this team to create a legacy about what they'll say about the 2016 Army football team."
Â
(Ref.: on the biggest improvement from the offseason leading into the season opener)
"From a schematic standpoint, we're doing a much better job of blocking for the run. We should be able to do that playing here because we run the ball. Justin Gilbert is going on his third season with this staff and he's been around here a long time. He understands the offense and he's very athletic and I think he's doing a great job blocking. Overall as a football team, we're doing a great job blocking on the perimeter, blocking inside and we're doing a better job at getting to the second level with our offensive linemen. I hope that will improve our running game.
Â
"Defensively, we're doing a better job of getting pressure on the pass. We have some guys that have played and I think they understand what their strengths and weaknesses are. When you're facing a lot of guys that are 320 and 300 pounds, you're not going to bull rush anybody and knock them back, you have to create other ways to do that. And I credit our defensive coordinator Jay Bateman and the staff for finding ways to get some pressure on the passer and get into the backfield."
Â
(Ref.: on Temple's defense)
"We want to run the football, and that's not a secret to anybody. Temple probably knows that. I'm sure they are preparing to play the option run game, and we're planning to run the option against them. They've got a really good defense. Phil Snow is an outstanding coach. I worked with him in the past for a brief period when I was a graduate assistant at Arizona State, and I have great respect for him. If you look at what they've done the last couple of seasons, people don't score a lot of points on them. They've got good players who play very aggressively and are fast, physical and sound. They know what they want to do on defense.
Â
"We watched them in their games last year and against other opponents, but certainly took note of the games they played a few years ago against Navy and the Army game in 2013 to try to get a game plan together. We see they are very sound with what they do. It's not like we're going to be able to just line up and trick them; we're going to have to block them, do a great job taking care of the ball and hopefully control the ball to keep it away from them."
Â
(Ref.: on the feeling heading into the first game and the excitement for both coach and the players)
"Everybody is really excited about the game coming up. When I came in here (Nowak Auditorium) yesterday for the team meeting you could just feel there was a heightened sense of intensity. They were anxious to get out there and practice and know that at the end of this week it's not another scrimmage against each other but that we were going to have an opportunity to go test ourselves against somebody else.
Â
"They know what a great team Temple has. They're very aware of how well-coached, how athletic and talented they are, and how well they execute. We've got to turn the film on and watch them from last year, they did a great job and I'm sure that they're going to have a good football team again this year. Our guys know that. They know how well we're going to have to play. But it's the excitement of a new season, a new team. The opportunity to take this team and go play together. And we're all excited to do that."
Â
(Ref.: on a sense of identity for the team)
"I think I know our team pretty well. A lot of the guys that are playing have been in the program. There are not a lot of guys that are straight rookies on our team. We've got a few that are in our depth chart and are factoring in. I mentioned Jones and Riley in the secondary, Kell Walker in the slot-back lineup, Mike Johnson, Jackson in the offensive line. But there's far fewer than last year and a lot of guys have played.
Â
"Some of the guys, it's their third year, such as (Jeremy) Timpf and (Andrew) King, (Xavier) Moss and (Edgar) Poe and Joe Walker who I mentioned. There's (Justin) Gilbert who's back again this year, and is someone I am really pleased to have back. We also have a guy like Brett Toth, who's grown up in the program and played some as a true freshman, as well as Bryce Holland.
Â
"So these are all guys that have been in our program, and I think I know pretty well. I hope that our culture here is such that it doesn't matter the year. It doesn't matter if it was last year, this year, next year or 10 years from now. This team is going to have the kind of temperament and the kind of confidence to play tough and play hard and believe they are going to win, no matter who is on the team or what year it is.
"I think we've gotten the culture to a point where our guys do feel confident that they can win. They've got to execute, and that's the bottom line is finding a way to execute. I don't worry about our intensity or our attitude or belief that we can do it. I think our guys believe that they can. It's just a matter of doing it."
Â
Â
(Ref.: opening statement)
"Good afternoon everyone. We certainly have a great challenge to start this season. Temple has an outstanding football team which is a testament to the great job Matt Rhule and his staff have done to turn that football program into a national power. To watch the season they had last year, going undefeated into that Notre Dame game, was really incredible. What they've done and what they've built there is not just build a good team, but build a good program.
Â
"It will be a challenge for us, but our team has really worked hard this preseason camp. In particular, these past two and a half weeks as we have started the one-a-day practices with school has starting, the team has been focusing in on Temple. I am excited about our team and I'm excited about our guys and the confidence they have. Having come so close so many times last year, a lot of those guys are back. They recognize the issues that led to us not being able to overcome some of those very close losses and hopefully we will get some of those mistakes corrected and be able to change some of our fortunes.
Â
"Going into this game, all of those things we talk about in needing to do well, we are going to have to do those Friday night in order to beat Temple. It starts with winning the turn over battle, something we didn't do a great job of a year ago. It also includes scoring when we have the opportunity and in the red zone and on the goal line and having our defense keeping Temple from doing that. We need to execute on third drive, keep the drives along on offense and win the kicking game. A number of areas that if we do those better it'll give us a chance. Those are things we are going to have to do really well against Temple.
Â
"Temple is such a talented football team. They have a great quarterback, running back and skill guys. Everyone talks about the guys that graduated and went to the NFL from that team, but the guys coming back are awfully good players. Temple has a bunch of guys that made a huge difference on their team last year that will be lining up again as starters. Plenty of challenges, but excited about the opportunity and excited to go back to Philadelphia, a great city. We have a couple more days to get prepared and we will take every one of those minutes to get ready."
Â
(Ref.: on how set the lineups are heading into week one)
"Yes, most of our positions are pretty cut and dry. We've got a couple that will probably have multiple players playing in those positions slot-back comes to mind. I think we have a host of guys there that give us a pretty good chance such as Tyler Campbell, Jordan Asberry, Kell Walker, John Trainor, Elijah St. Hilaire, Joe Walker, all of those guys are guys that have been getting reps with the 1's and 2 's really on a rotating basis throughout camp.
Â
"On the offensive line we have some guys at the center position in Bryce Holland and Joshua Boylan, who have been really battling it out throughout camp, and I think both of those guys are capable of getting the job done for us. We'll likely play both of those guys at that position. Even at the QB position, Ahmad's (Bradshaw) gotten most of the reps in preseason camp, we've had Chris (Carter) healthy for the last couple of weeks and he continues to improve so we may likely play both of those guys. Right now, its Ahmad's (Bradshaw) game and he'll start. He's the No. 1 quarterback.
Â
"There are other positions too, and I think we have some places where we aren't completely uncomfortable playing a second string guy or giving a guy a rest so we can keep him fresh. Frankly we need that, as they're a big football team, especially up front on offense and defense. With our defensive line, hopefully we won't have to play the same 3 guys for 70-75 snaps; we can rotate some guys in there and give those guys some rest because when a guy who's much, much bigger than you are is beating on you all game, it wears down on you. So we will try to keep them fresh."
Â
(Ref.: on beginning the season in Philadelphia after ending the year there in 2015)
"I don't put anything from last year on this year's team. Last year's team is last year's team and this team has no responsibility for what happened last year. That season's over. That's the great thing about a new season: Â everybody's 0-0 and we get a chance to build our own team. We talk about the responsibility of this team to create a legacy about what they'll say about the 2016 Army football team."
Â
(Ref.: on the biggest improvement from the offseason leading into the season opener)
"From a schematic standpoint, we're doing a much better job of blocking for the run. We should be able to do that playing here because we run the ball. Justin Gilbert is going on his third season with this staff and he's been around here a long time. He understands the offense and he's very athletic and I think he's doing a great job blocking. Overall as a football team, we're doing a great job blocking on the perimeter, blocking inside and we're doing a better job at getting to the second level with our offensive linemen. I hope that will improve our running game.
Â
"Defensively, we're doing a better job of getting pressure on the pass. We have some guys that have played and I think they understand what their strengths and weaknesses are. When you're facing a lot of guys that are 320 and 300 pounds, you're not going to bull rush anybody and knock them back, you have to create other ways to do that. And I credit our defensive coordinator Jay Bateman and the staff for finding ways to get some pressure on the passer and get into the backfield."
Â
(Ref.: on Temple's defense)
"We want to run the football, and that's not a secret to anybody. Temple probably knows that. I'm sure they are preparing to play the option run game, and we're planning to run the option against them. They've got a really good defense. Phil Snow is an outstanding coach. I worked with him in the past for a brief period when I was a graduate assistant at Arizona State, and I have great respect for him. If you look at what they've done the last couple of seasons, people don't score a lot of points on them. They've got good players who play very aggressively and are fast, physical and sound. They know what they want to do on defense.
Â
"We watched them in their games last year and against other opponents, but certainly took note of the games they played a few years ago against Navy and the Army game in 2013 to try to get a game plan together. We see they are very sound with what they do. It's not like we're going to be able to just line up and trick them; we're going to have to block them, do a great job taking care of the ball and hopefully control the ball to keep it away from them."
Â
(Ref.: on the feeling heading into the first game and the excitement for both coach and the players)
"Everybody is really excited about the game coming up. When I came in here (Nowak Auditorium) yesterday for the team meeting you could just feel there was a heightened sense of intensity. They were anxious to get out there and practice and know that at the end of this week it's not another scrimmage against each other but that we were going to have an opportunity to go test ourselves against somebody else.
Â
"They know what a great team Temple has. They're very aware of how well-coached, how athletic and talented they are, and how well they execute. We've got to turn the film on and watch them from last year, they did a great job and I'm sure that they're going to have a good football team again this year. Our guys know that. They know how well we're going to have to play. But it's the excitement of a new season, a new team. The opportunity to take this team and go play together. And we're all excited to do that."
Â
(Ref.: on a sense of identity for the team)
"I think I know our team pretty well. A lot of the guys that are playing have been in the program. There are not a lot of guys that are straight rookies on our team. We've got a few that are in our depth chart and are factoring in. I mentioned Jones and Riley in the secondary, Kell Walker in the slot-back lineup, Mike Johnson, Jackson in the offensive line. But there's far fewer than last year and a lot of guys have played.
Â
"Some of the guys, it's their third year, such as (Jeremy) Timpf and (Andrew) King, (Xavier) Moss and (Edgar) Poe and Joe Walker who I mentioned. There's (Justin) Gilbert who's back again this year, and is someone I am really pleased to have back. We also have a guy like Brett Toth, who's grown up in the program and played some as a true freshman, as well as Bryce Holland.
Â
"So these are all guys that have been in our program, and I think I know pretty well. I hope that our culture here is such that it doesn't matter the year. It doesn't matter if it was last year, this year, next year or 10 years from now. This team is going to have the kind of temperament and the kind of confidence to play tough and play hard and believe they are going to win, no matter who is on the team or what year it is.
"I think we've gotten the culture to a point where our guys do feel confident that they can win. They've got to execute, and that's the bottom line is finding a way to execute. I don't worry about our intensity or our attitude or belief that we can do it. I think our guys believe that they can. It's just a matter of doing it."
Â
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