Army West Point Athletics
Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Hawai’i
September 11, 2018 | 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 back at Michie Stadium this weekend when they welcome Hawai'i on Saturday afternoon.
(Ref.: Opening statement)
"Good afternoon. We're coming off the victory from Saturday that sure feels a lot better than it did a week ago and I was proud of our team. We made enough plays to win the game. It was a game that when we look back on it, there's still a lot of things that we feel like we could have done better. But certainly we did some of the fundamentals better. We took care of the ball and didn't turn it over. We got some turnovers back, which made a big difference in the game. We tackled much better than we did the week before. I told our team, and as I've said in there, those fundamentals make such a big difference. It was great to get a win and be able to go into this game against Hawai'i coming off a victory. It just helped us build confidence that we can perform better than we did in Week One.
"We're going to need to perform a lot better than we did in Week Two though to beat Hawai'i. This is a team that everyone is talking about. They're 3-0 and have scored a bunch of points. I can't say enough about how hard I think this Hawai'i team plays and how physical they play the game. That's really impressed me. It's in every phase. The way they rush kicks, cover kicks, play defense and run with the ball after they catch it. It playing the game really hard with a lot of passion. And certainly that's a credit to Nick (Rolovich) and the job he's done, he and his staff, of getting those guys to play that way.
"They've played an option team already. I was saying to our staff yesterday that they might be the only team in the country that's playing three option football teams in one year. One-fourth of their games are against offenses like ours. I know they're got a plan. They certainly did a good job against Navy with their defense and at one point it was 28-0. That included some big plays on offense and some good drives. A blocked punt for a touchdown so they're playing good in a lot of areas. They're a team that we really respect and admire in terms of their toughness and effort. It's something we try to get our guys to do. If we're playing hard and with great effort and they are too I'm sure it's going to be one hell of a football game."
(Ref.: On trying to stay with the Hawai'i offense)
"We play the same every week. We try to limit the possessions for the other team and that limits our possessions too, but that's the style of football we play. It's the same style that Navy plays. But when the other team does a good enough job of stopping us they get a lot more tries with the ball. What we've got to try to do is control the football, keep the ball in our hands, run the ball effectively and keep them from having opportunities to get out there and do what they do. Their quarterback has over 1,100 yards already in three games and he's got a really great group of receivers that he throws it to. One of their best players is their running back, number 21, (Fred) Holly. His partner back there is a 250-pound battering ram that was their H-back last year and he's a really good player and runs people over. They're a tough football team and they play really hard. They are really good at what they do. Nick's really good with that system and gets those guys in position to make plays. They've done it their first three games and it's been really impressive to watch."
(Ref.: On what he's learned from the Navy-Hawai'i game film)
"Any time we have an opportunity to watch a team whose play is similar to us I think there's opportunities to learn and see how they defended them, defended the option and how they attacked the defense. Our structure is very similar to Navy's. We look for that stuff every week and we go back and look at film from sometimes years in the past. We use those kinds of things to try and get answers for what will the opponent do to attack us offensively or how they'll defend us. Hopefully it will help us put a plan together but they're (Hawai'i) going to have some things that they do differently. Certainly they know what we're going to be doing on offense and hopefully we'll be able to do enough to stay with them."
(Ref.: On what the main focus is this week)
"Every day of our existence at Army football is focused on fundamentals. To block, to sustain blocks, to get off blocks, to tackle well and to take care of the football. Those are the most important things to us every day. It doesn't matter who we're playing because if we do those things poorly, we're not going to have a chance to win. So, that remains the focus. We have to, obviously, come up with a scheme to play their defense and hope that we can move the football. But, that's not going to happen, regardless of what scheme we come up with, if we don't do a great job of blocking, sustaining blocks and taking care of the ball. And the same thing on defense. We can do some great things offensively. We can come up with some great schemes and put our guys in position. But, if we don't get off blocks, if we don't tackle in the open field, we're going to have a tough time beating them."
The Black Knights are back at Michie Stadium this weekend when they welcome Hawai'i on Saturday afternoon.
(Ref.: Opening statement)
"Good afternoon. We're coming off the victory from Saturday that sure feels a lot better than it did a week ago and I was proud of our team. We made enough plays to win the game. It was a game that when we look back on it, there's still a lot of things that we feel like we could have done better. But certainly we did some of the fundamentals better. We took care of the ball and didn't turn it over. We got some turnovers back, which made a big difference in the game. We tackled much better than we did the week before. I told our team, and as I've said in there, those fundamentals make such a big difference. It was great to get a win and be able to go into this game against Hawai'i coming off a victory. It just helped us build confidence that we can perform better than we did in Week One.
"We're going to need to perform a lot better than we did in Week Two though to beat Hawai'i. This is a team that everyone is talking about. They're 3-0 and have scored a bunch of points. I can't say enough about how hard I think this Hawai'i team plays and how physical they play the game. That's really impressed me. It's in every phase. The way they rush kicks, cover kicks, play defense and run with the ball after they catch it. It playing the game really hard with a lot of passion. And certainly that's a credit to Nick (Rolovich) and the job he's done, he and his staff, of getting those guys to play that way.
"They've played an option team already. I was saying to our staff yesterday that they might be the only team in the country that's playing three option football teams in one year. One-fourth of their games are against offenses like ours. I know they're got a plan. They certainly did a good job against Navy with their defense and at one point it was 28-0. That included some big plays on offense and some good drives. A blocked punt for a touchdown so they're playing good in a lot of areas. They're a team that we really respect and admire in terms of their toughness and effort. It's something we try to get our guys to do. If we're playing hard and with great effort and they are too I'm sure it's going to be one hell of a football game."
(Ref.: On trying to stay with the Hawai'i offense)
"We play the same every week. We try to limit the possessions for the other team and that limits our possessions too, but that's the style of football we play. It's the same style that Navy plays. But when the other team does a good enough job of stopping us they get a lot more tries with the ball. What we've got to try to do is control the football, keep the ball in our hands, run the ball effectively and keep them from having opportunities to get out there and do what they do. Their quarterback has over 1,100 yards already in three games and he's got a really great group of receivers that he throws it to. One of their best players is their running back, number 21, (Fred) Holly. His partner back there is a 250-pound battering ram that was their H-back last year and he's a really good player and runs people over. They're a tough football team and they play really hard. They are really good at what they do. Nick's really good with that system and gets those guys in position to make plays. They've done it their first three games and it's been really impressive to watch."
(Ref.: On what he's learned from the Navy-Hawai'i game film)
"Any time we have an opportunity to watch a team whose play is similar to us I think there's opportunities to learn and see how they defended them, defended the option and how they attacked the defense. Our structure is very similar to Navy's. We look for that stuff every week and we go back and look at film from sometimes years in the past. We use those kinds of things to try and get answers for what will the opponent do to attack us offensively or how they'll defend us. Hopefully it will help us put a plan together but they're (Hawai'i) going to have some things that they do differently. Certainly they know what we're going to be doing on offense and hopefully we'll be able to do enough to stay with them."
(Ref.: On what the main focus is this week)
"Every day of our existence at Army football is focused on fundamentals. To block, to sustain blocks, to get off blocks, to tackle well and to take care of the football. Those are the most important things to us every day. It doesn't matter who we're playing because if we do those things poorly, we're not going to have a chance to win. So, that remains the focus. We have to, obviously, come up with a scheme to play their defense and hope that we can move the football. But, that's not going to happen, regardless of what scheme we come up with, if we don't do a great job of blocking, sustaining blocks and taking care of the ball. And the same thing on defense. We can do some great things offensively. We can come up with some great schemes and put our guys in position. But, if we don't get off blocks, if we don't tackle in the open field, we're going to have a tough time beating them."
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