The Washington times., 1935-09-26


more adept in Frank Buck" O'Neih
handling the ball. Technicians of
defense are studying methods of
| preventing a we'll equipped team
running wild, and the rules COM
mittee finds itself with one more
headache.
The lateral pass is included in
many varieties of play. 1t may
spin out of threat at end, or out
of a spinner. These present no
problems to officials and rule
makers, for the reason that the
lateral pass may be used at any
time.
It must not be a forward
pass under any conditions when
made beyond the line of scrim-
mage or at any point less than
five yards behind the line of
scrimmage.
The lateral is used by some
teams particularly adept in han
ding the ball after completed
forward passes.
Must Be Alert
It is on this play that officials
must be alert and accurate in
their decisions. Just as long as
the man receiving the forward
pass tosseS the ball directly to
an opponent who is behind him,
the play is legal. If it is for
ward by so much as half a
degree, the whole play becomes
illegal for the reason that two
forward passes may not be made
on the same scrimmage. The
second reason is that in college
| football, forward passes must be
made from five yards behind the
line of scrimmage.
Officials are put squarely on
the spot by plays involving later
ais developments out of forward
passes. 1t frequently happened
last season, Walter Okeson sets
forth in an interesting talk on
the lateral pass, that team made
a gain of considerable length on
a forward pass and then, in at
tempting a lateral pass, accident
ly hurled the ball forward.
"The officials cannot judge
intent in this play" Mr.. Oke-
son said. "They call them as
they see them, and there cannot
be two forward passes in one
play. 1t is hard to call back a
play which might have deveI-
Oped into a scoring thrust, but
there is nothing else to do.
SPECIAL PROVISION
'It has been advocated that
the rules committee prOmuIgate
a special provision for plays Of
this nature, making the COM
pleted forward pass legal at the
point Of completion, and in
flicting any penalties on the
development from the point at
which the secondary phase was
initiated.
"This is not possible" Mr..
OkeSOn explained, "fOr the
reason that such rulings would
serve to cOmplicate an already
complicated set of rules. One
would have to consider how the
existing rules would be affected
by such new provisions.
"In a desire for greater lati-
tude on passing and freer use of
scoring weapons, advocates Of
the lateral pass insist that it
should be possible to pass after
| a h0 Sc o.
Under certain conditions, Of
course he can do this. If the
forward progress of the ball has
not stopped, it is legal to make
a backward or lateral pass.
"SectiOn 4 of rule says in
article l that a player may
pass, hand or throw the ball
in any direction, excepting to-
ward the opponents goal, and
that any member of his team
can catch it, recover the ball
if it is muffed and may run
with it, pass it backward or
kick it."
MAY NOT PASS BALL
eff, however, the ball carrier
is stopped in his forward pro-
gress, or is in the act of falling
backward, he may not pass the
ball"
1t is pointed out by Mr.. Okeson
that with the introduction of
more liberal rules governing pass
ing and keeping the ball in play,
certain abuses might creep into
the game; abuses which the rules
committee has worked to elimin-
ate and wholly prevent.
There would be a strong posi-.
bility of rougher tackling, slough.
ing the runner and some of the
rough house tactics that marked
and marred the game during the
years when President Theodore
Roosevelt told football men to
clean up the game or stop it. To
introduce a ruling that would be
a backward step rather than a
l.