Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-11-04

team attempted a Forward pass
close to the side line. A player
of the B team was near it and got
his hands on the ball, but failed to
hold it, whereupon it fell to the
ground in the field of play, then rolled
out of bounds-about ten yards ahead
of the spot from which it had been
snapped at the beginning Of the down,
A player of the A team fell on it out
of bounds and it was awarded to the
A team at the spot where it went
out of bounds.
The decision, in my opinion, was
partly correct and partly incorrect.
1t was AS ball, all right; not merely
because a member of the A team fell
on it, but because it was the case of
an incompleted forward pass, and as
it was not made on fourth down the
ball remains with the team making
the pass.
BUT it should not have been given
the A team to put into play at the
spot where it went out of bounds; it
should have gone back to the spot
whence it was put in play-ten
yards farther back. The idea is that
the ball is dead the VERY INSTANT
ii hits the ground after a forward
pass, and any decision to be made on
the play must be based on what hap
pened to the ball PRIOR to its be-
| coming dead.
Now. it did not go out Of the field
of play until after it became dead,
and therefore the fact that it did SUBJ
| sequently go out of the field and was
! afterwards fallen on by this man or
| that man has nothing whatever to do
with the case. The instant the ball
ct q a ft1rl al
! il was q dead ball, an incompleted
! pass and should have been put lin
| play again from the point of the pre-
| Vious down, the offensive team sim
, ply losing the down.
! But had the ball, after being fun
| bled, gone over the boundary line on
! the fly and thus struck the ground
| out of bounds first what would have
| been the decision? Well, you could
! hardly have given it to the E team,
| just because the ball was eventually
| found outside the boundary line, for
| it would not have been the case Of a
| forward pass going out of bounds.
but fumbled ball going out of
bounds. If we regard the play other
wise we should on all such occasions
witness the man of the Is team tat
tempting to make the Catch) not ac-
tually trying to catch the ball but
merely trying to knock ii out of
bounds on the fly.
! should, therefore say that the
fact that the player touched the
ball prior to it's going out of bounds
operates to put all the A players on
side. the same as it would were he
to touch d punted ball in the field OF
play and by so touching it cause it
to go out of bounds without first
he Il, .
would then be the ball of any man
who could get it.
N the Penn-Indian game in Phil
delphia last Saturday Marshall,
| the Penn quarter, let an Indian punt
! strike the ground and wabble around
| indefinitely without making any at
! tempt to fall on it or to pick it up.
/ The reason to the onlOokers appeared
| to be that big bad Injun was right
I at his elbow waiting for him to try
| that very thing when Gt looked like
! said bad red man had his mind made
| up TO fall all over little Marshall and
mash him fiat as a founder. Mar
! shall had had several Of these little
! pleasantries--or liberties, as you
| please-taken with him already in
! the game, and he was beginning to
| get little sore Cloth WaysD at these
personal jokes; hence his unwilling
ness to again be made q mattress Of.
( Being offside the Carlisler could do
/ nothing either but dare Marshall to
i pull the chestnuts out of the fire. so
! the whole thing looked like mAnkey
| trying TO snatch "a cocOanut while the
! elephant wasn't looking, with said ell
| cphant daring him to try.
| Well the rules don't say what 10
! do in case like this, for. tneoreti-
| cally, somebody has simply got TO
| touch or take the bail before pluy
| can go on. The referee, coming up,
waited lust an instant srinned, then
promptly awarded the ball TO Penn
! for the first down, the same as though
+ Marshall had touched or secured it.
| This, | submit. was quite the proper
| thing to do. When the rules do not
cover certain point In football. or
/ in any other game for that matter,
| the referee must use common sense
! and rule according % the spirit Of the
| play and tie game and that this
referee did. The point may serve some
| day TO help some other ohicia now
/ 20 make up IFS mind 10 q similar
I nre1lcamert.
lIN the Vanderbilt Michigan game d