The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-10-30
FORWARD PASS IS
 BEING MASTERED
 MORE THIS YEAR
Camp Says Season Is Show ing the Vital Necessity of Punting in Defense
 and Attack
By WALTER CAMP Special Correspondent of The Age
 Herald

|
 | Special Correspondent of The Age | Copyright, 1921, by The Age-Herald New York, October 29.--At this point in the season 1t behooves both
 the coach and the student of football | to take stock of the development of
 play produced in the year 1921. It
 may be fairly said that the season up | to November 1 has emphasized the
 prime importance of the forward passing game carried further in it's
 finesse than anything we have seen
 before. Secondly, it has been shown
 that bunting both offensively and de- l fensively, is a very vital asset. and,
 thirdly, 1t is apparent that the broad ening of the base of attack both
 through shift plays and movable men | in the back field has made consider
 able strides and put an additional
 burden on the defense.
 The defense to the forward has been improved rather measurably, but it is still far from perfect. This
 was illustrated In the case of Yale
 in her game against Williams and the army. Both these teams found a soft spot In the middle of Yale's back | field which was always uncovered. 1 It was there they threw their passes and this strategy put Yale alarm | ingly on the defensive.
 | West Likes Forward Pass
 Chicago used a pass of less dis | tance to Rodney, which netted them their touchdown against Princeton. The writer has followed in actual ob- servation the play in both the east and middle west and there is a dis tinct difference in the two sections That difference lies largely in the fact that the middle west has used the forward pass more--that Is for a greater period of years. Hence, the defense to this play there is better The western teams are not thrown into a condition of dazed paralysis when the forward passing starts They are more familiar with seeing the ball in the air and their actions prove this. They arc more determined than eastern players in their efforts to hurry the passer and they are also a little quicker in diagnosing the di- rection of the pass.
 Another notable thing in the sea- sons development is that shift plays far from being on the decline, are being developed even more and are very effective. They lend themselves to deception and make 1t difficult for the defense to realize early for the point of attack and get set accord- lnSiy. SIlCdBO CcTLdluiy ueUuOH- | strated in the Princeton game The Princeton line was quite unprepared to meet these plays effectively. Practically every coach in the country now realizes that attack
 must be formed on a fairly broad basis either by spreading the four
 men in the backfield somewhat by
 the use of shift plays or by direct
 passes, which give an extra man in l the interference on or outside tackle
 in order to meet the more effective
 line charging presented by first class team.
 Another feature of the season is
 the steady improvement in combining g i the forward pass and the running | game, making one a foil for the other and keeping the defense in trepida-
 tion as to whether they must meet a running play or an aerial one,
 The force and power with which
 plays with ax swinging interference
 are directed on or outside of tackle
 and end, tempted many coaches early in the season to try and get more power into the wings. Warner of Pittsburg was compelled to shift
 Stein back as rowing center after trying him at end, for this reason.
 This season more than any for
 years has demonstrated the value of
 a long and accurate punter. A team with such a man invariably works ur on an exchange of kicks until they
 have the play in the opponents ter
 ritory. This is not a scoring play
 but 1t keeps the burden of defense all ways upon the opponents. As cor
 rollary, it is of immense importance to have men who can break through
 and block kicks. It was this ability hy Harvard lineSmen that threw In
 diana completely out of gear.