New Britain herald., 1927-03-07
RADICAL CHANGES
 IN PLAYING RULES
Committee Seeks to Eliminate
 Sailing and Slow Playing

Sailing and Slow Playing
 New York, March : Eq-Football coaches and prominent fans are gen. orally in the mood to congratulate 'he rules committee for the radical changes in the playing rules made at is annual meeting Saturday.
 With one exception the changes, if not designed actually to make the game mora interesting for the spec tators, will have the same effect be- cause the chief complaint of the fans has hoen against stalling and slow playing,
 Tie one exception, which might cause the fans to grumble, reduces the possibility for the games most spectacular playa seventy, eighty CT ninety yard run for touchdown after "lumbled punt"
 But they have been very few and always t.Gky under the old rules and under certain conditions they are still possible.
 The new rule provides that when 9 punt receiver has the ball under control and funbles it is a free ball and if an opposing player can snatch T up and make the goal lines Il is his gal right 10 do so.
 l,nf l-ttn 1...rl touches a receiving player or drops through lhe arms of q receiver it is dead ball at the point Of recovery and cannot he advanced in either direction.
 That rule will speed up tho game and make il more interesting as it will encourage the receiving back field to take a chance on catching punt on the fly instead of letting It roll for safeyt's sake as the ma Jority Of quarterbacks have been doing.
 The changes in the rules designed 10 speed up the game certainly can- not be condemned and they ought 10 prove of benefit
 It is no severe handicap 10 reduce from four 10 three the number of times a captain can call time out in each half without q penalty, to limit the time for putting the ball into play 10 thirty seconds and 10 limit the time in whirh the players can remain iH q hu3dlc.
 NHuto Eocl.He, Notre Dame coach and Iil Roper, Princeton coach, were among the prominent mentors who were fearful for some fatal legislation agaiast the huddIe svs- tEm Of calling signals but if tho players, regardless of the noise, can't get tine signals with their heads together in fifteen seconds they are using the huadIe for some other reason.
 Eocl.uo was fearful that any time restriction Of thc hudlle would re- Huiro the services Of a flock of skilled timers and result in hopcless confusion but the change in the rules wisely puts it up 10 the judge MaDt of the referee.
 Roc'ne was also alarmed about the agitation for the death of tho shift play and he quoted the same faults to timing system but no complaint can be made against the system of measuring a dcad-stop of the players hy counting rapidly "onc-two o-thrce-four. Gunncrs in the army often were forced 10 use a similar counting system in spacing salvos in ordinary firing and it was fairly reliable.
 The most potent sock delivered against tho sniff rlov however, was inc ruling nfiicfiug q penalty of ftfern-yar7s Oas'nol of , yarda> a~anst a team for having moro than one man in motion when the ba'I i7 passed.
 Complaints, years and years ola. ar..nat thc fairness Of the extra point after 'ouoHdown and he over ,lu"51n o' 2 field goal were handl- ol #.U hv thn imroefon of an ad- su..waI tau-yar1 handicap on tho r'av.
 That change made necessary the moving tho goal }o's hack ten rar1a from fho goal line 70 tho line marking tre oud of the end zone. of course will he scored ty passing 'te h0G71trIrs Of q field 1oo-}arls in length but the point of'"r touchdown and a field goal have tp nn scored over 12n-yard Ino or goal post
 T1.re ar. admit'ea qualities 'o thc 3sop E.cknEerame and inc new uie. "Nln jmnoi0g laudiCap, doaa moi rHia ih, rIay or is posgi- IaI,ir7 entirely.