The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-04

ponents who have not crossed their own line of scrimmage.
 About Forward Passes
 | A forward pass is not legal if 1t goes
 more than 20 yards over the line of scrimmage, but an onside kick does not become an onside kick, that is, does not put men onside unless the ball goes 20 yards beyond the scrimmage line. In running down under punts the opposing side cannot interfere unless the players have passed the 20-yard zone. After they | have passed this 20 yards then the de- | fense may obstruct their opponents, aim | ing to tackle the man carrying the ball. Interlocked interference is forbidden and the man carrying the ball cannot
 De pushed or pulled by his team mates.
 neither can they interlock or grasp any | part of the other players bodies in or 1 der to prevent a compact ram-like at- | tack. Crawling has also been prohibited. | Lastly when a player makes tackle | he must have at least one foot on t3 | ground. Thus the diving tackle is prac- | tically done away with. True, the dan | ger to legs and ankles arising from an | Impact such as usually accompanied the diving tackle is practically done away | with. or at least mini1nized but 1 believe that still greater danger lies in the
 use of the "one foot on the ground'
 tackle, especially to the vital parts of
 
 and chest, both of which will come into
 active play in trying to stop an object l like man in motion. It was not the | diving tackle, but the mass plays con | tlnually over a weakened spot where scores of men billed on a defenseless
 player that have been so injurious in the. past With the diving tackle, one man ! in the large majority of eases could bring
 down a runner with comparatively little
 danger to either party, but now 1t will be practically necessary for tackler
 to let his man come up to him and bump him over or run up to runner and l jump on his neck and pull him down. | If one man is not strong enough to pull
 the runner down, several will try with
 the result that eventually the runner
 will fall with mass of men on top
 of him, thus producing mass play out
 of a tackle.
 do not think that the diving tackle | is doomed and I expect to see 1t used | in several instances this coming sea-
 son even though 1t will be penalized and
 really I would not be surprised to see 1t
 back in the game within few years.
 However, time will tell.
 OHense and Defence
 | After considering the above changes | the question arises, Has the offense and
 defense been strengthened or weakened?
 Theoretically speaking, this is hard
 question to answer. Let us consider first
 those points which will strengthen the | offense and second those which will | strengthen the defense.
 | First. we have the rule allowing a run
 her with the ball to go through the | line of scrimmage at any point such as
 the quarterback This most assuredly is
 a point in favor of strengthening the
 offense. Then, the rule allowing the for
 ward pass to be made over any part of | the line of scrimmage. Is another point | on the same side Also the protection
 afforded men in the 20-yard zone, after
 they have crossed their own line of scrim-
 mage in going down under a forward | pass or on-sde kick Is decided ad- | vantage to the offensive.
 From the opposite standpoint we nave | the rule which compels the offensive team | to have seven men on the line Of scrlm- | mage at all time This naturally takes one of their men away from an on-side | kick and forward pass or an end run | and, therefore, naturally weakens the | offense and strengthens the derense
 Again, no interlocked interference cer-
 tainly will strengthen the defense and in | the case where a man has to hit the | line unassisted and alone 1t Is hardly necessary to state that the offensive will | be weakened. As dragging and crawling
 have both been prohibited, 1t can nat
 urally be seen that here agaln the oe- | fense has been strengthened
 Everything considered, it appears as If
 the rules committee has evened up mat | ters pretty fairly with perhaps slight | advantage on the side of the stronger
 offense. However, the big problem which | coaches all over the country will have
 to pace Is the development of defense
 which will be capable of meeting the
 many styles of offense which will be
 evolved from the new rules.
 Time Must Tell
 | The committee which framed the rules
 claim that the new system will give the
 smaller colleges fairer chance to com
 pete on equal terms with their larger | rivals; that the dangers of the game
 will be lessened and that from spec tators' standpoint of view the game will
 be much more interesting. Whether or | not these much hoped for conditions will
 be true will rest with the way the new
 rules work when put to the practical test and the football fiends will await anxious | ly the first opportunity to see them In | operation. It is needless to say that rom xh. ~,o,a opan character of the game a