Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-10-25

about five yards behind the line Of
end Of the ball lightly with both hands,
one hand on each Of the center seams.
The pass should be made in sort Of
lob. thereby making It easy for the
back to handle. and enable him to keep
his attention riveted on the hole he has
to find and not forced to worry over
whether he is going to catch the pass,
as Is sometimes the case in the swift
pass.
THE pass from the center to the
quarterback is easily handled by
the center holding the ball as men.
toned above and merely handling tho
ball back through hts legs to tho
quarter Tho is reaching under him to
receive It IN that manner.
THE most difficult pass Of all from
l. the standpoint OF the center is the
long pass used from punt formations
when the man receiving the ball Is 10
yards back of the line Of scrimmage.
How to Hold the Ball
In that case the center must grin the
back end Of the ball with one hard on
each side Of the center seam, with his
thumbs parallel and opposite the third
laclng goes through the leather. The
pass is made by bringing the hands
between the legs with the greatest force
possible. A hard straight pass is
necessary to give the kicker an instant
longer to get his kick off and to avoid
having 1t blocked.
Games have been lost and many will
be continued to be lost by the inability
OF centers to do as written above. A
blocked kick is something that every
coach tells his team to spend time on.
1t may mean victory or defeat.
nave seen numerous games in all
kinds of football lost or won on n good
or bad pass from center when q kick is
about to be made. Therefore, it is
manifest that this part Of center's
play. should be given considerable at
tcntion.
The center is often responsible for
the success or failure of drop kick,
Tor this pass must be perfectly timed
and straight and Mt the exact height
desired by the kicker, or the chances
are that the kick will go wide or be
blocked by the opposition II too much
time is taken in getting it off.
THE defcnsire play of a center is
realty the biggest and most i'm.
porfdnt and interesting part IN the
game OF footbdH and yet there is far
less IN telling ho,c to plav defense
than there is In playing ofense. IL
is here that a centers naturai ab;litv
and football sense come to the, fore
or make him an I" also. ran"
THE center on defense should alwavs
L play about two yards back of his
line. except near the goal line and on
the side Of his opponents formation.
ne then Is able to dive through the
line. make the tackle on the ends or 20
back for a forward pass.
lie is also responsible for the posi-
tion of his linesmen in case the on.
ponents should shift theirs. II il nm
to the center to encourage his men in
the line, keep their spirits up, and. I'm
short, be the keynote of the whole de-
fcnse.
The center position, in conclusion.
may be said to afford PLAYER the
greatest chance to be in every play, both
on offcnse and defense. Other positions,
either hackfield or line, lack the neces
sity of being in the game every minute.
Center takes man who can be in there
every minute. full Of fight, cognizant of
what the opposition Is. going to do and
alive to everything that his teammates
are about to do.
Lou Little. former Star tackle Of the
Penn team. who received All. American
will describe how the position
Gf tackle Is played in Fridays Evening
Public Ledger.