Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

COACH HEISMAN Tech’s Famous Football Leader Goes Over New Code Carefully and Ex plains Just What Can Be Expected of the Gridiron Warriors This Fall. r-r-M» the casual spectator football looks the same year in and year ■* out—a jumbled-up mass of m). . k-down and drag-outs, with no semblance of order or system. He i , t know the difference, anyway, b, >< en a twenty-yard zone and a fiee kick; so why concern himself as ■ aether either or neither of them been changed into a fozzle-dill or ... i ffenpoof. so iong as he is assured -ia- thrilling lightning dash through br «en field, that mad charging and stampeding of the buffalo herd, and . lull boom which means another skyrocketing punt the same as it al ways did? We’!, so far as he is concerned, foot ill look just about the same this , ( . a as it always looked; but it will he < hanged a-plenty for the coaches ~; 1d the field generals. Not ao much, perhaps, in the matter of fundamentals, r ,,. even in the formations or plays, but in the system of handling those pars, ih the strategy of the game, in t . policy of play. 1 will illustrate fur ther on. ♦ The first change comes in - --ule 1, whc ’b defines tire field. Heretofore the fiehl has always been 330 feet long and lfi ,i feet wide. This year the width re mains the same, but the length be tween goal lines is reduced by 30 feet, leaving the distance from goal post to goal post an even 300 feet. This is now a.l the distance that the ball must be carried by a team in order to get a.-oss the opponents' goal line and score a touchdown. But suppose a team gets real close (■own to that opposing goal line and ei < ePS that it is going to be almost impossible for them to shove the ball ».toss by either running or bucking. Many a time in the past that has been the case, and they have wished so hard that they might be permitted to throw the ball across the line by use of a forward pass and trust to one of their eligible players getting it on the fix as the rule requires. But hereto fore it would have done no good what ever to attempt such a maneuver for the reason that the instant the ball was r .-sed forward across opponents' goal 'lnc it was declared a touchback and th. ball was dead, and in the posses sion of the team defending that goal, no matter who caught it or where.* As a touchback entitles the defend lt g team to the possession of the ball, and t<> bring it out to the twenty-yard .ne and put it in play, it was mani f- H y suicide to make a forward pass across the goal line. But when a team - pushed right down to its own goal ine it is forced to bring its second and et n its third line of defense right up on Ine heels of the rush line in order io be . n hand and do something be the offensive team can advance » ball the slight distance yet remain ing. Tj s made tTie defensive formation so mi act that it was exceedingly diffi cult for the attacking eleven to con- • r ;e to gnake the required ten yards in the three downs permitted them. Ti’.i result was too frequent failure to .-oro. and altogether too many tie and s i.rele-s» games. So. in order to keep that secondary line of defense of the goal-crowded h i hack the usual distance behind its rus.i line, it has this year been • ■I red that the attacking team shall ; c tight to make a forward pass s» the goal line, and to capture it c . n if they can provided it does not note than ten yards beyond that g".r line and is. of course, caught with '■ 11 it ten-y ard zone. As the other irt'.'n must have the same right at the ■•'itf'i end of the field, it results that every field mutt have a playing zone ten yards marked off and added be ■nd each goal line, thus making the field this year in reality 360 feet long, >r.st..'?,rl of 330 feet, as last year. But these added playing zones are fcr forward pass use only and cut no ' 'c figure with the bucking or end running game than thev ever did; so ' if a team once gets the ball across ; "nents’ goal line either by running bucking, they will have scored a ■ '• . w n without further reference to ■idditional ten-yard forward pass zone. i this change result in compelling ' defending a goal to keep its sec- X MARTIN MAY 19% PEACHTREE STREET UPSTAIRS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL UNREDEEMED PLEDGES > K for SSLE /< : _ : X^K. anp Xv z JANTAL-MIDY J Relieves in 24 Hours @ Catarrh of the Bladder Betz are aj Counurfeits EnTAL-MIDY Bv -J. W. Heisman. Coach Tech Football Team. ondary defense back as in the open field to look out for the possible for ward pass, or will they let the forward pass take care of itself and bring up their reinforcements as in the past in order to make sure of stopping a run or a kick? That is something each team will have to decide for itself. Most teams will try to straddle the question and place themselves so as to stop either play if they can. For the attacking general it will be a nice point each time he gets hjs team down there, whether to try a forward pass over the line or to continue his running or smashing tactics. a. • • Kick Off From Your Own 40-Yard Line. t N my opinion it was always unfair * for the team that had to receive the kick-off to permit the kicking team to perform their stunt from the mid dle of the field, for the kick, even if caught, yet placed' the ball away down in the receiving team's territory the first rattle out of the box. Now that the length of the field has been short ened tgn yards for all but forward pass purposes, it would be worse still, for it would mean that most any decent kick-off would go clear to the other team's goal line, and an unfortunate fumble right at the outset, when every body is a bit nervous, might give the ball at that spot to the kicker’s side and result in the loss of the game then and there. As the field is now 100 yards long, the middle point would be the 50-yard line; but the committee has wisely ordered that the kick-off shall be made from ten yards back of the middle, or from the kicker’s 40-yard line. A good kick from here will take it about to the opponents’ 20-yard line, and if they' gain 10 yards with it before being downed the real game will start with the ball in possession of the receiv ing team on their own 30-yard line, which is about where it ought, in fair ness, to be. • • • Kick Out To Be From 20-Yard Line. FORMERLY when a touchback had been made by a team defending its goal, or a safety scored by the team attacking that goal, the ball was brought out by the defenders of the goal to their own 25-yard line, and put in play' from that line. This distance has been shortened by 5 yards, so that now after a touchback or safety the ball will be brought out by the defenders to the 20- y a.d line only and put in play from there. This is also a more equitable decree than formerly, for if a team in trying for goal from the field were so unfor tunate as to miss the bar the result was invariably a touchback and they lost not only the sco;e and the bah. but 25 ya ds from their opponents' goal line as well. It was practically a heavy penalty for missing the difficult play, and operated similarly whenever the kicker of the attacking side made an extra good punt which went so far that it crossed the ,other team's goal line. In otho- words, he was penalized for being a very good punter. Os course the ball has to be brought out some distance to be put in play, but 25 yards was too great a distance. The result of the change will be that more goals from the field will be tried, as the penalty for failure will not be so great. Also the defending players wilt not let a punt roll across their line so often. Sometimes they will figure that they van gobble up the ball and make more than a distance of 20 yards out from their ow n goal line with it before being downed, and by whatever distance greater than 20 yards they prove their Between Straw Hat Days ' And Derby-dom Conies the 0P i |!ll|fa Cloth Hat 'XIW filling to perfection the interim which calls for neither w / felt nor the ultra derby. Our stocks show everything \ affected by every taste, from the curving college dip to the staid dignity of the business man’s lines. All \ the regular and nawer color effects. 'f/f Prices s 2* s 2' s " and s 3* PARKSCHAMBERSHARDWICK 37-39 Peachtree Street COMPANY Atlanta, Georgia THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. W EDNESDAY, SEPTEMhtR 4. 1912 EXPLAINS CHANGES IN Heisman toWrite Football for The Georgian The Georgian has added Coach Heisman, of Tech, to its start’ of experts on sports, and he will write many interesting stories on football this season. His story today deals with the changes in the rules. He takes up each change, picks it to pieces, and tells why. in his opin ion. it is for better or worse. Coach Heisman is undoubtedly the best football expert in the South, and. besides knowing the game from A to Z, he has the happy faculty of writing a cork ing article. judgment to have been correct, to just that extent will they be playing bet ter ball to take the chance and tnaka the try’ rather than to play safe for a 20 yard recovery, as allowed by the rule of touchback • ♦ • Lowering the Time of Intermission Between Quarters. tNSTEAD of having two minutes in * termission betwen the first and second quarters, and between the third and fourth quarters, the rule this year win be to allow but one minute's rest. I can not but fee! that the rules com mittee is making a mistake here. In the first place, what reason is there, anyway, for reducing this short inter mission? The spectators will not mind the lengthening of their afternoon's outing by so trifling an amount as two minutes, and, indeed, they would be glad of an opportunity to chat a bit and exchange views as to the games, plays, players, etc., which they can not do when there is little or no cessation to the play. * It may well be that most of the play ers would not need more than a min ute's rest, but some of them may, and that was the very thing that brought about the big trouble that beclouded the game a few years ago. Players were getting hurt without anyone knowing it—not even the player himself, and there was no way of stopping the game to take inventory of the condition of all the players on both sides. At my suggestion, if the reader will pardon the reference, these automatic stops were put in the game, though I recommended a three-minute halt. The committee thought the suggestion a good one. but decided that two minutes would be sufficient allowance. Now they cut it to one minute, and next year we may’ be back to no intermis sion at all again. And then we will have a few more startling accidents and everybody’ will wonder what can be done to avoid them. It's a great pity that the committee could not have left this two-minute rest period un changed. Will Be No On-Side Kick This Year. year an on-side kick was made by’ kicking the ball to some for ward pan of the field that seemed to be uncovered by any of the opponents, but which could be covered by some man of your own by the time the ball struck the ground. After so striking, the kicker's own man was entitled to take it on the spot without first wait ing till opponents had touched it. This year this is all done away with and. in facts there is no such a thing as an on-side kick this year under any conditions. This change will hurt us at Tech a bit as the team was particu larly good on these things. However. I favor the change, as the game was too complicated anyway for the short season that the game runs, and by eliminating a whole department of play and practice ft simplifies the whole thing. • • • No Limit to Length Os the Forward Pass. AS the 20-yard zone back of the de- A fending rush line has also ben done away with there is no limit to the allowable length of a forward pass and we shall once more, perhaps, see them going down the field almost- as far as a good kicker can punt a ball. These long passes, however, while easy enough to make are apt to fall of suc cessful completion for the reason that it's hard to gee one of your men down that far and have him catch it with out hitch or miss. / Nevertheless, and paradoxical as it may sound', this greater latitude still further simplifies the game, for by re moving the 20-yard zone and the on side kick from the game we are also enabled to dispense with the services of a field judge, who in the past has seemed to do little but get in the way of the players, and ball the other offi cials up with his butfings-in. * • » Touchdown Stock Still Above Par and Going Higher. When I first began to play football a quarter of a century- ago (more or less), the value of a touchdown was four points, and that of a field goal five points. So that one field goal could win a game even as against a touch down, provided the try after touch down was missed, for the try at goal after touchdown counted two points, if successful". At that time, .though, goals from the field were of very rare oc currence, for the reason that the play was practiced hardly at all. As time went by teams and kickers gradually became more and more expert with the play and the result has been a steady diminution in the value assign ed to field goals and, in the meantime, the price of a touerdown has twice the price of a touchdown has twice This is as it should be. for the spirit of our American game is rushing (not kicking.) the ball. The goal from field is a one-man stunt, not a team play, and should by- no means be credited with the merit which attaches to such team work as is required to shove the ball across the goal line. Under the new' assignment of values, the team which kicks even two goals from the field will not beat a team which makes even one touchdown, but will merely tie it; and if the latter team is successful in its try for goal after the touchdown, it will beat the former team by a score of 7 to 6. The effect of this will probably be that not so many field goals will be attempted this year and more practice will be put upon the rushing game. * * ♦ One Official For Each Team Allowed to Patrol. COME years ago there was no limit to the number of coaches, mana gers. substitutes, etc., who could march up and down the side lines as the two teams moved back and forth. To say the least, this was an unmitigated nui sance to spectators, as well as to offi cials; so they' ruled, first, that five men for each team were plenty to move up and down. This was later cut to three men, and now it has been still further reduced til! but one man for each team has the right to patrol the side lines, all the rest being required to be and to remain seated. This will make it much pleasanter and enjoyable for the spectators. The Big Change For the Season. HE changes already’ discussed are 1 for the most part wholesome and will tend to make the game fairer to both teams by still further eliminating the element of luck; but for the most part they are but minor changes after all. Now. however, we have to discuss a change that will be of first impor tance in its effect on the game. I re fer to the allowance of four downs to make a first down. For over 30 years the rule had been that a team could have three trials In which to advance the ball a distance of five yards. Finally this resulted in such continual massing on the defen sive tackle —first, through the medium of such plays as Pennsylvania’s "guards back” play, and then by Yale's "tackle over’’ play—that It was seen something positively had to be done to lessen the hammering on the one man. This was accomplished by the intro-‘ duction of the forward pass and by lengthening the distance to be gained in three trials to ten yards. So far as the defensive tackle is concerned, his life has indeed been rendered more endurable by the operation of these changes, but another bad feature has cropped out instead. I will explain End running, while not so apt as bucking to result in a positive gain of some sort, is yet (when it does pull off successfully) much more apt than bucking to result in a long gain. This being the case, end running came back into favor when it was required to gain ten yards in three trials instead of only five; and this, to a considerable extent, was what eased the tension on the defensive tackle. Still, it has been found In the last couple of years that neither end run ning nor anything else was able con sistently to keep up the task of acquir ing the required ten yards of addition al territory after a team had once worked its way to. say, within 25 or 80 yards of its opponents’ goal. And this for the reason that I have already men tioned, viz, that when the defensive team begins to find itself so closely pressed as this, it brings its secondary defense up closer to the rush line to give it quicker support. The reason they stayed back a con siderable distance up to this time was that they had constantly to be on the lookout for forward passes and on side kicks, but when they- have been forced back so close to their own goal line, they need not so greatly fear either the forward pass or the on side kick, for, as the rules stood last year and as we have already noted, a kick or a pass that went beyond that goal line gave the ball to the defensive team. and. "presto changeo!” they we.re at once out of danger Now, operating so near the defend ing team’s goal, the attacking team was very apt indeed to see its forward pass or its kick go , right across the goal line that very way, hence it was a dangerous thing to attempt either play-. Such being the case, the defending team could and dared with impunity to bring its secondary defense up to where it so helped out the rush line that the attackers now found it next to impos sible to continue making the required 10 yards in only three trials. Hence so many tie and scoreless games. To remedy this state of affairs the committee has struck a compromise. It has decided to help out the attacking team to the extent of saying that it shall have not three but four rials in which to gain the same required dis tance of 10 yards. Coupled with the new rule which allows them to make a forward pass across the goal line, it is expected that the effect will be to keep the defensive second line back for a longer time, and at the same time the team hammering for admission will have, in the extra trial, one-third more time in which to batter down the de fending team’s loosened barricades. And will this result in more scoring? No doubt of it. But as to the particular way? Well, everybody is saying that the Stetson Has Exhibition In Muse's Windows 9 Many a man wears a Stetson Hat, but a comparative few have realized the intricate process of manufacture. Should it be the concern of anv man to know the history of the hat lie wears he may have the rare advantage of the demonstration in our big display windows during this week. There is more than casual interest in the making of a hat—there’s decided education in it. It is something more to learn of the methods and life history of John B. Stetson, the man who made hats with his own hands —who taught.hat-making to thousands of men—who made men of his hat-makers. Such history, compiled and edited by Elbert Hubbard, in “Little Journey To the Home of John B. Stetson” is complimentary to our customers, (’all for a copy, phone for it, or write for it. Geo. Muse Clothing Co. GRIDIRON GAME Is in Favor of Some of Changes Made by Rules Committee; Against Others. Believes, However, They Should Not Be Criticised Until Tried Out. change will operate in favor of the heavier team. Why? Because, it is figured, by' reducing the average to be gained in each down from 3 1-3 yards to 2 1-2 yards a heavy- rush line with heavy plunging back.? can negotiate that lower average .by steady line smashing Then, too, it is argued that continued line bucking of this char acter will tend to wear out the lighter line until it succumbs altogether, w-hen the heavy team will rush on and over like a Johnstown flood sweeping through the broken Conemaugh dam. No doubt this reasoning is largely cor rect; and the worst of it is that these bucking attacks will once more be di rected in the main at the poor tackle, whose troubles, I fear, will be almost as great as ever they’ were. Some will not assent to this, on the strength of the argument that tho bucket can no longer be pulled or push ed by his teammates. This is correct as far as it goes; but ft should be remembered that neither will the tackle himself get the help and support of the half back as formerly, for the rea son that the introduction of the for ward pass to help out the offensive team compels that defensive half to stay back and further out so as to ioqk out« for those forward passes. Thus it is made clear that the heavy team will again have a big advantage. To a problematical extent, though, the lighter team, provided it has speed, will have something In its favor by reason of the fact that out of four per mitted trials they can afford to try a greater percentage of end runs than when they bad only three trials. For merly few teams would attempt two end runs out of their next three trials after making a first down; for the very last trial had always to be saved for a punt, and that meant that they would have to make their two end runs in succession out of the first two trials if they made them at all. Now, however, they will figure that as they- are too light to buck the other team's line, they will take advantage of their right to four trials by attempt ing more end runs. While these, as we have seen, are more apt to fail than do bucks, yet when they do suc ceed they are apt to be "juicy.” Such being the case, the light, fast team will argue that the more end runs they attempt the more likely they are to ge away with one or more, sooner or later, that will have all the "ear marks" of a touchdown. . But while this will be apt to be the process of reasoning of the light, fast team, it must be borne in mid that the f flllwQy.s Good/ \> I incessant pounding of the heavier op ponent may’ so wear it down and out that it will not be capable of the flashy end running stunt when its chance comes, so that ‘the rule undoubtedly favors the heavy pounding t£am. After a year of trial it may be changed again bet’s give it a fair trial, so that we will know for a cer tainty at the end of the season just what we are talking about. HILTO nTeESTo NQU EROR BATTLE FOR MORE HONORS CHICAGO, Sept. 4.—With Harold H. Hilton, former title holder, out of th* running and a. member of the gallery that watched the play, the second match round of the national amateur golf championship tournament began today’ <on the links of the Chicago Golf club. Greatest interest of the day followed the play of C. G. Waldo, paired with Paul Hunter. Waldo yesterday de feated Hilton five down. Interest also centered in the struggle between Je rome D. Travers and Walter Travis, who were paired, and in the match be tween H. R. Lee and Chick Evans. Weather conditions were ideal, and the course was in excellent condition. Pairings for today: Mason Phelps vs. Harold Weber. J. D. Travers vs. W. J. Travis. C. G. Wgldo vs. aPul Hunter. H. K. Kerr vs. Albert Seckel. H. R. Lee vs. Charles Evans, Jr. R. E. Hunter vs Heinrich Schmidt. W. P. Smith vs. Normhn F. Hunter. W. C. Fownes, Jr., vs. W. K. Wood. FINAL RACeToDaFfOR HARMSWORTH TROPHY NEW V ORK, Sept. 4.—With honors tied, each country having won a race, the deciding contest in the Anglo- American motor boat races for the Harmsworth trophy is scheduled to be run off this afternoon In Huntington bay The weather was cloudy and the surface of the bay was roughened by a spanking breeze. The performance of the British boat Maple Leaf IV, in spinning over the 30-mile course in one hour, six min utes and fifty seconds yesterday, en couraged her driver, Tom Sopwith, the former aviator, to believe that he would have no trouble in leading the Yan kees this afternoon to victory. The supporters of the Britons were still further encouraged today by the fact that the Mona, another English boat, had finished second, while the Baby Reliance 111. an American boat, had a battle to get third. There was little betting, but what wagering there was favored England to take the trophy away from America. 7