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

rN HE football season of 1913 is
settling down to regular bust
ness, and pretty soon local
mugs are to see the real thing as pre-
srribed 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
matter of fact, the fish and soup
nave lust been finished, and it is
lime 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
" to be used to any considerable ex-
tent. Reference is made to the change
whereby a punter may kick when and
where he chooses, instead of being
restricted to a position five yards be-
mind 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 its 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
~ meant that none of his own men
were back of him when he punted.
Hence none were eligible to receive
the ball until it had been touched
by player of the other team.
To explain the proposition fully, it
may be we'll to explain first the term
offside," as applied in a game, The
rules say that player is ''offside"-
that is, he may not recover the ball
Except after a fumble-when the ball
has been last touched by a 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 o. tho bsll "offside." It is
merely a question of 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
rhaVe no right to recover the kick I'M
il the ball has been touched by a
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
him, 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 a possibility under
the present rules. 1t was made pos
Sible when a rule was incorporated in
the playing code, which provided that
IS soon as kicked ball touched the
Sround any player of either side, ex-
cept the man who kicked, was eligi-
ole to recover 1t. 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
field past the ball after it had stopped
rolling and calling onside. Also he
might recover the ball himself or, if
possible. he might catch it in midair
before it even touched the ground.
Rouehine the Punter.
This privilege, however. led to
players of the team on defense to
dive into the punter, in order to pre-
vent him from thus putting his team
on side This practice eventually
reached a point where the rules
committee found it necessary to pro-
tect the punter, and the rules were
changed so that the unter could
not put his team "on-side," and more
man that. could not touch the ball
himself. There is, accordingly, no
excuse whatever for player rough
'hg the punter under the present
rules
Just how prominent the quarter
pack kick will become this season re-
mains TO be seen. For one thing, it
serves to offer a wider diversity of
attack, since the opposition does not
now have a forewarning that a punt
u 10 be made. They may not, there
ore arrange their defense so readily
IN advance thereby offering to the
2HensiVe team better opportunity
.of pulling off some open-field play.
"lobster's" Running Kicks.
IN days past, the Jackets have got
toout as much out of the quick, run
Jung KICK aS anV other team in this