Army West Point Athletics
Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: The Citadel
October 06, 2020 | Football
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army West Point football head coach Jeff Monken met virtually with members of the local media on Tuesday afternoon for his weekly press conference inside Nowak Auditorium.
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The Black Knights will look to improve to 4-1 this Saturday when they play host to The Citadel for a 1:30 p.m. tilt at Michie Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.Â
Army West Point Football Head Coach Jeff Monken
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"Good afternoon everyone. It's good to be in here today after a victory. I am proud of our team and their effort. I thought we did some really great things on Saturday and also some things we recognize that we have to improve on. That's the nice thing about a victory, that in every game there are things you wish you did better and you don't have to pay the ultimate price to find those things out. Hopefully we will improve from our play on Saturday. We really have to shift gears a lot as a defense and defend a triple option team much like our own. That is going to be a challenge for us – to do that with a quick turnaround. Coach (Brent) Thompson does a really great job at the Citadel and I have a great respect for him. To have the success that they have there is really remarkable. Like service academies, they have a difficult time recruiting the same type of athlete because it is a military school. They've won their league. They've gotten to the playoffs and I have a great respect for him, his team and staff. He's got a couple of staff members who I have worked with in the past.
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"We have consulted with them and them with us over the last few years offensively. So, there's going to be some familiarity which will be a challenge for both sides. Certainly for us, we didn't hold anything back and pretty much talked to him about all the things we do on offense so that'll provide some familiarity. Along with Orlando Mitjans Jr., who coaches their corners and Tony Grantham, who is their defensive coordinator – I have worked with both of those gentlemen in the past.
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"It'll be exciting to be back home again. It's nice to have these home football games. The rest and preparation leading up to the game is good for our team. I feel that was the case again on Saturday, being able to play at home and hosting a team that came from Texas, they were exactly what we thought they were going to be. They were athletic and a fast football team. I think we saw that on a couple of plays where you could really see their guys ability to run. We are glad to get the victory and are trying to get ready for The Citadel now."
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(Ref.: On being in a groove)
"I think the first game we played so well that it set the bar really high. We played well in every phase. Cincinnati was a tough football team. There were things we did well in that game, but things we were inconsistent with as well. I thought some of the inconsistencies carried over to this week and there were times I was disappointed with the way we were playing and the situations we got ourselves into that we could have done a better job controlling. Overall, I thought we made some improvements, but left a lot out there that we need to get better at. I really like our team. I like the way they approach practice each week, their attitude, the humility that they display in victory knowing there are things we can still do better. They come back and get to work on those things the very next day and take our coaching. I think the leadership has been great in and out of the locker room."
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(Ref.: On playing against The Citadel's option offense)
"I don't know that their option is a whole lot different than ours. It is very similar to what all of us do in this offense and I think that those two games that you mentioned are just examples of what a team that runs this offense can do by controlling the ball and being so different from what defenses are used to defending. The same with our defense. I think there is this idea that our defense is going to be better at playing against the triple option because we face it every day in practice and that we aren't going to be good against other offenses because we don't get to see other offenses in practice. The fact is, we don't practice against each other. We have scout teams that practice our opposing team's offense against our defense and the opposing team's defense against our offense. That is what we practice all week. It isn't a scrimmage. Perhaps there are places where that is done. We do have some interaction. We do some one-minute offense stuff with our starting offense against our starting defense, but there is carry over to wherever we play with that and very little, if any, interaction with us running our base offense against our defense. Our defense has to change gears and kind of get back into that option defense mode. We do that in preseason camp because we scrimmage in preseason camp and that at least gives us a base for what we are going to do and in preparing for the other academy games. Again, having only one week (to prepare) is a challenge for our defense."Â
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(Ref.: on the defense's success this season)
"I think Coach Woody and the defensive staff are doing a great job with really having our guys prepared. What has been a pleasant surprise is how well they've played with not having had any spring practice. Really the first time for Coach Woody and the staff to kind of be able to implement this defense on the field was during those late summer walkthroughs that the NCAA approved just before camp started. So, I think they've done a great job. Our kids are playing really hard and they are working hard to learn the defense and take the defense another step this week. That has really been a positive for us. But it is a team game and controlling the ball and keeping the ball away from opponents is something we strive to do on offense, which I hope helps us play better defense. I think if you look at years past, there are seasons where we finished in the top ten in total defense in the country when Jay Peyton was here. A lot of that was the team concept. We played the fewest number of snaps on defense in the country and it allowed us to be fresh and it allowed us to save some calls for later moments in the game when we didn't have to empty the playbook on defense in the first half. I was looking at the scores of the Georgia game and the box score, obviously I am interested in them because of my cousin Todd (Monken) being there, I think they had seven possessions in the first quarter and a half. We get seven possessions in a game sometimes. I think having the philosophy that it is a team game really helps. Our defense helps our offense be better and our offense helps our defense be better. I couldn't be more pleased with the job that Coach Woody is doing with the staff and the players on that side of the ball."Â
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(Ref.: On the impact Jon Rhattigan has had this season)
"He's doing a great job. I'm really excited for Jon and happy with the way he's playing. He's making a lot of plays, a lot of tackles. He's very physical. He's been a tremendous special teams guy for us in years past. And was able to make his way into the starting role after playing behind Cole Christiansen and Arik Smith the last couple of years. He's a first time starter as a senior. I think he's really taking advantage of the opportunity and playing really, really hard and really well."
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The Black Knights will look to improve to 4-1 this Saturday when they play host to The Citadel for a 1:30 p.m. tilt at Michie Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.Â
Army West Point Football Head Coach Jeff Monken
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"Good afternoon everyone. It's good to be in here today after a victory. I am proud of our team and their effort. I thought we did some really great things on Saturday and also some things we recognize that we have to improve on. That's the nice thing about a victory, that in every game there are things you wish you did better and you don't have to pay the ultimate price to find those things out. Hopefully we will improve from our play on Saturday. We really have to shift gears a lot as a defense and defend a triple option team much like our own. That is going to be a challenge for us – to do that with a quick turnaround. Coach (Brent) Thompson does a really great job at the Citadel and I have a great respect for him. To have the success that they have there is really remarkable. Like service academies, they have a difficult time recruiting the same type of athlete because it is a military school. They've won their league. They've gotten to the playoffs and I have a great respect for him, his team and staff. He's got a couple of staff members who I have worked with in the past.
Â
"We have consulted with them and them with us over the last few years offensively. So, there's going to be some familiarity which will be a challenge for both sides. Certainly for us, we didn't hold anything back and pretty much talked to him about all the things we do on offense so that'll provide some familiarity. Along with Orlando Mitjans Jr., who coaches their corners and Tony Grantham, who is their defensive coordinator – I have worked with both of those gentlemen in the past.
Â
"It'll be exciting to be back home again. It's nice to have these home football games. The rest and preparation leading up to the game is good for our team. I feel that was the case again on Saturday, being able to play at home and hosting a team that came from Texas, they were exactly what we thought they were going to be. They were athletic and a fast football team. I think we saw that on a couple of plays where you could really see their guys ability to run. We are glad to get the victory and are trying to get ready for The Citadel now."
Â
(Ref.: On being in a groove)
"I think the first game we played so well that it set the bar really high. We played well in every phase. Cincinnati was a tough football team. There were things we did well in that game, but things we were inconsistent with as well. I thought some of the inconsistencies carried over to this week and there were times I was disappointed with the way we were playing and the situations we got ourselves into that we could have done a better job controlling. Overall, I thought we made some improvements, but left a lot out there that we need to get better at. I really like our team. I like the way they approach practice each week, their attitude, the humility that they display in victory knowing there are things we can still do better. They come back and get to work on those things the very next day and take our coaching. I think the leadership has been great in and out of the locker room."
Â
(Ref.: On playing against The Citadel's option offense)
"I don't know that their option is a whole lot different than ours. It is very similar to what all of us do in this offense and I think that those two games that you mentioned are just examples of what a team that runs this offense can do by controlling the ball and being so different from what defenses are used to defending. The same with our defense. I think there is this idea that our defense is going to be better at playing against the triple option because we face it every day in practice and that we aren't going to be good against other offenses because we don't get to see other offenses in practice. The fact is, we don't practice against each other. We have scout teams that practice our opposing team's offense against our defense and the opposing team's defense against our offense. That is what we practice all week. It isn't a scrimmage. Perhaps there are places where that is done. We do have some interaction. We do some one-minute offense stuff with our starting offense against our starting defense, but there is carry over to wherever we play with that and very little, if any, interaction with us running our base offense against our defense. Our defense has to change gears and kind of get back into that option defense mode. We do that in preseason camp because we scrimmage in preseason camp and that at least gives us a base for what we are going to do and in preparing for the other academy games. Again, having only one week (to prepare) is a challenge for our defense."Â
Â
(Ref.: on the defense's success this season)
"I think Coach Woody and the defensive staff are doing a great job with really having our guys prepared. What has been a pleasant surprise is how well they've played with not having had any spring practice. Really the first time for Coach Woody and the staff to kind of be able to implement this defense on the field was during those late summer walkthroughs that the NCAA approved just before camp started. So, I think they've done a great job. Our kids are playing really hard and they are working hard to learn the defense and take the defense another step this week. That has really been a positive for us. But it is a team game and controlling the ball and keeping the ball away from opponents is something we strive to do on offense, which I hope helps us play better defense. I think if you look at years past, there are seasons where we finished in the top ten in total defense in the country when Jay Peyton was here. A lot of that was the team concept. We played the fewest number of snaps on defense in the country and it allowed us to be fresh and it allowed us to save some calls for later moments in the game when we didn't have to empty the playbook on defense in the first half. I was looking at the scores of the Georgia game and the box score, obviously I am interested in them because of my cousin Todd (Monken) being there, I think they had seven possessions in the first quarter and a half. We get seven possessions in a game sometimes. I think having the philosophy that it is a team game really helps. Our defense helps our offense be better and our offense helps our defense be better. I couldn't be more pleased with the job that Coach Woody is doing with the staff and the players on that side of the ball."Â
Â
(Ref.: On the impact Jon Rhattigan has had this season)
"He's doing a great job. I'm really excited for Jon and happy with the way he's playing. He's making a lot of plays, a lot of tackles. He's very physical. He's been a tremendous special teams guy for us in years past. And was able to make his way into the starting role after playing behind Cole Christiansen and Arik Smith the last couple of years. He's a first time starter as a senior. I think he's really taking advantage of the opportunity and playing really, really hard and really well."
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