Omaha daily bee., 1906-08-26
enough to warrant them IN adopting mass
play ~ the backbone Of their offense."

bids the bringing back Of the line OF the
guards and tackles IL IL very obvious 90
see how this rule will work out. he says
because II virtually prevents just the men
who have made mass play successful from
participating In Il. Instead Of apportioning
the strain OF the rushing game on 1--WE
or more men. henceforth II will have 20 be
left to the three backs. says Reid, who
Is Of the opinion that under the new con-
ditions the ends will be unable seriously
to head on mass plays. One Of the new
rules which permits OF the bringing back
OF any rusher Ave yards behind the line
seemed 10 many to leave loophole for the
profitable execution OF the undesirable mass
play. Reid. however, makes a plausible
refutation OF this argument when he says
that ''the FIVE yard requirement will prevent
heavy men from being brought back for
MAS playa since a heavy man, especially
II slow. starting from such a distance
behind the line. cannot get to the line
quickly enough to be effective Further
more, 81 u hardly likely to be good policy
TO use heavy line man to push a lighter
man ahead Of him In a mass play, for It
has been demonstrated time and again
that where a tackle has endeavored to
push a half back through the line the back
might figure In an important manner In
possible mass formations. but Reid be-
lieves that such a course would not be
feasible for the reason that with the on
side kick and the forward pass the ends
are likely to have even more running and
open field work to do than ever, with the
result that the coaches will be unwilling
to work them still harder. Greater
activity will be at a premium on the ends"
he says, "and as this activity is rare in
combination with other necessary qualities
II is fair to assume thai a good pair OF
ends will be saved as much as possible"
%
Some of the other rules which the Har.
ward coach thinks will deal a death-blow
to mass play, are that which forbids play.
ers to hurdle the line feet frst, that pro-
viding that a runner shall be considered
down when any portion Of his hands or
feet touches the ground and that prevent
ing the interlocking OF legs. In summing
up the total legislation aimed against
that style of play, Reid says: 1T seems
reasonably certain that we shall have
much less of II, but II will undoubtedly
be used in the. attempt at making a yard
or so on the third down. in order to re-
tain possession of the ball. but 1t will
probably not be adopted as the salient
fe=s1re of the offense." The forward
pass, in the opinion of the crimson coach,
will be nowhere near so effective in OPEN
ing up play as the onside kick. He offers
many reasons for this. all of them leading
practically to the belief that the passes
in most cases will be SO uncertain as 10
make the results almost "a gamble, He
expects to see only an occasional long
pass, with perhaps many short ones. The
on-side kick. on the other hand. he states,
does not present any serious risks 1t
will be possible for any one on the often
sive side to recover the ball at any time
so long as It first touches the ground.
1t is practically understood that little
change will be made in the route used
last year for the Vanderbilt cup race
Chairman Jefferson De Mont Thompson
intends to make a personal inspection this
week of the Long Island roads over which
last years race was held. improvements
are likely to be made at the dangerous
Albertson curve, where Foxhall Keene's
car ran into the telegraph pole in taking
the turn at a high rate of speed. That
the manufacturers who have entered cars
for the elimination trials to pick the
American team do not anticipate any
radical change Is clearly seen by the large
number of training quarters that have
already been secured for the drivers and
assistants who will manage the fifteen
cars entered for the American teaIa.
Quarters were rented for the Pope-Toledo
stan several weeks ago. Quarters have
also been retained for the Matheson. Odds
mobile, Apperson, Frayer-Miller, and
Thomas cars. George H. Robertson, who
Is to drive the new Apperson car in the
Vanderbilt cup race, reports that the car
Is finished The three Thomas cars are
also practically completed, and soon after
the arrival OF Callois and lie Blon, who
are to drive two of them, the cars Will
be sent to Long Island. The eight and
twelve-cylinder Maxwell cars are being
completed at the Tarrytown factory. The
entire engine of the eight-cylinder car is
finished, and 10 being tested in the factory.
This engine represents the combination of
two Of the regular four-cylinder engines
used in the Maxwell touring car, with
slight variations in the oiling system and
reductions in the size of the castings 30
a. to bring the machine we'll below the
weight limit The twelve-cylinder car
Is about ready to be assembled. In the
construction of the parts a great saving
has been affected by making some OF the
rods and other portions very light. Ernest
Keller hopes to get the Oldsmobile racer
early in September. He will remain in New
York City until the car is shipped, out
meanwhile he will keep in training oy
practicing on the Empire City track
While practically all of the foreign cars
that are entered are completed, Some
changes will be made to most OF those
designed for the Vanderbilt cup race.
The wire wheels that proved fatal to the
Hotchkiss cars In the Grand Prix will
be taken on OF the car that Elliott B.
Shepard Is to drive. and stronger wheels
Substituted
The foot ball seaso mis- less than q month
on. Before the college gates open the isplr-
anita for pigskin fame win be back In the
old. familiar field. running, punting. taekling
the dummy and sweating withal in an effort
to get muscles that have been lazy all
summer accustomed to old-time bumps and
bruises. BY the time the doors swing wide
to admit the hungry horde Of seekers after
knowledge these self-made athletes will
have been groomed and brushed in readi-
ness 10 exhibit themselves In preliminary
contests upon the battlefield before the
admiring. but less athletic students. The
preliminary season begins Saturday, Sep
tember 2, with q few contests by minor
colleges. The big universities do not fall