El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-09-24
The Forward Pass and Some
of the Other Features
Of the Game.
CBy Tad Jones, Famous Coach and For
mer Yale Starr

mer Yale Starr
NV 7 What the game of football is
. W. coming to since the last bick-
ering with the rules is very
grave question and one that will not be
answered until the season is well ad-
vanced.
Part of the legislation makes for the
betterment of the game beyond a
doubt, but another part seems to be
uncaIled for After careful study
however, it seems that fewer and less
serious injuries will be an assured fact
and if such is the case the changes
will have accomplished a very great
good.
To the spectator the game will be
very much the same as the old one
with few exceptions. The legislation
in regard to the forward pass and on
side kick has made those plays so
complex that even the coaches and Of
ficials will have a difficult time as
pertaining just whether they are legal.
Divided Into Four Periods.
The game is now divided into four
periods of fifteen minutes each, sixty
minutes in all, with the usual intermis
sion Of fifteen minutes between the
second and third periods, but three
minute intermiSSion only between the
first and second and third and fourth
periods. During these short intermis-
sions no player is allowed to leave the
field, nor any representative come on
the field excepting the one who looks
after the physical condition OF me
players. This bit of legislation may
and may not be productive of good re-
suits. 1t should make fewer injuries
but it is a question as to its effect on
the game, and many are they who be-
lieve the rule affecting substition suf-
ficient. This rule makes it legal to
return a player to the game at the be-
ginning of any subsequent period, pro-
vided that the player has been remov-
ed for causes other than Disqualified
ton or suspension 1t is surely a fact
that a march down the field usually
takes more time than fifteen minutes
and some of the very prettiest plays
seen on the gridiron have been to-
ward the ends of the halves when the
players realize that the time is becom-
ing very short
Periods are short.
The players should not become ex-
hausted playing such short periods
and accidents such as occurred TO Ca
det Byrne in the Harvard West Point
game last fall Will never occur, for
Byrne was completely exhausted by
the heavy hammering he had received
at the hands of the Harvard backs
before the accident happened
1t is just this kind of thing that the
rule of four periods will prevent but
the same results might have been &C
complished by the substitution of
players, which is also permitted The
great trouble with the rule affecting
substitution is that it makes possible
a great deal Of "jockeying" However,
the spirit of both changes was good,
and we hope the results will be like
wise.
Forward Pass.
The forward pass came in for its
share of notoriety, with the result that
it is now limited to 20 yards. To be
more exact the ball may now be
passed by the side getting the ball in
play, the pass being legal, providing
the player when making the pass is at
least four yards behind the line of
scrimmage and the ball does not
travel q distance greater than 30 yards
beyond the defensive line of scrim-
mage The ball may now cross the
scrimmage line at any point the old
five-yard restriction being removed
The players eligible to receive the
pass are the same as those under the
old rules-namely the men at the end
of the line and those behind the line
of scfimmage. This legislation in con-
nection with the forward pass will. in
all probability, make a big difference