Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-21
PAST
SOUP AND FISH
COURSE NOW
lrnis Brown Discusses Style of
1918 Game, Especially Quar-
terback Kick.
By Innis Brown.
HE football season of 1913 is
settling down to regular bust
moss and pretty soon local

settling down to regular bust
Z ness, and pretty soon local
hugs are to see the real thing as pre-
srribed by Walter Camp and others,
and interpreted by j. w. Heisman,
,iir,a Donohue, Alex Cunningham,
Tnbby Graves and others. This does
p,t mean to say that what has gone
before was not real football but as
., matter of fact, the fish and soup
have lust been finished, and it is
time n settle down to the real BUSH
ness of the season
In this connection it may be OBJ
served that little has been shown on
q 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
Iv 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-
hind 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 scrin-
mage when kicking. This practical
~ meant that none of his own men
L. l,o tn1
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
'olfSide' as applied in a game. The
rules say that a player is "offside''-
that is, he may not recover the ball
except after 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 of the ball "offside." 1t 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
have no right to recover the kick UNI
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, these three men have a right
not only u recover the ball after it
fstrkes the ground, but to catch it
tbefore il 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 quarterba elk
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
as soon as kicked ball touched the
ground any player of either side ex-
'ept the man who kicked, was ellgi-
pie to recover it. This rule has been
animated 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
neld past the>ball after it had stopped
foIllng 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.
Roughine the Punter.
Ihis privilege, however, led to
5!dEefs of the team on defense To
1--WE INTO the punter, in order to pre-
Fhl nm from thus putting his team
oh-Slde. This practice eventually
'r3cAed point where the rules
.ommlttee found it necessary to pro
yfe' the punter, and the rules were
hanged so that the unter could
rol put his team on side" and more
.93h mat, could not touch the ball
unset There is, accordingly, nc
NeISe Whatever for a player rough
.nS lie punter under the present
Just how prominent the quarter
lex KICK will become this season re-
MAINS to be seen. For one thing, il
IFes to offer a wider diversity of
llaeh' since the opposition does not
low nave forewarning that a punt
10 be made They may not, there
ore arrange their defense so readily
AuIdnce, thereby offering to the
ienSlve team a better opportunity
puiIng off some open field play
r, Lebster's" Running Kicks.
III "aNS past, the Jackets have got
,ooul as much out of the quick, run
'''7 NICK as any other team in this