The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-12-05
FOOTBALL RULES
ARE ALL WRONG
John B. Foster Summarizes
the Faults and Names a
Few Cures

Writing in the New York Evening
Telegram. John B. Foster, sporting
editor OF that publication, suggests
the following interesting plan for
making s~orely-needed improvements
In h game of football:
Three years of careful observation
under the new rules have proven that
It Is almost impossible to gain ten
yards on downs.
That being the case the problem of
distance gaining might almost as we'll
resorting to nothing but a kicking
game.
Three years Of review Of impor-
tant football games. play by play.
has shown that the general maxi
mum Of gain by rushing is seven
yards. Eight yards is possible. nine
yards occasional and ten yards infre-
gains have not been over six yards.
Such being the case. 1t would APP
pear that eight yards. would be a
tairer test for the attack Of elevens
than ten yards. 1t Is as easy to lay
II a gridiron 112 yards long, separ-
atsd by eight yard zones as 1t Is to
stick to the ITO yard gridiron.
Re~volutionized Sport
When the new football was shaped
by the rules committee 1t was not
until long after the agitation had
WheN the changes were made. the
committee went after the rules with
a broadsword and did not stop I'M
til features had been introduced into
the sport which revolutionized 1t.
All l~astives to be fair to the par
Elephants should be equally balanced.
Particularly is this true Of a sport
like football. There should be as
much In favor of the team which is
.s in favor Of the team which is try
ing to defend the goal, all other
things being equal.
This is not the case at the present
time. For some seasons the writer
has kept a. record of the "play by the
olay game" Of the colleges In the east.
Part Of thu record has had to do with
varsity games and some of 1t hat had
to do with games at the smaller col
leges. The object of the record was to
try to ascertain something like the
GENERAL distance which was being
gained on towns.
When The football rules were
changed oae Of the first indications
which bees me manifest was that most
make ten yards on downs. 1t was
thought this would apply more to the
smaller colleges than to the larger. 1t
was quickly perceived that the larger
universities we're no better off than
their SIN aller contemporaries in that
respect ri-r ~
Abused on It's Face
II teii yards was too much to be
gained on downs it seemed evident
that tie game was a failure. for that
in the world Is the use of trying again
and sgain an impossible play? 1t Is
absutd on the face of 1t.
TIE ten-yard gain was adopted be-
cause the rulemakers wished to get
away from mass play. That was good
ing to get away from mass play they
imposed a handicap on a football
eleven which makes the game n of
hazards which are to be expected
through the plumbers Of one Of the
contending teams. and not a game to
he won by the superior football play
of rivals evenly matched.
It is quite true that this would not
apply where one eleven was much
stronger than another but that has
nothing to do with the case for II n
eleven were stronger than another 1t
would win under any old rules.
The writer made an average of the
gain which was made by e%levens here
and there throughout the United
States and particularly in the east.
and ascertained that seventy-ive per
cont of the attempts to rush the ball
by plays through tackle. outside OF
tackle or in any other way In which
legitimate line breaking tactics were
in effect gained under six yards.
Much Wasted Effort
In other words, that means that
three-quarters Of these games was
wasted effort. Isn't that too much
"f a handicap for n kind of sport?
Where is h motive Of throwing away
all that time and energy. realizing
at the beginning that 1t is not likely
to amount to anything and that one
the valiant attempts OF the athletes?
1t was found. too. that an average
Of the best running was seven yards.
That means that a team nov and
then. might get between six and seven
:.ards on the third down n then dis
gustedly resort to n kick to get out
rf 81: bad situation us quickly as pos
S!hle.
Now and then eight yards was
gained. Occasionally there would be
nine yards to the credit of the attack
ing side and considering the thou
sands of attempts which were made to
rush the ball ten yards. the compile
ton OF that feat was SO i%nfrequent
that it is almost a shame to talk
about II.
Wasn't Intended
It was never intended that anything
Of that kind should result in foot
ball. 1t is too good a game for 1t.
This season there is before the foot
hall public and before the football STU
dents and critics an instance Of a team
winning a championship with a rec
ord for ground gaining. which cannot
begin to compare with that Of its
nearest rival.
Under the rules and by their smart
ness in taking advantage of them that
team is entitled to every bit of the
praise which a be accorded to 1t.
but football men say that a champion
ship which could he won under such
conditions indicates grave defects in
their sport.
Tom Shevlin of Yale. n who
knows football we'll enough to develop
plays and players. made the statement
that there is something wrong with
the game when a team can get no
credit for its attack other than to have
occasional opportunities to try a field
goal behind the twenty-five yard line.