The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-03
DR.. WILLIAMS
IS A REF0RMER
Minnesota Leader Suggests
Revolutionary Changes to
Ruls Committee /

New York. Feb. 3.-Several new
ideas will be sprung at the meeting OF
the rules committee by DR.. H. G.. Will
liams. the Minnesota leader. who has
come to be regarded as the most adj
vanced advocate and ~strategist of new
football in h country. One of his
ideas which has a strong appeal calls
for a new and revolutionary diagram
ming of the gridiron, but he favors
few changes in the playing rules.
Il believe that the rules as they
stand are about as near right as they
can be made and personally | have a
prejudice against further tinkering
and changes. The coaches. players
and officials are mastering the new
rules but it makes football very diff
cult for officials and players when the
code is subjected to an annual ripping
up and changing"
My objection to the present rules
lies in the fact that when W teams
are evenly or near evenly matched as
to defensive ability, one team must be
Overwhelmingly stronger on ffense to
make t~ouchdowns. The distance to be
gained in three downs is too great. 1t
requires a team enjoying a tremendous
advantage in strength and skill ia
take the ball near the center of the
field and go up the field and over for
a touchdown. A single case of Off
wv iiViul'l6 '" PSiioitS VI any h'Iu
will nullify fifty yards of splendid adj
vance. The penalty makes a kick in
cvitable and therefore I nave in mind
Il suggestion which I think would re-
suit in much better football and does
not involve h playing rule so much
as the physical arrangement of the
gridiron.
Il would mark off the ends Of the
gridiron, starting at the goal lines, just
as They are at present. a line mark
ing every five yards until the twenty
yard line is reached. Then l would
place tho following five ines seven
wards apart. This would leave me at
the center of the field. would fol-
low this method at the other end of
TIL" field. AS n result we would have
ten seven-yard stretches in what might
be called the center of the field.
Between h tw%enty-yard lines I
would allow three downs to make
seven yards. I prefer his to increas-
ing the downs to four to make ten
Camp. Inside the twenty-yard lines I
would allow three downs to make five
yards, just as we used to do. The
twenty-yard zone is always the hardest
distance for an attacking team to ne
gotiate. as the defense is strongest In
that territory on account Of the backs
feeling free to come up and support
go ~ inns pan Is SLu0leu,
tn stronger as its appeal. in my
opinion.
Il do not favor removing the re-
strictions on the forward pass with
an idea that there will be passes Of
much longer length made. Twenty
yards is about the average of the pass.
n hat distance is nearly automatic
through the nature OF the play. If
passes of greater length are made. 1t
is necessary for the attacking team to
wait longer for the pass in order that
the man h is to receive it may get
to the proper place. and that DELAY
spells disaster. We had a typical case
of what I mean in the Illinois game
when a beautifully executed twenty
one-yard pass was made, but the Of
fetal right on the spot called 1t illegal.
as it was. Now that additional ward
was not a great loss to the defending
team as compared wit hthe remaining
twenty yards. and the team making
the pass was deprived Of the ADVANTAGE
of thai splendidly executed play. I
favor removing the restriction not
with an idea that many passes will he
made of more than that length, but
that watching the exact t~wenty-yard
loads up the official and often
works a hardship upon an offensive
team through the ball going a yard
moro than the prescribed limit"