Low point this season

[Coach MC]

I have felt for quite a while that we were facing a perfect storm this year of a really tough schedule, new unproven offense, lack of size and athleticism on both lines, and an unsettled QB situation that would make this season the low point of Jeff Monken's tenure thus far. I was right. But I also maintained that I saw the needle pointing up on this program for the future. I'm starting to look foolish on that prediction. I hope that's not the case moving forward.

To go over 100 minutes or whatever it was without scoring is an utter embarrassment. What happened at LSU was really hard to watch. After a good game against UTSA and being competitive against Syracuse (for a half) and BC, the bottom has fallen out. Some of that could be the residual effect of wear and tear and being down after some tough losses, etc but what I'm watching now is shoddy play in all three phases. We look like an FCS team, and a middling one at that.

I've coached receivers, but I'll leave the offensive side of the ball to the other posters. I know many are critical of the offensive switch. I truly did not want to switch from the under center triple option based scheme either, but I was willing to give this a try. I even thought this new guy we brought in could be a bright young mind in the business. Maybe this could still work. But the first thing you learn as a coach is that your personnel changes often, and while you can carry a particular system from place to place, you have to adapt it to your current personnel. I don't like a lot of the play calling I've seen. This has been and always should be a run based scheme, and we need to hang our hat on that. The few times we have run true triple option out of this, it hasn't looked bad. But everything inside the tackle boxes is precisely what we did last year and it was not good. Fullback dive and QB keep is predictable and easy to defend. We need to get the QB on the boundary at times, run some pitch, and utilize more jet sweep and maybe a reverse or two. Calling passing plays on obvious running downs has probably cost us a game or two tbh. Add to that the fact that we are so mixed up on the offensive line. Guys are missing blocks, blowing assignments, and not communicating at all.

Defensively is where I'm tuned in, and what I see ain't good. No matter what some stats may say, we have not been effective on that side of the ball. At all. When opposing teams run on you with impunity, that''s a pride thing. For many years, teams could pass vertically on us, but not run on us. It's about flying to the ball, putting a hat on people, and winning individual assignments. And first man to the ball should finish the job. But not this year. Our three down linemen are undersized and consistently blown off the ball. But their job in this defense has always been to occupy gaps and blockers, freeing the linebackers and secondary to flow to the ball. It is here that we have an epic fail. I've said for weeks the run fits are atrocious, and JM said exactly that in his halftime interview this week. Watch closely next few games. You will see our back 8 consistently run to the wrong gaps. They are not assignment sound at all. Rather than flow to an open hole where ball carriers will be, they literally run to engage with a blocker and get caught in the wash. I've seen our back 8 abandon their assignment to run to a spot where we literally have another defender engaged with a blocker. We have a safety and several linebackers who are consistently in the wrong place, which is why we have given up so many big runs this year. Too many arm tackles and missed attempts, lot of yards after contact. Need to go back to fundamentals. Break down, wrap, drive through the numbers. And either change the scheme, or recruit some fast, strong, tough sob's who fit your vision.

I don't even know what to say about the punting. Forget all the shanks we have seen, especially in crunch time. The attempt to run was something I could not believe I was seeing. With all the kids in this program, do we not have a backup. I've seen us switch placekickers mid year before, why not punters. I even suggested an open tryout if that's what it takes.

I've said many times Jeff Monken has taken us from irrelevance to a place at the table during his time here. CIC trophies and bowl games. But I think our coaching has been poor this year. This team looks ill prepared in all three phases. Fewest penalties in the country is an accomplishment, but leading the country in turnovers is ridiculous. I hate to see this, but I question our team's football IQ. I've seen decisions on the field that should be football 101, but are adventures. If you really want to be tough, go back to the fundamentals. Reteach ball security, assignment sound football, and tackling technique. And if kids don't respond or make the same mistakes over and over, replace them. JM has been here a long time. Sometimes things get stale. But the last two years or so, JM hasn't looked like himself. Not just his appearance, but his demeanor. Much more reserved, not as fiery or emotional, very muted. That is where the coordinators and assistants have to pick it up. They have to be great. I agree with P & D about putting guys in their area of specialty, and making sure people are truly qualified.

The teaching is important no doubt, but it will also come down to recruiting. We probably have close to 200 kids in the program, but there is a lot of redundancy. Lot of kids with similar size and athleticism profiles, and we need more talent. Have to go recruit kids who are advanced athletically, because with the exception of the prep year, we don't have transfers and older players who are more finished products entering our program. In addition to the large coaching staff, we have 3 different directors of football ops, a director of player personnel, a director of recruiting, and 2 on campus recruiting coordinators. They all need to pick up the pace. And for goodness sake, get into New Jersey. It's given you Jimmy Ciarlo, Isaiah Alston, Kanye Udoh, Smart the freshman center, and Casey Larkin. So much talent there, you wouldn't believe it. It is about establishing relationships with HS coaches. Army has so much to offer. Put me on the payroll JM, I'll make sure you have a huge presence in my state!

This is not an easy fix. Our AD in short order has now extended our head coach and joined a new conference. Probably not the ideal time to have a season like this. And watching Rice battle Tulane, this conference won't be that easy on a lot of nights. Time for JM to remodel this thing, hold his coaches and players accountable, and get us back where we belong. It can be done, and I hope it gets done.

[Coach MC]

Meant to say Small the freshman center.