Albuquerque morning journal., 1913-12-22
FOOTBALL RULES To
Be CHANGED BUT
LITTLE IN 1874

intercollegiate Code During
Season Just Closed Gave
Almost General SatiSfaC-
tion,
tsrreAL eoasesPosotNor TO pesHiso JOURNAL
Philadelphia, Dec. 2l.--Thero will
be few, II any changes in the foot
ball rules for 1910. The intercollegi-
ate code gave more general satisfac-
tion throughout the season Just closed
than ever before IN the history Of the
game. The principal criticism made
against the 1913 brand of football
was directed rather against the lack
of inventiveness by coaches than the
rules under which the game was
played. II the game as played by a
particular university or In a given
section was Gull and uninteresting.
the fault was rot with the rules.
In the middle west there was far
more satisfaction oyer the style of
football played than there was in the
east In a general way the west
played progressive football In tho
cast tnere was manifested everywhere
a spirit of conservatism, while se,-
eral universities which were at one
time leaders %ith their progressive
Ideas gained an unenyiable reputa-
tiOn OF beng si0ndpatters.
Football men have closely studied
the situuon IN both west and cas-,
and have been unable TO point out
any ioforms made necessary In the
rules. The extent TO which the game
H. to be improved viii depend solely
upon the prosressveness Of coaches
themselves.
The feeling still exists in the east
that the game could spare the for
ward pass and be improved In conse-
uuencc. This conclusion is reached
because in practically all the cham
pionshlp games played on eastern
ridlrons the forward pass was not
only a complete failure but boom
erang as well. The play was an utter
failure i'm tho Harvard-Princeton,
Princeton Yale Yalc-Haryard and
the Pennsylvania-Corne games The
writer kept very careful statistics OF
an these games ami found that the
forward pass Yas successful less thah
30 per cent OF the times. Not only did
It fail to gain ground in the proper
ton. but nearly half the time when IT
failed for the attacking side IL was IN
tercepted by the defending side and
returned for big gains. The forward
pass Is supposed 10 be an offensive
play, but from the time it was first
introduced it has lost far more
ground than it ever gained. Curiously
enough 1t is rot defended so much
for it's value as an offensive play as
Il is for breaking up the opposing
defense, but football men are begin
ming to see the fallacy Of this de-
fense Of the play. If a part Of a
teams offense is retained simply to
break up and weaken an opponents
defense it is high time for the rule
makers to find some other method o
equalzing attacks and defense.
This estimate OF the value of the
forward pass does not hold in the
middle west Football experts are d.
vided in their opinions as to whether
the success Of the play in the middle
west was due TO their scientific de-
velopment Of it or a weakness IN the
construction OF "a defense for ii, The
claim is made in the east that mod
eratoly perfect defense for this play
can stop il nine-tenths Of the time.
II this le true it follows that the
west. in its efforts to develop scor-
ing plays By the forward pass, neg
loctcd a proper defense for It,
in discussion of the relative mer-
its Of the football PLAYED in the west
and east this conclusion is inevitable
that the west overemphasized the
offensive game. while the east paid
entirely too much attention to the de-
fcnse. Unless football coaches are
obliged to adjust themselves to more
radical revisions of the rules it Is
fairly certain that next year will see
more even development of both Of
fense and defense in the west as well
as in the east.
Western men have already taken
the initiative IN one reform in which
the east is tagging far behind. at
recent meeting Of the Western Inter
collegiate Conference association j
was voted that FOR the first two
games of the 1914 season the players
should be numbered, and that If the
experiment proved a success the rules
should be made obligatory for the re-
mainder Of the season.
The writer is willing to venture
that If the western universities gife
the reform a fair test there will not
be dissenting voice in continuing
il for the remainder Of the season
and forever after. II is almost mex
plicable that ,he progressive west did
not make this reform effective years
ago.
Football is practically the only in
tercollegiate sport in which the con
venience of tn public is so ruthlessly
ignored. Practically no one outside
Of small part Of the student body