Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-29

A development Of the seasons play.
which was coming to the front quite
markedly before the war, is the very
distinctive advantage of the so-called
kick formation, used as a threat for
running plays and forward passes.
The development occurring this sea-
son. however, was the making of the
formation more elastic, the fullback
slipping easily from any position. say
within four or five yards of the scrim-
mage line, back to ten or twelve, and
varying this position in such a way
as to cause shifting in the defense. If
for example, the defense had been told
to drop the center back when the op-
ponents assumed the kick formation
know what to do when the man only
went back six yards instead of eight or
ten. And good fullback would move
so easily the few yards necessary that
the defense was som etimes unable to
tell which move of his to follow.
With the increasing use of the for
ward pass as an addition to the run
ming game, this kick formation as
sumed even a greater definite threat
Hence it is probable that we shall see
teams another season using it even
more largely than this year.
Players Lack Headwork.
One of the things that it must be
confessed there Is some doubt about
in this season of 1919 is whether the
thinking end of the game has been
number of coaches and the amount OF
coaching done. In many of the games
at any rate in the first half of the
season, the players on the field be-
trayed a considerable amount Of I'M
familiarity with the cardinal princi-
pies of the game and sometimes, I'M
deed. with it's very simplest and most
long-standing rules.
There can be no question but that
practically every player on the nelo
knows that when a punt Is touched
by the opponents it puts all the kick
instances in the first half of the sea-
sons play upon big teams where the
men going down the field did not
seem to comprehend this.
AS mentioned in another place In
this article, there were many cases
ter's standing far enough back in
order to run no danger of getting his
kicks blocked seemed quite lost sight
of. The fact also that a kicker stand
ing farther back would give his ends
better opportunity to get down the
HelQ was anotner OIL tHe olu luHod
mentals forgotten. In other words, 1t
seemed as If in the coaching depart
ment that the burden of even think
ing was transferred from the Shout
ders of the players to the coaches to
far too great an extent to produce
the best results. And that was one OF
the explanations given for the great
their much higher standing in the
foot ball world than the teams where
half a dozen or more coaches were
working with the men. Undoubtedly
this has a grain of truth in 1t.
Foot ball knowledge has been spread
by the development of plays and
players throughout the country much
more broadly than ever before. but
those who make the best players and
best teams are the ones where the IN.
dividual members of the teams put
definite thought upon the game in
lions of a variety of coaches and
never knowing the reason why. A
player is told to stand in certain
spot at a certain time and do GER
tain thing, and 1t may be that he does
not know the reason for this except
that he is dn awe of the coach ana un-
der his orders and consequently does
lust what he says. The player on the
other hand who follows his orders
and instructions just as Implicitly,
but uses his brains until he finds out
the reason why he is told to do this
particular set of things. will, IN the
end, make a far better player. and a
team made up of men who understand
the reasons are far more adaptable
and their game far more elastic, ac-
cording to conditions, than those who
are simply dummies in the hands of
the coaches.
Another point that has not seemed
to reach the bigger teams as yet, but
which this season beyond any other