The Washington herald., 1910-11-01
Coach Bill Roper Talks About
PrincetOn'S Football Eleven

a criticism Of the Princeton football
team by Head Coach ". w. Roper was
published in the Daily Princetoniaa last
week. Il reads as follows.
'The policy Of the football manage
ment this year has been 10 develop the
team slowly, with a view 10 reaching TOP
form on the day Of the Yale game.
While il has been realized that. in view
of the past few seasons Princeton must
win all her games in order 10 get back
on the football map, stu no attempt has
been made 10 push the offense 10 the
detriment Of the final game.
"All fall great stress has been laid on
tackliHg and falling on the ball. two
fundamental points as important under
the new rules as under the old. The
tackling as the season progresses has
shown a marked Improvement and tile
men follow the bali we'll As vet. how
ever, the offense does not play together
we'll enough and the plays are run on
often raggedly
The one thing that stands out promi-
nentiy this year is the splendid physical
condition OF the team. In every game
the men have left the field playing better
az the end than at the start. and would
have always been able. had they been
called upon, 10 stand another half This
auBurs well for the championship game.
where condition often wins or loses the
game. The hospital list has been very
small The few injuries received have
been entirely Of the minor sort, and not
in a rffe ba.
left the field on account OF injury.
This speaks volumes for the new
rules and for the excellent supervision
Of Mr. Fitzpatrick. I might add that
the players enjoy the game more than
ever before
ITO my mind the team at the present
date is weaker defensively than often
sively. The linemen fail TO diagnose the
plays quickly. and are often charged back
by their opponents. The ends also are
weak in protecting the wings from end
plays. OF the men who have PLAYED reg
ularly on the team SO far / can say
honestly that every man IS doing his best
There are some points, however which
will have 10 be corrected in order to turn
out finished team as the result OF this
falls work. Bluethenthal at center Is
aggressive, but has a tendency 10 charge
on the defensive before diagnosing a
play. In the main, his passing is good.
though once in a while he slips I'D on
this important point. On the offense he
often fails 10 charge his man quickly
enough.
Wilson, at left guard. knows the game
thoroughly and can be depended upon.
At the present moment lack Of condition
is his greatest handicap. Mclean, at the
other guard, is one of the hardest workers
on the team. On the defense he fails TO
diagnose the play and is often fooled by
the opposing backs. His greatest weak
ness, however. is his defensive charging.
MaCgregOr at tackle is a hard worker
and knows the game well. His weakness
on the defense is stopping line plays di-
rected between guard and tackle Hart,
at the other tackle. is a tower OF strength
on the offense. His taking a position in
the line has quickened the offensive power
of the team 100 per cent.
The backfield is one of the fastest we
have had in Princeton In years. The backs
run hard and keep their feet in splendid
style. Their greatest weakness Is their
open-field defense and their failure to
take men on the interference. Ballou's
kicking, so far. has stood out promi-
nently, but as yet he fails to run the
team quite fast enough
1t is hard to make any prediction as
TO the final outcome of the season. ex-
cept 10 say that I believe that the squad
as a whole understands what is required
of them, and l believe that / am correct
in saying that il viii be a good team
that defeats the Princeton team this
fall"