Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-21
FOOTBALL PAST
SOUP AND FISH
COURSE NOW.
lnnis Brown Discusses Style of
1918 Game, Especially Quar-
terback Kick. r
BY Innis Brown.


= settling down to regular bust
ness, and pretty soon local
hugs are to see the real thing as pre-
scribed by Walter Camp and others,
and interpreted by j. w. Heisman,
Mike Donohue, Alex Cunningham,
Tubby Graves and others. This does
not mean to say that what has gone
before was not real football, but as
4 matter of fact, the fish and soup
have Just been finished, and it is
time to settle down to the real bust
ness of the season.
In this connection it may be OBJ
served that little has been shown on
a local field outside of straight foot
ball. In fact. many are inclined to
feel that nothing new may be eX-
pected. AS a matter of fact, changes
in the rules from last year really
allow only one privilege which is like
IL to be used to any considerable ex-
tent. Reference is made to the change
whereby punter may kick when and
where he chooses, instead of being
restricted to position five yards be-
shind the scrimmage line.
The Quarterback Kick.
This is what has commonly been
: called the Quarterback kick" The
play is almost as old as the game it
self, although various changes of the
rules have affected it's use consider
ably from time to time. For instance.
last season the punter had to stand
five Yards back 70 the line of scrim
mage when kicking. This practical
lie nf
were back of him when he punted.
Hence none We're eligible to receive
the ball until it had been touched
by player Of the other team.
To explain the proposition fully. it
may be well to explain first the term
"offside." as applied in game. The
rules say that a player Is "offside"-
that is, he may not recover the ball
except after a fumble-when the ball
has been last touched by player
Of his own side behind him.
From this it may be seen that the
mere act of kicking the ball does not
put any player of the side in possess
sion OF the hall "offside." 1t is
merely "a question - whether or not
the kicker was behind all of his own
men when he kicked the ball. If he
was, then they are all "offside" and
til the ball has been touched by
player of the other team.
Keeping Three "Onside."
On the other hand, if he kicked,
say, from the quarterback position,
with the other three backs behind
aim, those three men have a right
not only to recover the ball after it
strikes the ground, but to catch it
before it does so. There you have
the quarterback kick. The fact that
the kicker may punt from any point
makes the play a possibility under
the rules
1t may be seen that the quarterback
KICK is distinctly different from the
so-called ''onside kick The lat
ter is no longer possibility under
the present rules. 1t was made pos
Slble when rule was Incorporated in
Inc playing code, which provided that
as soon as a kicked ball touched the
ground any player Of either side, ex-
cept the man who kicked, was eligi-
Die to recover it. This rule has been
eliminated, and with it went the "on-
side kick"
Under the rules Of eight or nine
years ago the kicker could put his
men 'onside" by running down the
Held past the ball after it had stopped
toillng and calling onside. Also he
might recover the ball himself or. If
possible, he might catch it in midair
before 1t even touched the ground.
Roughing the Punter.
ms privilege, however, led to
payers of the team on defense to
u4ve INTO the punter, in order to pre-
vent MN from thus putting his team
oh-slde' This practice eventually
'edched a point where the rules
committee found it necessary to pro-
Iecl the punter, and the rules were
CHahSed SO that the unter could
Mot put his team "on- side" and more
nan that, could not touch the ball
uLinsef There is, accordingly, no
rtAcuSe whatever for a player rough
Ing Tie punter under the present
JGst how prominent the quarter
n2VN KICK will become this season re-
,'aaIhs 20 be seen. For one thing, it
IVes to offer wider diversity of
n.tacK since the opposition does not
noN nave a fqrewarning that a punt
10 ne made. They may not, there
;o'e' arrange their defense so readily
st 81 tGFance, thereby offering to the
ee"SIve team a better opportunity
'"I pulling off some open field play.
~ lobster's" Running Kicks.
~ Jays past, the Jackets have got
49, as much out of the quick, run
i'S KICK IS any other team in this