Once free of the last man in the defense the back must guard against the natural tendency to overstride, for this would be fatal to the success of his run. Above all, as he values his reputation, he should avoid the error of Lot's wife, for looking back slows him up, and too often is the beginning of a mental panic that continues until he is ignominiously tackled.

Under modern conditions interference is one of the great features of the play of a back, for as the game is played to-day he is often called upon to care single-handed for one of the strongest players on the defense, even in the first line of the enemy. In one of the important games of 1912 a certain great tackle lost his reputation not through the efforts of his immediate opponent, to whom was accorded all the credit in the public prints, but because one of the offensive backs constantly put him out of the play. One of the touchdowns made by Harvard in that season against Yale was directly due to the wonderful individual interference of Hardwick who accounted for two men in the Yale defense at the critical moment.

There is no moment from the time the run starts until the ball is declared down that the back should not employ in interfering, even if many yards away from the play. He should put one or more members of the defense to the sod every time, as if the success of the run depended upon him and upon him alone. He should prevent tackling from in front, behind, and on both sides. There have been instances in which a defensive player has been able to make two tries at the runner, but against a team that understands individual interference as it is understood in some quarters today, such a thing should be beyond the bounds of possibility.

The up-to-date back, when interfering, makes absolutely certain of his man, even at the cost of leaving his feet and going out of the play with him. If he can put him out, keep his feet, and continue the run, so much the better, but the defensive player must be put out of it beyond the suspicion of a doubt. There are many methods of putting a would-be tackier out of the play, but that one is generally best that employs as much of the body at one time as possible. Some men acquire a great deal of skill in blocking with the shoulder and keeping the feet at the same time, but this, as pointed out above, is apt to be dangerous, whereas, if the tackier is met by the entire body of the interferer he will find it difficult in the extreme to keep on his own feet. When the interferer does rely upon his shoulder blocking alone he should as a rule be facing in the direction taken by the runner, as otherwise the tackier may be able to work his way around him. With the body thrown into the tackier on the horizontal, however, with one leg well up, or with both feet in air and the legs extended full length, there is little chance for the defensive player.

The side of the body and the hip should be the immediate points of contact, but there are times when a clever tackier will evade them and the legs alone will have to be relied upon to bring him down. Further, when the interferer meets more than one tackier in a bunch he can sometimes spill two men by meeting one with the hip or body, and turning over the other with his extended legs. It will be hard work disciplining the hands and elbows, which, of course, are barred from use on the offense by rule, but the more the interferer practises the use of the body and legs the less he will come to depend instinctively on the illegal use of the arms and hands.

Photo by Paul Thomoson.

The Back Who Keeps His Feet

The man with the ball (X), about to clear the line, is preparing to meet opposition in the secondary defense; for which his right arm is raised ready for the "straight arm." While still in contact with the line he is taking short steps as will be perceived from the position of his left knee.

Despite the growing tendency to make a deal of use of the direct pass from the center nowadays, one of the all-important functions of the quarterback is still the handling of the ball. If he takes the leather low from the center the chances of fumbling will be greatly decreased, and the smooth passage of the ball from the center to the quarter and thence to the back, will be facilitated. With the leather coming back high there is at least an even chance that it will be handled high in the backfield, thus leading to spasms of fumbling. In passing for a buck into the line the quarter should place the ball in the pit of the runner's stomach; in the case of an end run he may let it go out of his hands before it reaches the back, but I believe that the days of the old "floating" pass, so popular years ago, will never recur. It is the safest policy, as constant experiment has demonstrated, to pass the ball to the runner, and not to some spot where he is expected to be, as is the case in the direct pass from center. With fast passing, very little allowance will have to be made for the pace of the runner, and the latter will never find the ball floating ahead of him just out of reach, nor will an opponent breaking through be able to snatch it on the fly, as has sometimes, if infrequently, happened in the past.

The position assumed behind the center is largely open to debate, and varies with the natural ability of the candidates. Some men face the center, legs wide apart so that the other backs can see the ball at all times, while others turn their right side to the snapper back. The full facing position is especially good if the quarter is ambidextrous in his passing, but has the disadvantage of requiring quick moving in the event of a fake kick. Time was when the quarter took up his position well back and to the left on kick formation, whether the play was to be an actual kick or a fake followed by a run. Nowadays, he gets out to that post with the snapping of the ball.

The quarter who stands sidewise to the center should be careful to hold his hands always in the same position, whether the kick be bona fide or a fake. There is a tendency to spread the hands a trifle when the kick is to he genuine, and bring them closer together when there is to be a run from the kick formation. This is a dangerous tendency and should be discouraged as early as possible, just as the center should be careful, when a kick is to be made, not to lift the ball from the ground in one motion and shoot it back with a second, distinct motion, when making the long pass to the kicker. These are often little things in practice, but not infrequently vital in the big game. The quarter should always make certain to get into the interference, for this is one of his primary duties, and even in the ease of a sharp dash through the center he can lend his aid in bending back the line. It is not important that the quarter have weight, but he must have speed, and a good head on his shoulders if nothing else. Speed and brains will win a place in this position on the most important of teams when the candidate who may hold the university strength record is hopelessly floundering. The quarter must have all the qualities of a good halfback, for on the direct pass he will often run with the ball, and he may also be used on the receiving end of the forward pass. He should be also a good forward passer, and if possible an accurate drop and placement kicker, although place kicking and punting may sometimes be turned over to line men if kickers are scarce in the backfield.