Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-23
GRID PILOT TODAY
MUST THINK FAST
Has to Take Care of More
Work in Less Time Than
in Former Game.
BY w. w. ROPER,
Princeton Foot Ball Coach.

rs the quarterback position harder
today than 20 years ago?
There were some great players
Il holding down this position in those
days. Among them were Charley
DAILY, who played at Harvard and later
for the Army: Eckersall, who piloted
Chicago for several years; Foster Rock
well, who barked out the signals for
those great Yale teams in the very early
l9OOs, and Harold Weeks, vino made
such a reputation at Columbia.
But I think the quarterback job IS
harder today than when those great
players were starring.
played against DAILY in 1901, when
he was quarter for the Army, and saw
him run through the entire Navy team
at Franklin Field. Philadelphia, when
he made a touchdown from klck-on.
He was a great player and wonderful
field general. DAILY was one OF the first
quarterbacks who developed the idea
of looking along the line to size up the
other teams weakness. And he had an
uncanny way of spotting whether the
tackle was playing out or whether he
was in, and whether the guard was
playing high or low.
remember distinctly how DAILY
looked over the Princeton line when
we were playing the Army, to find out
NIlCEe TIC GOulo 41uAt I'D hlOoS'
EckersalI Great Quarter.
I saw Eckersall play in that great
game against Michigan in 1905. when
Chicago won, 20 Ecky could kick,
and he was beautiful open-field run
ner and a fine field general.
Rockwell was primarily field gen.
eral when he played at Yale. He barked
the signals SO they could be heard all
al he
drive his teams. Harold Weeks was
fine field general and wonderful open
field runner.
know of no finer players in the his
tory of foot ball than the four have
mentioned.
Yet / maintain that the quarterback
lob is much harder today. In the first
place there was no forward pass IN
the old days. The backs played up
behind the line on defense, the fullback
usually behind the center and the two
backs one behind each tackle, with the
quarterback back in the safety position.
There we're only five yards to gain and
three downs to do it in. The variety
of play was naturally limited-a back,
an off-tackle play, and end run and
possibly a trick play or two were the
only things the quarterback had to
think about. There were no lofty
stadiums with their wind currents to
be considered and the constant din of
a crowd of seventy to eighty thousand
people.
Has to Be Faster.
Today the quarterback has to gain
10 yards in four downs. He has to
play with the forward pass. dangerous
weapon unless used at the right time.
He must know when to forward pass
and, equally important, when not.
The backs may be up or they may
be playing deep. The opponents may
be using a 7-1-2-1 defense or a 7-2-2-1
defense, and again the center may be
out of the line and the defense may be
a 6-2-2-1.
The quarter must consider all these
different situations and act almost in
simultaneously. The rules provide to-
day for a penalty for not getting the
play of in 80 seconds, while only a
limited time can be consumed in the
huddle.
Again, calling signals from the hud-
die is much harder than calling them
out in the open, and it is much more
difficult to size. up the opponents de-
tense. Yet I believe present-day con-
ditions in foot ball demand the use
of the huddle.
The quarterback today is an i'm
portant cog in the forward pass de-
Tense. His burden in catching punts
has been made easier, due to the rule
that fumbled ball is dead at the point
of recovery. but in every other respect
the quarterback'S job is much more
difficult than 20 years ago.
(Copyrlght, 1929. by North American News
paper AllianceJ