Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Rice

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 head back on the road for a Lone Star State showdown with Rice. The contest will be carried live on beIN Sports with Mike Gleason, Donovan McNabb, and Michelle Gingras on the call.

(Ref.: opening statement)
"Good afternoon everyone. Glad to be coming here this week with a win. It certainly feels better going into the next game with some confidence and that feeling of victory. We made some good plays on Saturday. In every phase there were positives and things we take away that we need to fix. I have to give credit to UTEP - I thought they did a nice job controlling the football, especially in the first quarter. We only had a handful of plays in the first quarter because they kept the ball away from us.

"To be able to come from behind to tie the game up and take the lead. They hit a big play to tie it up and we were in a dog fight. It was encouraging to see our guys come up and play so well in the third quarter to give us an opportunity to win the football game.

"We will take hopefully some improvements into the Rice game. We have had some real battles with those guys the past three years. They beat us by 20 points our first year at home. Then we went right to the wire with them two years ago, what a heck of a game that was, and then last year I thought our guys played pretty well. We had a good performance out of our team and we held them out of the end zone for the most part and were able to score some points. They have a very talented football team. I think David Bailiff is one of the best football coaches in the country. He is a smart football coach who has built programs everywhere he's been. He has had success at Rice and went to three-straight bowl games, which is really difficult to do as seen in the history of Rice football in the modern era.

"We run into them a lot in recruiting because of the academics they require. They win those battles and get those good players. It's Rice and SMU down there in Texas that we see a lot on the kids we are going after. We are going to have our hands full. They have defended us well the last few years and we are going to have to play big football by blocking them because defensively they give everybody headaches. We have a lot of Texas guys on our team and I know they are looking forward to being home in front of their families and friends."

(Ref.: on the opposition's familiarity with Army)
"As I said, particularly for us on offense, I think teams settle into a plan that they feel good about that has worked. I think Rice may have a few changes. They have a new coordinator this year and we may see an entirely different defense than we faced the last few years. They have had enough success against us that I am sure some of those things are going to be part of their plan. There is only so much we can do. We don't have a new offense we can put in so we really got to anticipate what we might get, plan for those things and then make adjustments as necessary.

"They are really difficult to defend. Our defensive coaches have said what a headache they are right now. When you are doing a bunch of things that are misdirection and motion, it gets players eyes sometimes in the wrong place and we've got to be disciplined in those things and hopefully we can get our guys to do that this week."

(Ref.: on what he has learned about his team so far with one month down)
"I think these guys are battlers. We've had games go into the fourth quarter and into the second half where we've really had to push to win the game. None of whom have been easy. Starting with Buffalo and having to come from behind to win that game. The Ohio State game, which was obviously a real physical test for us against an outstanding team. The Tulane game going right down to the wire. Then this past weekend, even in the second half we threw the interception and they're kicking the onside kick. You're scratching your head, you go from being up three scores to them kicking an onside kick and really they get it back hit a quick score get another onside kick and they're tying the game. I think our guys did a nice job of finishing games, even though we didn't win two of those games. I thought our guys were fighting and giving ourselves a chance as best we can all the way until the game."

(Ref.: on how important it is for this team to win on the road)
"We haven't done that this year. So, we'd like to win a road game, and I talked to the guys about that. The goal of being undefeated at home is a goal of six games, so it's nice to win at home. And I'm glad that we have been able to do that effectively, and that will affect other goals that we have as a team. But you have to win on the road. If you're going to be the kind of team that you want to be, and have the kind of record that you hope to, it has to happen. So hopefully, we'll be able to play effectively and execute and find a way to win. We've been down there one time, this will be our second time down there, we didn't win the last time in a really, really tough fought football game. I anticipate it's going to be the same this year. We are going to have to go down there and fight our butts off to try to beat them."

(Ref.: on the possibly of quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw sitting out for a few reps or a game)
"We're going to keep him in there as long as we need to. He's our guy, and I think he's handled the pounding pretty well. He's a physical player, and he took some shots on Saturday. I think it's his maturity as a player, and certainly the physical maturity he's gained while he's been here. He's a thicker, more physical guy. That doesn't mean he can't get hurt, but he just has it. He's the best player of the group, and that's why we have him in there."

(Ref.: on challenges facing Rice)
"The challenges are similar to the ones I felt we faced with them a year ago. I think they're a big, physical football team, and I really admire the job that Coach Bailiff has done in building that program. You watch them on special teams with the guys who are on their punt rush and kick coverage teams. They're big, physical guys.

"I won't call some of our guys by name, but I looked at some of our younger guys in the program in their practice uniforms on Sunday when we were out there, looked at their arms and thought that guy has a ways to go to be a guy I'd consider a big, physical player. We have some guys who have grown up in the program that have been able to do that and build their bodies, but we've got some guys who just don't look the part. Not yet. That's the thing about Rice's players; those guys look the part. They come out of the locker room and go down the ramp there at Rice Stadium, and they look different. They look bigger. Hopefully, we're going to be able to stand up to the pounding I know they're going to try to put on us."

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Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Rice

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