El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-11-13

Il
N used to be a game IN which
= = brute strength reigned su-
preme.
Beef was the prime requisite a few
years ago, and the little fellows were
[ passed up by the coaches because they
did not have the avoirdupois that was
thought necessary 70 the upbuilding
OF a winning team.
But the o.dt.me caveman stuff has
I had to take 4 back seat, for the game
I OF football as It is played today by
all OF the larger schools OF the coun-
/ try has become a game wherein brains
| count as much as brute force.
Football has really been ele-
waited to a scientific level, and for
I this reason the little fellows and
the little schools have come into
I their own at last.
The intricate plays that are used
/ BY big university elevens today re-
! speed, but they require quick think
/ ing players with sure memories as
much as anything else. The introduce
ton OF the forward pass was q big
step in building up football as a
scientific game, and since It has been
universally adopted ana approved the
coaching fraternity has found a wide
Z latitude for the use OF its brains.
War Inferferes.
In any season but one like the lres-
ent autumn. with war interfering, the
l coaches have no trouble finding pIen-
{ II Of material The new style game
[ has extended the field and players OF
I all sizes and weights can be used 70
advantage now.
J The footed. beefy team OF old
would be joke In this day and age.
, for, with the exception Of a fairly
heavy line, the makeup Of modern
football eleveus leans toward the
/ lighter and faster men. Players like
I Elmer Oliphant, who Is heavy and
/ stockily built, may increase the
poundage Of a football team. but they
never get by unless. like ollie, they
/ have lots Of speed and natural foot
Z bail ability.
second String Men.
another new phase Of modern foot
ball is the amount OF attention now
being given to second string men
Coaches do not pay so much attention
10 Individual stars IS they used to-
They have learned that a football
team without a strong array OF sub
st1tutes is often q failure, and for this
reason the individual stars are get
ting less attention from a majority
IN the old days the defensive
strength Of q football team was more
important than its offense.
Today the Offense OF n team f.
what counts most heavily. IL n
not that the defensive side OF
football II being neglected. but
with the open game in vogue and
the opportunities for scoring
much greater. the offense mu1t
be developed first
The brightest stars OF football IN
other days were Eiclzers terrific line
plungers or players Of great strength
who possessed speed and who could
throw off half dozen tacklers after
breaking through the line They
were individual stars and they de-
pended more upon their own resources
10 cross the elemy's goal lines than
upon the aid their team could give
them.
Today every player on a football
team is important A modern eleven
is built like a machine, with every
man a cog and every cog dependent
upon every other cog in the perfect
running of OF plays This is why
every player. be he a lineman. a back
field man or a player on either wing
position. gets an equal amount Of
attention from the coaches.