kyle,
two of Army's players left the team today, including their starting RB...I just got this info...
Coach clarifies what he meant when saying the team 'quit'
Coach Stan Brock with his Army players.AP
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AP
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By
Sal Interdonato
Times Herald-Record
September 12, 2008
Bye weeks are supposed to be quiet times, when football teams recover and regroup.
Army's off-week has been anything but silent.
Coach Stan Brock's comments after a 28-10 loss to New Hampshire Saturday — which included the words "quit," "heart" and "backbone" — are still a hot topic among fans and alumni, and two highly regarded players — freshman quarterback Paul McIntosh and sophomore running back Pat Mealy — have left the team.
Brock responded to a number of issues surrounding his program in a wide-ranging interview Thursday.
The second-year head coach credited his seniors and captains for keeping the team together and motivated and clarified his comments Saturday.
"When I say that I see some players quit, it's not like they lay down and took a nap on the sidelines," Brock said. "There's also the mental aspect, and the mental aspect is what I'm more concerned of, when you can see some, very few, but their demeanor is that the game is over and we lost before it's over. That is my point.
"I probably shouldn't have used the word quit because they believe you just lay down and it's all over. In my opinion, if you made up in your mind — this game is over and we can't win — that is the part I want to remove from our team. I want guys to believe you are in the game all the way through it and that it's never over."
Players are trying to put the first two games behind them.
"We said in the locker room after the game and over the weekend, we don't know exactly what's going on but something has to change," said senior linebacker John Plumstead, a team captain. "We came out flat against New Hampshire, and we forgot this is a game that's supposed to be fun.
"We came out this week hootin' and hollerin' and having a good time."
Brock has built a reputation as a good motivator among his players. He's focused his efforts on changing the losing mentality at West Point. But when the word "quit" is used at West Point, it can raise eyebrows.
"It's taken personally, I don't care where you are," Brock said. "That's not something that anybody would want to be associated with. It's not like anyone took their shoulder pads off and walked off the field. The mental part of it, they believed that this game is over and we had no opportunity to win. That's something I don't condone and as a player, I didn't want teammates to think that way. It's just a few. You are never talking to the whole group."
When asked if he was reprimanded by his superiors — athletic director Kevin Anderson and superintendent Franklin Hagenbeck — for his comments, Brock said, "What I said and what has been quoted are two totally different things. What I said was there were some players who I felt quit and what was quoted is different from that. I've been asked to clarify what I said because they read it somewhere else."
Is his team in turmoil?
"I strongly disagree with that," said Brock, whose team has started the season with two straight home losses.
Brock also received a vote of confidence from Anderson at a press conference Wednesday about Army's affiliation with the EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C.
"People who know where this football program is and where it's going are the guys that are associated with us all the time.," Brock said. "The players we have here and the coaching staff we have here, we're in a challenging situation and these kids are getting ready to answer the bell."
In fact, Brock said Army's best practices have come this week. Have McIntosh and Mealy's departures affected the team?
"No, I don't," Brock said. "We've had excellent practices and we'll have another one today, I'm sure. The kids are totally committed to winning."
Any lingering issues about his comments were talked out in a team meeting Sunday, Brock said. He also said no suspensions or benchings were issued following the loss to New Hampshire.
"We have open discussions and we talk," Brock said. "We have a 24-hour rule and we go. I think the captains and the seniors have done a great job of setting an example for everybody in how we practice. I think it's real good and real positive."
And it's never crossed Brock's mind if he has lost his team.
"That's not happening," Brock said. "These kids are the greatest kids in the world. There's no problem with that."
not a good situation ... thanks everyone for input on this crapper of a game .. i can eliminate this game now.
