The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-11-29
TACTICS SIZED up
FOOTBALL TEAMS OF THE
WEST
MICHIGAN MOST PROGRESSIVE
Minnesota Considered TOO Slow,
Speed Being Sacrificed for Beef
Illinois 0ne-sian
Team.

The football expert of the Chicago Daily
News sizes up the years performance
thus:
During the past season football in the
West has advanced steadily. New plays
have been originated, formations tried
for the first time last year have been de-
veloped into consistent ground gamers
and the game in general has braced up
considerably, in spite Of dirty politics
that some of the Western institutions
have attempted to practice.
Michigan, under the tutelage Of F. II.
Yost, must be given credit for making
the greatest advances in the gridiron
game of the season. Wisconsin, the only
rival of the Wolverines for superiority in
the West, has not developed anything
new or startling in the football world,
but has chung closely to the traditienai
straight football tactics and was satisiied
with finishing off a veteran team that
has the grit and stability for the hardest
and most '.grueiing" of games.
YoSt's greatest success with the Ana
Arbor eleven has been in developing an
extremely fast offense, a style of game
that takes it's opponents off their feet al
most from the start of the struggle. I4le
Maize and Blue team lines up as fast as
the men can get to their positions ana
they are off again, hitting the opposing
line almost before the men have assumed
their positions and before they are set
for the contact. Another department or
the game that has been used by Yost
this season is the quarterback kick. He
is almost alone in this departure in the
West, but believes that if properly USED
Woodruff's idea is a good one. The
Michigan team is the only one in the
West that mas used the play successfully
this season. Yost has taught his msh
an almost incredible number of plays and
formations 1t is said that they have
learned over sixty different signals. many
Of which are trick plays. In this depart
ment of the game the Wolverines are too
strong making them an exceedingly
dangerous enemy even to the best OF
elevens.
DR.. Harry L. Williams has taught his
team from Minnesota variety or plays
and formations, but has sacrificed speed
for beef, with the result that the team is~
slow and ponderous. Against an oppes.ns
eleven as slow their mass plays would
be crushing, but they count for little
against men who are fleet of foot. though
lighter, and who succeed in not only
breaking up, interference but tackling the
man with the ball. The ''ends-over''
formation, in which the end and tackle,
and sometimes even the guard, on one
side are shifted to the other side ana
the whole back field moved over, is Il
favorte of the Gophers. Stage says this
is a puzzling play in that it is almost
impossible to tell at what point the al
tack will be made and to know what man
has the ball. but in this they are also
too SLOW Trick plays have been used to
some extent, but for the most part Mln-
nesota depends upon smashing the op-
posing line and breaking it down by sheer
force of strength and weight, IN winch
they have signally failed.
Northwestern has stuck steadfastly to
it's tandem formation, In spite of all OPP
position. 1t is said that DR.. HOLSTER
was on the point of giving it UP and
resorting to the more orthodox football
formations when Harvard adopted it
and defeated Yale through its line
smashing qualities With the right men
in it Holster maintains that the tandem
is ground gaining formation, but that
with two or three exceptions the purple
eleven has not played with those men In
the ranks. Capt. c. E. Dietz, 6. 0. D1etz
and Johnson are the men assigned by
HOLSTER to play the tandem Johnson's
weight is so little that it adds nothing to
the efficiency of the line-bucking ability,
but gives an opportunity for a greater
diversity of play Both the DietZ boys
are so slow that against a fast team they
do not accomplish as much as they do
against a heavier but more ponderous
aggregation This accounts, to large
extent. for the showing of Northwest
ern against the Minnesota eleven last
Saturday
Prof Stage has not originated any new
play this season, but he has developed
one that he used last season with fatal
eff ATiahipan-fha a.
back" Like HOLSTERS tandem, it re-
auires just the right material to make
the ''Whoa- back a success, and this
has not been forthcoming at Chicago this
season. For this reason Stage has not
developed his offense as he has his de-
fense though with that part Of the game
fairly we'll in hand, he has now turned
to offense, and expects to make W1scon-
sin hustle in the Thanksgiving game.
Illinois has one-man team. In spite
of all statements to the contrary, every
thing about the Champaign team is based
on Jake Stahl, who is undoubtedly the
greatest individual player in the West
at present. There are other good men
on the Illinois team, but the greatest
portion of their work is to furnish Stahl
with the proper interference in his Off
fensive work. In plays Illinois uses
form of the guards-back formation,
drawing Stanl DaCk Oh the line. 1uey
resort to a few trick plays and depend
principally on straight work to net them
the necessary five yards in three downs.
Iowa, under DIR. Knipe'S administration,
holds fast to the guards back, as taught
by Woodruff at Pennsylvania, where
Knipe received his football education.
During the first of the season the Hawk
eyes were regarded as strong aggrega-
ton, but the disqualification of Capt
Clyde Williams disorganized them, and
it was also found in the guards-back
that the loss of Little and Warner, who
headed that formation last year, was irr
reparable, and the team slumped from
the top of the ladder almost to Chicago
level.
Western football teams, with the ex
ception Of Michigan, have, according to
this summary, made few actual changes
from the ideas of the past. Great inter-
est is displayed by followers in the sport
and 1t Is in as great favor with the pub
lie as ever.