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Neu) Game Means Plenty of Work for Coaches and Field Generals; Policy of Play Is Vastly Different This Year COACH HEISMAN EXPLAINS CHANGES MADE IN GRIDIRON RULES Tech’s Famous Football Leader Goes Over New Code Carefully and Ex plains Just What Can Be Expected of the Gridiron Warriors This Fall. f-r-v > '.tie casual spectator football ks the same year in and year nt-—a jumbled-up mass of ; r ,„ ~..-wn and drag-outs, with no ncmblance of order or system. He .. know the difference, anyway, between a twenty-yard zone and a f . so why concern himself as A.utini either fir neither of them has been changed into a fozzle-dill or a n > ffenpoof, so long as he is assured .? that thrilling, lightning dash through a br hen field, that mad charging and yampe.ding of the buffalo herd, and • a,it luii boom which means another skyrocketing punt the same as it al ways did? W I, so far as he is concerned, foot ■vii: look just about the same this rear as it always looked; but it will t „, ibanged a-pleuty for the coaches' 5 ,,.i the field generals. Nut so much, rr l ai's, in the matter of fundamentals, even in the formations or plays. b„ in the system of handling those .. a v= ii the strategy of the game, ip tr.e policy of play . 1 will illustrate fur ther on. The first change comes in rule 1, uhieh defines the field. Heretofore the fi.ld has always been 330 feet long and Un feet wide. This year the width re mains the same, but the length be tween goal lines is reduced by 30 feet, having the distance from goal post to goal post an even 300 feet. Xow suppose a team gets real clos c down to that opposing goal line and sees that it is going to be almost impossible for them to shove the ball «c:oss 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 ■heir eligible players getting it on the fly. 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 passed forward across opponents' goal 'me it was declared a touchback and ■ hail was dead, and in the posses- ■ ■ of the tcgm defending that goal, ■natter who caught It or where. \s a touchback entitles the defend ’’.v ram to {he possessiori of the ball, c l to bring it out to the twenty-yard ' ”.e and ,pus |t ,ip plA_y.. V was mani suicide to make'a forward pass xrnsf the goal line. But when a team ■ pushed right down to its own goal i: is forced to bring its second and • tn its third line of defense right up on the heels of the'rush line in order v be on hand and do something be f.re the offensive team can advahce -> bail the slight distance yet remain ing. • made the defensive formation so mart tiiat it . was exceedingly dlffi for the attacking eleven to con finun to make the required ten yards th- three downs permitted them, result was too frequent failure to ■ a >re, and altogether too many tie and » reless games. S ■>. in order to keep that secondary line of defense of the goal-crowded team back the usual distance behind "s rush line, it has this year been r>ereed that the attacking team shall 3 0 the right to make a forward pass ’■-rose the goal line, and to capture it again if it can—provided the fall gives ns more than ten yards beyond that ?o;i’ l(rp and is. of course, caught with it that ten-yard zone. As the other earn must have the same right at the ter end of the field, it results that field must have a playing zone ■f ten y ards marked off and added be d each goal line, thus making the i this year In reality 360 feet long, nstead of 330 feet, as last year. But these added playing zones are ■r forward pass use only’ and cut no ’r figure with the bucking or end ming game than thev ever did; so if a team once gets the ball across orients' goal line either by running bucking. it will have scored a (down without further reference to additional ten-yard forward pass this change result in compelling '■l' defending a goal to keep its sec defense back as in the open ’o look out for the possible for pass, or will they let the forward MARTIN MAY X' I W/ 2 PEACHTREE STREET UPSTAIRS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL UNREDEEMED PLEDGES y FOR SALE >4 JantalTOy O Relieves in 24 Hours (0 Catarrh of the Bladder Druggists Beware <v Countr-feltt ISANTAL-MIDY By J. W. Heisman. Coach Tech Football Team. pass take care of itself and bring up their reinforcements as in the past in older 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 •••••••••••••••••••••••••• : TECH TEAM HURT BY • J REVISED GRID CODE! • The chances that the Georgia • • Tech will have a good team under • • the new football rules is extreme- • • ly remote. Big men have never • • been particularly numerous at • • Tech. And this year a team with- • • out big men will have small • • chance. Os course, extreme speed • • will, in a measure, take the place • • of weight, but the heavy teams • • will win most of the battles. To • • the Yellow Jackets the new code • • is a hard blow. • ••••••••••••••••••••••••a* to stop either play if they can. For the attacking general it will be a nice point each time he gets his team down there, whether to try a forward pass over the line or to continue his running or smashing tactics. Kick Off From Your Own 40-Yard Line. t N tny 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 ten 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, i 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. a • • • Kick Ont 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- yard. 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 score and the ball, but 25 yards 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 Between Straw Hat Days And Derby=dom Conies the IWiiplBMA Cloth Hat L C filling to perfection the interim which calls for neither < /' felt nor the ultra derby. Our stocks show everything \ affected by every taste, from the curving college dip WS/t to the staid dignity of the business man’s lines. All \ CCS* the regular and newer color effects. Prices 7* T and T PARKS-CRAMBERS-HARDWICK 37-39 Peachtree Street :COMPANYr Atlanta, Georgia THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 4. 1912. Heisman toWrite Football for The Georgian The Georgian has added Coach Heisman of Tech to its staff of experts on sports, and he will write many interesting stories of 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 opinion, 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 corking article. extra good punt which went so far that it crossed the other team's goal line. In other words, lie 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 will not let a punt roll ac oss their line so often. Sometimes they will figure that they can gobble up the ball and make more than a distance of 20 yards out from their own goal line with it before being downed, and by whatever distance greater than 20 yards they prove their judgment to have been correct, to just that extent will they' be playing bet ter ball to take the chance and maka 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. rNSTEAD sis having two minutes In- A termission betwen the first and second quarters, and between the third and fourth quarters, the rule this year will be to allow’ but one minute's rest. I can not but feel that the rules com mittee ig 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. Its 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. J AST year an on-side kick was made by kicking the ball to some for ward part 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 al! done away with and. in fact, there is no such a thing as an on-side kick this year under any conditions. This change will hurt us I at Tech a bit as the team was particu larly good on these things However. 1 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 it simplifies the whole thing. • • • No Limit to Length Os the Forward Pass. AS the 20-yard zone back of the de -*■ fending rush line has also been 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 get 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 20syard- zone and the on side kick from the game we are also enabled to dispense with the services •••••••••••••••••••••••a** •NO COMPLAINTS FROM J : VANDY OVER CHANGES: • • • The Vanderbilt team will prob- • • ably feel no particularly ill es- • • sects from the change in the rules. • • though they are not especially • • welcoming them. Coach McGugin • • prefers the open game. He is • • no believer in steady line plung- • • ing The removing of restrictions • • from the forward pass will help • • him. And as he has a great line • • plunger in Sykes, he can hold up • • his end at the bucking game. Also • • he has a lot of husky players to • • pick from. • • • •••••••••••••••••••••••••a of a field judge, who in the past has seemed to do little but get in the way of the plAyers. and bail the other offi cials up with his buttings-in. * ♦ ♦ Touchdown Stock Still Above Par and Going Higher. HEN 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 tesult has been a steady diminution in the value assign ed to field goals and, in the meantime, the price of a touchdown has twice been whooped up. 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. C OME 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 till 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 more enjoyable for the spectators. * • • The Big Change For the Season. ... HE changes already discussed are 1 for the most part wholesome and it ill 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. 1 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- Stetson Hat Exhibition In Muse's Windows • Many a man wears a Stetson Hal, but a comparative few have realized the intricate process of manufacture. Should it be the concern of any man to know the history of the hat he 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 eopv, phone it, or write for it. Geo. Muse Clothing Co. Is in Favor of Some of Shifts Made by Rules Committee; Against Others. Believes, However, They Should Not Be Criticised Until Tried Out. ing the required ten yards of addition al territory after a team had once worked its way to, say, within 25 or 30 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 ••••••••••••••••••••••••a* • NO TELLING HOW CODE • : WILL AFFECT GEORGIA: • At the University of Georgia • • there appears considerable uncer- • • tainty about what the new rules • • are going to do to the Athenian • • eleven. It will all depend on the • • new material. For one thing, the • • new rules will give Coach Cun- • • ningham’s men more, chances to • • try their great star. Bob McWhor- • • ter. on end runs. And in the past • • it has proved that the more times • • they’ were able to use him the • • more ground they gained. • ••••••••••••••••••••••a*** 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 w’hen 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 were 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 trials in which to gain the same required, dis tance of 10 yards. Coupled with the HERNSHEIM QCAIf , 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 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 backs 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, when | the heavy team wiJl s ruSh on and over like a Johnstown flcod sweeping through the broken Conemaugh dam. No doubt this reasoning' ts largely cor- ■ rect; and the worst of it is thaX theeo bucking attacks will once more be di rected in the main at the poor tackle, whose troubles, I fear, will be as great as ever they were. Some will not assent to this, on th« 4 strength of the argument that thoi bucker can no longer be pulled or push ed by his teammates. This Is correct as far as ft goes; but it should be remembered that neither will the tacklwi himself get the heip and support old the half back as formerly, for the rea-i son that the introduction of ths for-., ward pass to help out the offemriv»; team compels that defensive half to! stay back and further out so as to look’ out for those forward passes. Thus* it is made clear that the heavy team will again have a big advantage But let us give the new code a fair trial, so that we will know for a cer tainty at the end of the season just what we are talking about. PRINCETON ELEVEN WILL START TRAINING MONDAY PRINCETON, N. J„ Sept. 4.—An nouncement nas made today that football training at Princeton will be gin next Monday. Logan Cunningham, of Washington, D. C., will act as head coach, although the advisory system of coaching which was established some time ago by William Roper will still be maintained. 11