The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-11-20

- SOIIUlHdIlOH.
1t Is almost twenty years ago that l
stood on the end of Princeton team
and watched Charlie Daily look us over
with that keen eye Of his before de-
Gliding where he could hurt us worst.
and usually the play would be directed
where the possibilities Of gain were
the greatest. Daily is a great tactician
and though he has not had as much
success as believe his efforts deserve
at West Point recently, he is really
wonderful coach. He is great stu
dent of detail, and the army discipline
and training fits into football very
well. indeed. Practice at West Point
Is run off with clock-like precision.
Not a detail is neglected. Daily is a
great believer in mapping out every
thing beforehand and typewriter
list or a schedule of the afternoons
work Is posted with military precision
before every practice.
Coaches Conservative.
The West Point coaches are distinct
ly conservative, and II is hard for
them to depart from traditional foot
ball. Last fall. Daily and the Army
team visited Princeton on the day of
the Navy Princeton games, which We
managed to win 40. Princeton used an
open formation in this game with con-
siderable success, just as we used 1T
in the Harvard and Yale games this
year. Later In the year the Army
adopted the same formation, and used
4 to some extent against the Navy
with no success. l asked one of the
Army coaches how they happened to
use this character Of play against the
Navy and said that 1 was rather sur
prised that they did, 1t being rather
foreign to Army traditions. The coach
laughingly remarked that General
Macarthur. who accompanied Daily to
the Princeton games, was rather i'm
pressed with the style of play and sug-
gested to Daily that he use it,
saw Daily this fall for a few min
utes and he remarked that the Army
was going to stick to basic principles
this year. Personally, am a great
believer in open play, and think there
is nothing like 1t for effective ground
gaining. But a coach must believe n
any system or style OF attack to make
it success. 8 TT was clearly noticeable
by the way the Army players took
this formation that they had little con-
fidence in what they were doing. So
i think / am pretty sure in predict
ing that the Army is going to stick
to straight football. II l may be
permitted to call close formation with
the quarterback under center, by
such a name.
DAILY believes in having the quar-.
terback hand the ball to the back In
line plays. He says it is faster and
surer. For the last few years, 1 have
been an advocate of the direct pass on
all plays, but / admit there is ground
for argument in having the quarter.
IL xhA hal v,1o inc do
of tackle. When the quarterback
handles the ball, the backs can start
faster and probably hit the line lit.
tie harder. On a direct pass, the back
has to delay momentarily until ha
gets the ball. On a play outside of
tackle, the direct pass Is faster, as IL
Is easily possible for the center 10
throw the ball slightly ahead Of the
runner, thus permitting the back 10
get 1t on the run.
When a back is driving toward
the center of the line, it is prac-
tically impossible for him to start
until he gets the ball as it is an
almost impossibility for the center
to gage with any accuracy the pass
Ito the back. In this respect / admit
the advocates of the quarter hand
ling the ball have an advantage.
The back, when he knows the quar-
ter back will float the ball up to
him, has to think of nothing but
getting away. The pass is sure and
accurate and there Is little chance of
a tumble, while with the other style
Of play, the back has to get the
ball before he can really get a start.
Saves A Man.
OF course, the advocates Of the
direct pass have this in their favor.
BY eliminating the quarterback, you
are able to get another man ahead Of
the runner, or play this extra man
on the end Of the line 30 as to open
IN the defense which in return
makes line bucking easier. With
seven men on the line OF scrimmage
and the quarterback under center.
the defensive line does not have to
cover quite as much ground. Again,
the quarterback under center has a
tendency to hold the defensive center
IN or near the line as with the
center out of the line, II Is always
possible to make quick dash
through this opening.
The West Point attack is predic-
ated upon holding the quarterback
under center except on wide swing
plays. The quarter is coached to
outwit the defense. Daily and Prich.
ard who is coaching the backs. be-
lieve absolutely that IL is not the
number of plays to a minute but
the accuracy with which they are
run off which counts. The quarter
backs are schooled by the hour in
looking over the line OF scrimma ge
and sizing up the position of the
defense. In one Army and Navy
game, a few years ago, Prichard
ran the ball eighty yards without
a mistake. finding an opening every
time in the Navy line, and with
two such instructors you can be
sure that generalship will not lose
the Navy game.
The line is big, rugged and strong,
weighing from tackle to tackle, close
TO two hundred pounds. 1t is an
evenly balanced line with not much
extra weight but with plenty OF
drive and speed. The line has
plenty Of experience and know how