Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Tulane

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 hit the road for their second road test in as many weeks at Tulane on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. Central time (12 p.m. ET) and will be carried live on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan, Corey Chavous and Cassie McKinney on the call.

(Ref.: opening statement)
"Good afternoon. It's not quite as much fun coming in, though it's always fun seeing you guys, after a loss. We got beat up pretty good by an outstanding football team. That is about as frank as I can put it. I was so proud of our team and the attitude and effort they had throughout the game. Our guys came prepared and had an expectation to win and I'm glad because that is how we should approach every game.

"Ohio State is very talented and well-coached team. They executed about as good as you can. They ran and threw the ball effectively. We had one nice long drive, but they did a nice job stopping us and got us in some negative yardage plays. All around a very good football team. We were fortunate to be down just 10 points after the first half. We had a shot to come out on an opening drive in the second, but it didn't take long for them to be back in the end zone.

"Our guys battled all the way. That was the best thing that came out of the day, our guys continued to fight and have that attitude. There are things to improve from the film on Saturday as we prepare to face another tough opponent. It was impressive to watch Tulane go up 7-0 and then 14-7 on Oklahoma. They have a talented team and I know how well-coached they are. Coach (Willie) Fritz was at Georgia Southern after I was so we are very familiar. I know it will be a heck of a battle.

"The last time they were in here, we fought to the bitter end and they kicked a field goal with no time left on the clock and beat us. I hope we can make it as good a game this year. They are big and fast and I was impressed watching them against Navy two weeks ago and what they did defensively and running the ball.

"We know it is going to be a real battle and we are really beat up from Saturday. We have several guys from the starting lineup last Saturday that might not even make the trip this weekend. That is a little bit of a concern, but hoping to get these guys healthy."

(Ref.: on the building blocks from the Ohio State game)
"I think just looking at the drive that we had and being able to sustain the ball for a long period of time and drive it down the field. We made some good plays on defense. We didn't get them in long-yardage situations enough. They did a really nice job running the football and that's something that if we can keep people from running the ball effectively, then we can force them to be more one dimensional and maybe we can get a sack or a turnover. We didn't get any turnovers, but we made good plays. I thought our guys did a nice job getting off some blocks, especially as the game got going. They had two really nice drives to start the game. I thought our guys settled in and did a much better job after that. We are seeking the positive things that we can gain from it for sure."

(Ref.: on changing the game plan with familiarity of coaching personnel at Tulane)
"I don't know that we can really change a whole lot of what we do. We're pretty committed to our schemes on offense, defense and special teams. Especially for them on defense, Jack Curtis is an outstanding coach and was our defensive coordinator for three years at Georgia Southern. He knows this offense and defended it in practice every day of preseason camp and in the spring. He had to defend it against Wofford and The Citadel who ran it in the Southern Conference. They've played Navy three times as a staff, once at Georgia Southern and now twice at Tulane, so they've got some familiarity with our scheme. That is likely going to make it a little more difficult to come up with something that Jack hasn't seen or won't be anticipating. We don't know them as well, but hopefully Jay (Bateman) and the defensive staff will put our guys in positions where they can go make plays."

(Ref: on the Tulane defense forcing multiple fumbles and turnovers so far this season)
"It's a real credit to Coach (Jack) Curtis, Willie (Fritz) and that staff to make that a priority. I remember two years ago, we ran a toss play and the guard stepped on his foot and he couldn't get all the way around. It one hopped and #17 took it all the way down the sideline for a touchdown. He's still on their team and he can fly. So I hope we don't toss it near the ground where he can get it, because I don't know if we can catch him. What we've been able to do for the most part is avoid the contact fumbles. The one on Saturday was our quarterback and our b-back in the mesh. We were running an option play. We should have handed the ball off. We got beat on a block and then we just ran into the mesh. The quarterback tried to pull it out and the thing got kicked and off it went. We can't have the ball on the ground at all, certainly not in that situation either. What we've got to do is secure it when we've got it in our hands and those are the ones that are most frustrating for coaches."

(Ref: On the difference between Army's passing game this season compared to last)
"If you look at the first game, we threw the ball twice. We tried to throw a corner route, and we didn't hit it. It probably was a little overthrown, and he might have thought a guy was underneath it, so he tossed it out of there. The second time we threw it, I was standing on the sideline like we're going to throw this route, and I think he's going to be open. When you're winning like you are in the first game, I have a difficult time lining up and throwing the ball down the field just because we want to try it. I give credit to our guys for getting ourselves a lead like that. In the second game, I felt like our best chance to win was to pound the fullback.

"That's all we're trying to do is win the game. We're not going to survive getting three yards here and three yards there the entire season. There's going to be sometimes where we have to get a chunk of yards in one play. Some of those are going to have to come from passing plays, and I think we need to be more efficient when we throw the ball. We ran a 4th-and-1 play action against Buffalo and had the guy wide open, and we overthrew it. I want our quarterback to hit every one of those plays, but he's a pretty good inside runner. Until we get a guy that runs tough and runs hard and can throw the ball, maybe we won't throw as much. There's going to be times when we have to do that, and I think Ahmad (Bradshaw) will do that for us. We're 2-1; two is good, and the one's not good enough. So we're going to try to get to 1-0 this week."

(Ref.: on passes opening up other offensive opportunities)
"Where it really helps us is in perimeter blocking. We tried to pick those spots when we saw those corners getting a good key and were running through our wide receivers on the perimeter. We said 'We have to play action these guys and give them something to soften them up.' We threw that and had a switch route called that we did not complete. We hit (Zach) Saum on the boot pass coming back across the middle. We had some things we thought were going to be good for them. It's frustrating when you can't block them on the perimeter, and when you try to run a play-action pass you can't run by him and get it completed. There were some shots that we were willing and tried to take, but it wasn't going to be enough."

(Ref.: on if playing away affects the team's ability to win)
"I don't think so. I think it's tough to play on the road. Traveling, and you're staying in an unfamiliar place, and you're dressing in an unfamiliar locker room, and you've got somebody else's fans, and they are cheering for them. It's nice to be at home, but if you're going to be a championship program you've got to win on the road. So, we have to find a way to be able to take our team on the road and get a victory. We've only got one game this week so, it's in New Orleans and we are going to try to do our best to have our team prepared and rested and ready to win."

Army West Point Athletics

Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Tulane

Related News

Related Videos