Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-11
Is the Forward Pass Doomed?

II does not require very close student
Of foot ball TO note that the forward pass
is rapidly falling into disuse on the part
of the big foot ball teams of the country
Last year the reformers hailed this play
as the one that would open up the game
and reVolutionize the sport So it did for
"a time, but that was before the foot ball
strateg1sts had an opportunity to work
out d successful defense for it Last year
the forward pass, worked as a trick play
raised havoc in some of the most I'M
portant games of the year In the Yale
Harvard game il scored a touchdown for
the Ellis, and the same play turned the
tide Of battle in the Army-Navy game a
week later and scored a victory for the
Middies.
But this year the forward pass has not
worked as well as it ought. and not a few
of the big teams have Practically aban-
doned it for the old fashioned line plung-
ing ana end-running game. The game in
which the forward pass worked with the
most conspicuous success was the Penn
sylvania Indian contest October &c In
this game the Indians used a very long
pass. and in spite of the defense which
the coaches had planned for this particu-
lar play, 1t completely bewilde-ed the
Quakers and lost the game for them
After the game the Pennsy vania
coaches declared that the play would
never have succeeded had the members of
the Red and Blue team opposed it as they
were taught to do. One week later Prince
ton played the Indians and broke up the
Redskins forward pass with precisely the
sam" defense the Quakers had been
coached TO employ, but did not use The
way the Indians favorite play was broken
up was this: Every time the forward pass
was brought into commission the Tiger
ends and backs scurried from their places
and each selected Indian opponent and
made II his bushes to butt this rcdskin
out IF the play and prevent him from
catching the ball. The Tigers had been
instructed not to attempt to catch the
ball even if they had the opportunity
Their duty was to prevent an Indian from
either touching or catching the ball Then
if the forward pass hit the ground as it
invariably did. before any one had an OPP
portunity to touch the ball the Indians
were penalized Is yards. These pen
alties and the complete success with
which Princeton men hutted the Indians
out OF the way took all the heart out Of
the redmen. Had Pennsylvania PLAYED
the same style of game against the In
dams the results would have been the
same.
The experience Of the Professionalism
game proves Conclusive1y that the for
ward pass is a play for which a defense
can be built up to destroy it absolutely
And just as rapidly the knowledge Of
this defense spreads quickly will the
play have To be abandoned And unless
the rules committee comes to the rescue
very quickly and removes some of the
handiCaps imposed upon ire forward pass
il Will soon pass into oblivion.
There are good many foot ball critics
who claim, and with much reason. that
the forward pass is running foot ball that
il is turning it into a basket-b ball game. so
that the contest becomes little else but a
mad scramble for the ball If games are
TO be decided on f1ukes and science and
team play is thrown to the winds all be-
cause of the toward pa SIS. the quicker the
rules committee aboEshas the play or
amends it the better. This year the for
ward pass has been both a failure and a
nuisance.