The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-11-16
Yale Eleven Is
 Better Than The Harvard Team Now
Coach Robinson of Brown De- clares Eli Squad Ha, Slight
 Advantage at Present

Edward N. Robinson. coach of the
 Brown team which has played both
 Harvard and Yale compares the two teams in the following article publish
 ed in the Boston Globe: If the big game were to be played
 tomorrow I should choose Yale as
 having the better chance to be re-
 turned a winner I do not think Har- ward has been advancing since her Brown game two weeks ago, while
 Yale is at least attempting to play so-called new football. The day has passed when team can hope to gain first downs which lead up to touch- downs, by sticking to a set offense that will enable the defensive team to arrange its defense accordingly as- sumlng of course that the teams are balanced physically and have the same knowledge of football Ten yards to make a first down, is quite proposition for a team to gain when the opposing one has the time and op portunity to figure what play Is to be used and on which side it is coming.
 Yale has adopted a very shifty sys- tenn of offense which, if carried out intelligently, is bound to bother any team. Harvard, up to this time, is still clinging to the old tackle over shift, which loses it's value by being executed so slowly that set defense can be prepared for any play that may be run off.
 Brown played very poor football against Harvard and had so many in- experienced men that the team was at continual disadvantage on account of fumbles and penalties, yet only in the first five minutes did Harvard show an offense that could carry the ball 15 yards to the goal line.
 Harvard played very spirited foot ball against Brown and deserved great deal of credit for it was that never-let-up that was partly respon- sible for Browns many mistakes and the close following of the ball that made a score of 20-6 possible. But fum- bies and stage fright can not be de- pended on to win a Yale game. Yale has not yet been showing the fight and dash that will come by the time of the Harvard game. If anything Yale seems stronger on defense, although Brown did not rush very much and made the mistake of kicking on second down. hoping Yale would give an Opportun- ity in her own territory, but the chance never came, as Howe made few mistakes in handling punts, although the Brown line got down the field much faster than against Harvard.
 Bringing the two teams down to a comparative basis with their Brown games as a standard, Harvard showed. more spirit against Brown than any Harvard team in recent years, and it seems to me that there is smore of that never say die spirit than at Yale, and if 1t can keep increasing until the Yale game it will help some. Yale did not manifest this same spirit but it may be due to a large extent to the lack of familiarity with the plays and it is always safe to figure that she will be there in the liar yard game
 Physically the two teams are about equal, with Yale having slight ad- vantage in weight, which may count on a wet field, and I will wager she won't be caught with short cleats as in the West Point game. So far as the technique of the game is concerned, Harvard has the advantage with a settled backfeld and a line that all though new is nevertheless composed of experienced men. Any advantage Yale may have in the line is evened by the inexperience of the backfeld. If Potter is injured early in the game it will hurt, and of course the same chance as he is apparently in splen- did physical condition. Individually, Fisher, Smith and Leslie ought to more than hold their own on the Harvard line, with very little balance in Yale's favor in the showed the effects of his recent in jury and did not play like an All American tackle against Brown Ket- cham at center for Yale is the best man in the line and was generally down the field ahead of his ends Nc Dewitt at right guard is heavy and strong, but not very shifty and rath- CT slow.
 "In the backf1eld Yale has nobody that can equal Wendell, and with the exception of Howe, seems somewhat unsettled as to what is the best com bination, while at Harvard, the con- ditions are more settled and Hunting ton and Reynolds will probably line up with Wendell when the whistle blows.
 'tCollectively, Harvard showed bet ter team play against Brown than did Yale, but this can be corrected in two weeks and as stated above Yale Is probably experimenting with new plays which the men were not familiar with and the whole team lacked sureness on that account, while Harvard used
 the plays made standard by use the | last two years.
 Summing the situation up in Few words, there are two teams of about
 the same ability and experience, both
 knowing the sting of defeat. tYala eager and willing to adopt anything
 new, even though it comes from out side sources, Harvard more cOnserva- tive, and for that reason not likely to improve as fast as Yale.
 Taking into consideration also how many gooc and even great Harvard teams have stopped before reaching the goal line, one must draw the con- clusion that at this time, judging by the game each played against Brown, Yale is the choice. If Harvard will