Evening star., 1927-03-09
By I'll. c. BYRD.

I'd - ID hDs
About this time a year ago foo
ball coaches East and West were
criticising vehemently a change in the
forward pass rule. Many thought
the change slap at open play anC
an effort to curtail the offenSe, ano
consequently predicted dire things fol-
the game. When the 1926 season was
uShered in nothing more was heard
of the change, and it is doubtful II
spectators. or coaches either, thought
much more about it. The condition
of year ago is being repeated to a
certain extent, and in all probability
the situation next Fall will be about
what il Nas last sea son--no appre-
ciable difference in the game.
The gridiron undoubtedly will have
somewhat of different appearance,
with the goal posts set up on the end
lines, 20 yards farther apart then they
have been for many years. 1t was in
1905 that a foot ball field was 110
yards long. No doubt the placing OF
the goal posts on the end lines. re-
moving them just ten yards from the
field of play, will eliminate to con-
siderable extent kicking of goals. 1t
simply means that the day of drop
kick from the 35 to the As yard line
is gone. Occa sionally one may be
BOotGQ. Out S0IuOIl VIII IL uS u lCu
from that distance. A player who
might ordinarily boot a drop kick
from the 35-yard mark, will now have
TO make his kick carry just 10 yards
farther than that in order to register.
Puts Premium on Punters.
Teams next season. instead of at
tempting drop-kicks from the 80 or As
yard line will develop accurate punt.
ers to boot the ball out of bounds
near the 5 or 4.yard line. 1t is doubt
full If many drop-kicks will be at
tempted next season. unless the ball
is inside the 15-yard line, probably
when the ball is stalled between the
S and 15-yard lines. If the ball is on
the 15-yard line, it means that a 35-
yard kick must be made to score a
goal. With the ball on the 5-yard line
the kicks will have to be for % yards.
With the ball on the 15-yard line.
the 10 yards behind the line that the
kicker must stand. plus the 10 yards
the goal posts are behind the goal
line. makes 35 yards that the ball
must be driven to make a score, and
field goals beyond that distance do
not happen very often. At least,
records show that since 1873 there
have been less than $50 goals of
greatet distance than 35 yards.
Thus. it seems, that the moving of
the goal posts to the end lines has
practically eliminated that territory
between the Is and 35-yard lines as
goal kicking territory, by the certain
~ that team must be within Is
yards or SO of the goal line to have
reasonable assurance of a fair chance
10 get the ball over the bar
The moving of the goal posts to
the end zones probably will not affect
the point after touchdown as much
as many seem to think. In the first
place it is not as difficult TO gain
three yards on A running play or
pass as might he thought from the
scarcity of such plays in the last few
years.
Possibly. except when a team has
an exceptionally accurate kicker. the
point after touchdown would have
Been made just as many times from
running or pass plays as from drop
or place kicks last year had such
plays been tried. However. drop or
place kicking for the extra point had
ABOUT as good chance to succeed
and there was far less chance of in.
Jury TO players. Furthermore, that
type of effort was not so exhausting
to a team as running plays.
Menace Is Removed.
Something else, last year the ball
always was put down exactly be.
tween the goal posts, and the posts
interfered to a certain extent with
running and passing plays. There
VIII be no possibility of such inter.
ference next Fall. And. incidentally.
the kicking of a goal for point after
touchdown will not be so very diff.
cult, inasmuch as the distance the
kicks will have to go will run he
tween II and 25 yards. depending on
how far back of his line the kicker
stands. Probably an average at the
end of next season will show that
Just about as many points after
touchdown have been scored as were
scored in 1926.
Another phase connected with
moving the goal posts back which
seems entirely to have escaped no.
tice In discussion of rule changes is
that all possibility of team being
placed in the most dangerous defen.
sive position on gridiron has been
eliminated, that position teams fire.
quently found themselves in when
they had the bali in their possession
just yard or so in front of the goal
posts, with the ball too close TO the
goal line between the posts to run il
10 the size. thus forcing a punt from
behind the posts. Big schools like to
play their foot ball games with the
possibility of decision as a result
OF an error. or fiuke,. as commonly
called. eliminated. 1t is not improb.
able that this was thought of when
the agreement was reached to move
the posts back.
This may have Influenced somewhat
the decision to make lateral or back.
ward pass dead when il strikes the
ground, because by no stretch of the
ina aglnation is that going to make q
much more open game or add much
TO the game extensively. Coaches
have not failed to use the lateral pass
because they feared a tumble, but
only and simply because. it is the
easiest play in the whole foot ball
lexicon for a defense to stop. and
Furthermore, it usually is stopped
with loss of four or FIVE yeards
Coaches do not desire plays that are
stopped with four or five yard losses
So much for this rule as is affects
the lateral or backward pass, az made
on plays to the side, designed to get
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