The Washington herald., 1906-11-14


the Games of Last Saturday.
Il It is plain that as coaches. players. and
spectators grow more familiar with foot
bali as played under the revised code they
grow more enthusiastic. While some crit
les are still unwilling to declare them
selves. the consensus OF opinion is strong
/ " in favor OF the new game, which has
to large extent all the advantages Of the
old with many novel and attractive fea-
lures. The various games on Saturday
confirmed the opinion, which so many
formed the week before. that the rules are
] acceptable in the main and that the sport,
which was threatened with dissolution a
year ago. has not only been saved but
placed on a frmer and more substantial
basis than ever before. Some changes and
notifications can still be made to good ad-
vantage. notably in the 10-yard rule,
which neutralizes TO such a large extent
/ possession Of the ball, so necessary for
! scoring purposes inside the 25-yard line.
/ But II may not be wise to make any
/ changes for another year at least. as 4 set
| of rules which have met with general favor
/ in such short time is worthy Of being
! tried out to an extent not possible in one
season. The game should be allowed 10
| grow and develop slowly under the new
/ lines laid down. and those who are com
/ planning are deserving OF little considera-
/ ton. It was the purpose Of the football
| rules committee 70 build UD. and not 10
/ tear down, and il has succeeded beyond
/ the hopes Of those most loyal 70 the sport.
No amount OF tinkering viii help matters
/ for the present. Those who have ideas
/ TO advance should not be backward in ex-
/ pressing them. but they should also be
willing to wait patiently for the present
rules 20 be thoroughly thTashed out before
/ forcing them Rome was not built in a
/ day. The new football cannot be perfect
ed in "a single season. The game as now
played is open and clean, and bristles with
opportunities for spectacular situations
and strategic moves. This is the opinion
/ Of Air. d. L. Reeves, of the Philadelphia
Public Ledger, who IS considered as one
of the best authorities in America.
/ Harvard stock has risen perceptibly as
q result Of Saturdays victory over the
/ Indians Not that the game did not show
numerous imperfections in the Crimson s
( play, but that Il seemed to indicate that
the 1896 eleven is one of those typical
slowly and painfully improving teams.
reaching top form at last with rush
/ and In time TO give Yale very bad
I scare. Aside from q vast Improvement IN
/ its general play. the progress of the eleven
/ showed decidedly in the line. which aJ
fsafa z .He.
/ IL is true that the Indian forwards were
4 relatively very light, but they we're thor
0ughly versed in the fine art OF blocking
and IN breaking through. Yet Kershurg
and Burr made quick and wide openings
/ consistently, and IL was not their fault
/ that Wendell was the only Harvard back
I who could take the opening before il was
plugged by the redskins.
Parker. at center. was at the very top
Of his game. which is saying a good deal.
and even the tackles got into the play
as they have not done before this season
/ Tie protection for the Harvard backs
was high-class. and Lincoln and Lock
wood certainly needed all the protection
/ they could get. On the end Starr was in
valuable to the Crimson He is one OF
/ the best ends in the East just at present,
and if he can keep the pace, he, too viii
! rank high at the seasons close he is a
steady handler of the forward pass. and
/ has the football instinct that makes it eN-
/ tTemely dangerous TO send trick play
/ in his direction. Had he been well sup
/ ported by Mcdonald. the Indians would
rot have run back kicks as well as they
/ did. Mcdonald is not up 10 the form
I Sd
+ he extremely promising. He did fairly
good work on Saturday. but showed a
/ tendency toward cratic play. There is
lot of hard work ahead Of him if he
/ is &c held the place.
/ In the back field hardly any criticism
can be made Of Wendell. II viii take a
sitter defense than that Of the Indians
TO stop him. He finds his openings quick
! ~. keeps his feet well and is going hard
and low every step of the way The less
said about Lockwood and Lincoln the
/ better. Neither of them classed with
Wendell or with the Indian backs. They
did gain a little ground, but they were
Of no assistance TO Wendell whatever
/ showing more speed and nothing else
! NewhalTs work at quarter was encOUrag-
I ilE. AlLLFuSl ne Is 4DL Yet HlSu CLASS AZ
/ the ordinary duties Of his position. He
is thinking all the time, though and his
geueralship in Saturdays game was OF a
high order. Taken as a team, the most
/ encouraging feature Of the Crimson 5
work was its spirit. Apparently the fine
| spirit suddenly found in the Yale garmC
last year has lasted long enough 10 be
a valuable asset this season. also. Har-
ward can play new football, and play
il we'll
Brown furnishes another good line be-
tween Yale and Harvard. Harvard. 8,
Brown, D; Yale, 3; Brown, 0, were the
scores. This, following the army games
in which the scores were Harvard 5
West Point. 0; Yale, 10; West Point, 6
lead to the conclusion that between the
Crimson and the Blue there is little tc
choose this year. In both sets of games