Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1913-10-25
TEAMS ARE TOO SLOW
Football Follower Says Modern
Play Lacking In Speed. +
Contention 10 Upheld, In Small Way,
BY Recent Showing o. Maroon and
HoosIsr-Ayds Park. ths First, y
Real Fast rsSm.


lower Of football rises to complain Of
the slowness of modern teams as com.
pared with those of decade ago. A
|: man. who played the game in the lat.
ter .'90s and the early part Of this cen.
ttiry was among those at the Indiana.
Chicago contest, and after the con.
test the chief subject Of his converSS.
tiQn was regarding the lack Of speed
displayed in the teams lineup.
III teams were 40 slow az that when
! played the game" he declared, they
would have been drilled for speed to
the exclusion Of everything. else.
Coaches ia the old days woilld not
permit; losfing In lining up, axd once
lined Up. the plays. went on with !
snap that I have not seen IN ne last
I'VE years."
His criticism was partly justified,
for both Chicago and Indiana were Ia
mentally slow getting the ball; into
action. tbs vSs partially explained
by the failure Of the Maroons to know
their signals. With only two weeks
Of preparation. 9tags was compelled
to give his men more than they could
digest in the way OF formations. for
Indiana was 30 strong It was not wise
to take chances with the Hoosiers. In
consequence, only three or four Of the
plays were fixed firmly In the minds
Of the players and there was notice.
able confusion in getting the plays un.
der way at various stages Of the
game.
Indiana contributed her share TOW.
ard slowing up the game by lack Of
condition. Criticism Of lack Of speed.
however. 10 not always 20 Just. II
anything. the speed Of teams now 10
better than It was in the days Of "old"
football. There were few teams Of
ten or fifteen years ago with more
than ordinary speed despite every fav.
orins factory. The FIRST fast" team
was the famous Hyde Park High
School eleven Of 1902. and although
the college teams on which members
Of this squad played later were fairly
fast. none Of them were much better
than the teams Of the present. With
weight at premium. It 10 scarcely to
be expected the old teams could class
In speed with the ones today. where
speed is the chief requisite for indi.
vidual candidates.
The growth Of formation" football
has much to do with the seeming slow.
ness. 1t 10 the exceptional team
which goes on the field nowadays with
less than thirty formations to re-
member, while It was the exceptional
eleven In the old days which had more
than ten or twelve to remember. The
old style attack consisted OF straight
bucks. cross bucks and end runs. with
their variations. The lineup was near.
ly always the same. only . few for.
nations, like the tandem, the whoa.
back and q few more, having been
invented.
Series plays were the rule rather
than the exception. One set Of sig.
mails usually served for three or four
successive plays in the old days. and
often . team would traveres half the
length Of the field without the quar-.
ter.back calling numbers more than
three or four times. Now the series
signals have been abandoned owing
to the exigencies Of the game. Each
play 10 separate problem. and ito %.
luton depends entirely upon the posi-.
tion OF the ball, the amount to be gain.
Cd and other circumstances which
could not possibly be prepared for In
advance.