Every forward must remember that on the offense as it is planned nowadays, he is expected to do as much interfering as the backs - this in addition to the regular blocking and opening of holes. For this reason he should be as quick to start backward as forward, pushing off with his forward foot, and wheeling on the pivot of his back foot. The forwards should note carefully the positions of the secondary defense, for they will frequently be called upon to go through and put these men out of the play after they have bumped their opponent just enough to slow them up and so protect their backs. The line man who goes through in order to interfere, will find that he has the same problem before him as the interfering back, and should use the same methods of blocking, already described.

Guards and tackles generally rest upon one knee until the lineup is complete and the team about ready for the play, when they stiffen into then- regular charging positions. This will rest them a great deal when there is a great deal of smashing attack to be done, but they should never let the starting signal or the snap of the ball find them with one knee on the ground. Should a guard find his opponent playing high, he must be sure to get under and lift him, while if his opponent is too low for that, the aggressive guard should pin him down with his own body, so that the play may pass on over him.

In case the guard is called upon to get into the interference behind his own line instead of beyond the line of scrimmage - a scheme of debatable value nowadays - he will have to step off first with his back foot in order to be sure to disengage himself from the center, and aid himself at the same time by pushing off from the center with his hand, which also aids the center in his own charge. It takes a very fast guard to get into interference behind his own line, for the defensive guard on the opposite side is likely to get through before he can get away and so upset the apple cart. In lining up the center should be quickly in place, otherwise the play cannot be speeded up, and the guards should be with him like a pair of brothers. With this trio promptly in place the rest of the formation is quickly and easily made.

The tackle on attack takes the position already defined for the guard, except that he is about an arm's length from his own guard. Plays that go the opposite side of the line give him splendid opportunities for interfering with the secondary defense, which, with the tackle, has become a more and more important duty year after year. Our tackle will find himself about midway between the defensive guard and tackle, and the latter he must in no case follow out. When the opposite side is attacked by his team he should bump, rather than block the tackle out, and then turn sharply in to take one of the men in the secondary defense. Should the play be beyond the tackle on the opposite side he may either cross the line of scrimmage and veer over toward the play, putting out the nearest man in the secondary, or he may jump back from his station in the line and get into the interference. It is asking a great deal nowadays to expect a tackle to lead it, but he will find a useful place in it somewhere. Personally, I believe the tackle is of greater use beyond the line of scrimmage.

When the play goes through on his own side between his center and guard, he should help his guard with the defensive guard, the end meanwhile looking after the tackle. On other plays around his own side, too, he should as a rule concern himself with the opposing guard, leaving the big fullback and the end to care for the defensive tackle, unless the latter is playing in too close, in which case he may be driven back.

On the attack much depends on the clever work of the ends, who if they are heavy as well as fast, will be of great value to the offense. Their particular care is the opposing tackle, whom they must sometimes put out alone, sometimes with the aid of a back. The end should play close in beside his tackle and devote his entire attention to the opposing tackle, whom he must smother at all costs if the play comes on his side of the center. If the play goes through between him and his own center, he should be certain to block the tackle out, leaving his feet and throwing his body and legs across him if necessary to make assurance doubly sure. If the play is an end run he should turn the tackle in. It is a mistake to follow out a wide playing tackle for this purpose, for if the defensive tackle is playing too wide it is the business of the quarterback to see that the play is sent inside instead of outside of his position. When the end sets sail under a forward pass he may bump his man just a second if the pass is to be short, and start away cleanly if the heave is to be a long one. The end's downfield work is discussed in another chapter.

The hints on line play given above are merely the simplest principles of the art, and the system has to be made to fit the material. There will be keystones in the line both on attack and defense, around whom the system will have to be built - unusually good men who will serve as " anchors" on the defense, and as "steam rollers" on the offense. It will be necessary sometimes, for this reason, to change the positions of the men on attack and defense, so as to get the strongest and best balanced combination in action regardless of the nomenclature of the positions. For this reason it is a good plan to familiarize the candidates with the normal conditions of play on both sides of the line, so that shifting may be done from time to time, and the player on one side of the line feel at home on the other. Again, what one man can do in the way of blocking with the shoulders, another can do better with the hips, and vice versa. It takes a real live coach, handling real live material to make a line, but the basic principles remain the same, and the candidate who follows carefully the instructions here given will find that he is at least on the right path.