Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Temple

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 back home at Michie Stadium for their second-straight game on Saturday at noon. The contest will be carried live on CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden, Jay Feely and John Schriffen on the call.

(Ref.: opening statement)
"Good afternoon everyone. It sure was a thrilling victory on Saturday. The agonizing feeling of that last drive and watching those guys go down there and score then go for two. But then to make the play to finish the game was awfully thrilling for all of us. Certainly for our players, I was proud of the effort our guys put into that. We didn't make plays a lot of times when we had opportunities or the ones we would have liked to have made and that is a credit to Eastern Michigan. I thought they were very physical and played hard. They had a great plan on offense and it is completely different from what we do, but they are really good at what they do. I admire the job that staff has done. We were very fortunate to win the game and I was proud for our guys at the end. We needed a play, we made one and just an unbelievable play by James Gibson to come up and make that tackle stopping him a few inches short. And then the onside kick – that was a big recovery so two big plays at the end when we needed them which helped lead us to victory.

"On to Temple, they are certainly a very talented football team. We have tremendous respect for the program they built and for the athletes they have. Last year was a slugfest for four quarters and I hope we can match their ability physically. The pounding they put on people physically for four quarters is tough. They are good at running the football and they throw it a lot. They've thrown it 245 times and they do it very effectively. They have a bunch of really good skill players and their line is big and physically. Defensively, we have as much respect for them on defense as anyone we have played.

"This is a tough football team that won their conference last year. They'll have a ton of confidence and they feel as though they have to come in and win this game. We had the chance to come out with a win at their place and I'm sure they'd love to return the favor. I know they see the opportunities to play in the post season and they'll be tough competitors.

"I hope our guys are up for it, this past weekend was a slugfest. We have some guys that aren't practicing today and it speaks to the great battle that it was. We are looking forward to being at home again and not having to travel for this game. Hopefully that will help us as well."

(Ref.: On his evaluation of the secondary after watching the film against Eastern Michigan)
"It's going to be a challenge for us throughout the year. Just trying to find the right combination of guys and working those guys through the gaining of experience. We can prepare guys in practice and have them prepared fundamentally but to go in there and to have them do the job that they have to do is not easy. We had some struggles on Saturday and everybody saw that. It's not that our guys aren't trying and not playing hard they are, they're giving a great effort. Eastern Michigan made some really good plays and some really good catches. And they did it a few times against some guys who don't have as much experience as others. With that said, we had a couple other guys that have plenty of experience and they missed on some plays too.

"It's our job as coaches to have them prepared. It's not going to work out every single time. When you're got a very talented player that's running around in space and you put a guy on him and say 'hey you've got to cover this guy and you can't let him catch one ball, you can't let him block you the whole day.' They're going to make some plays too. Like I said there were some opportunities out there where we didn't make plays and it's disappointing to see that happen but we made some and we made them down there at the end when it counted. Hopefully we'll have ourselves in that position again where we can be in the game and have a chance to make a play to win it.

(Ref.: On the difference between Eastern Michigan and Temple's offense)
"There's certainly different philosophies. It will be interesting to see what they do defensively. We aren't sure, we can only anticipate, and that's kind of the case with most teams. Unless it's been someone that we've played year in and year out, or we've had a chance to see play other option teams, then we've got an idea. But it was really a guessing game half the games we played this year. We didn't know what Fordham was going to be in, we thought Buffalo would line up like they did against us last year, we weren't sure completely about Ohio State, we had a pretty good idea about Tulane because they had played against Navy. We didn't know against UTEP if they would run the same defense that they did a year ago, because we had run for so many yards we thought they might change their philosophy altogether. Rice lined up in a different defense than we had practiced for, and Eastern Michigan was a little bit different.

"I think we just try to gain the best ideas we can from what they've done against traditional offenses and then hope that we've got a good enough plan in place that if we've got to adjust we can. Offensively, they are different. They've got some different people playing different positions. They have a different quarterback. But it's still similar in that our defense has got to line up and rush the passer against guys that are a lot bigger than us and do that often. And the receivers and running backs that they have are very skilled. Maybe more skilled and more talented than every team we've played since Ohio State. They are a good football team. We have a lot of respect for Temple, and you have to respect the change that's happened there over the last decade to become the program that they are."

(Ref.: On James Nachtigal's presence on the defense)
"James is a very physical player. He was a guy who, a year ago, was part of a group that we sent in at times on passing downs. He and Calen Holt were some of the guys we thought were pass-rusher type guys; athletic guys. He was part of that package because we felt that he is a really good player that we wanted to get onto the field. Now, with (Jeremy) Timpf and (Andrew) King graduated, we wanted to find a way to play him every down.

"He's had some struggles this season, certainly in the first part of this year. He changed positions from outside backer to inside backer. Again, it's getting that game experience, but, as we were talking about the secondary, he's a guy that is going to continue to improve and get better playing that position each week. He's going to learn from his mistakes and start to see things better. He's just such a physical, fast football player. He plays the game really fast and pursues the ball with a lot of energy and intensity. He cares a lot about winning and being the best he can be."

(Ref.: On the job the 2017 linebackers have done replacing Andrew King and Jeremy Timpf)
"I think those guys have really done a nice job. Obviously, they're not going to be making plays and be the same mentally as two guys who started for three years. Those two guys became really efficient because they knew what they were doing and they could play really fast.

"Andrew King was one of the smartest players we've ever coached. He would always be in the right position, and, frankly, he'd have everybody else on the defense in the right position too because he knew what everybody's job was. He knew where everybody's fit was, what their rush lanes were supposed to be and the blitzes. He could make the checks and adjust people, too. I mean, he was at a completely different level, but that's not where he was as a sophomore. Jeremy was a much different player as a senior than he was as a sophomore. Jeremy needed a lot of help as a sophomore getting lined up and getting into the right gap. He'd probably deny that if he was sitting here, but it's the truth.

"When I see guys like Nachtigal and (Cole) Christiansen who are playing for the first time; they are going to learn and get better. I think as we go through this season and these guys continue their careers, they're going to improve and get better as well. Hopefully, a year from now, they're the same types of players that King and Timpf were."

Army West Point Athletics

Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Temple

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