Harper's Round Table, September 15, 1896

by Various

A guard should stand with the foot next to centre forward if possible, but if a man starts quicker with that foot back, why, stand that way. He should be careful not to allow himself to be drawn out too far from the centre. If his man goes out far he should tell the quarter-back, and have him send a play through guard and centre, and his opponent will probably move in again. As long as the inner foot of the opposite guard is inside of the outer foot of the guard blocking, the latter ought to be able to take him the moment the ball starts, and run him out to the side lines. The guard should also keep a sharp lookout for the opposing quarter, and if he comes up into the line between him and centre, push him out with open hand.

After having made a hole if called for, or blocked his man, the next duty of the guard is to get into the push or interference himself. Get hold of the runner; if possible, pull him along. Give him a chance to use you in warding off would-be tacklers. One of the first duties of a guard is to line up quickly. He should be right beside his centre the moment the ball is down. The play cannot start without some one to guard it. When his side is going to kick, the guard should move in close to the centre so that no little quarter or stray back can come through and stop the kick. He must block well, and almost until he hears the ball booted, because the path through the centre is the straightest line, and hence the shortest distance to the kicker, as will be seen in Fig. 3, line A B. The exact moment when he can let his man through must be determined by the quickness of the man in front of him and the kicker, as will be seen in Fig. 3. After having blocked long enough to insure the kicks getting away, he should get down the field with the other forwards to help prevent return of the ball.

FIG. 3.

On the defense there is an immense amount of hard work for the guard. He is primarily responsible for the ground between him and tackle, and secondarily for that between him and centre. In going through, this fact should be kept in mind. The fact that a guard must stand lower than tackle, and has less and different kind of territory to cover, will prevent him ordinarily from using as many methods of breaking through as a tackle. He must take some method of getting through that will enable him to use the body of his opponent to cover the territory between him and centre, and to enable him to get out and back up tackle, and that will put him through back to back with his man before the runner reaches the line.

Centre Rush.—The position of centre rush is comparatively a new one. Until a few years ago the middle position in the line was occupied by a snap-back, whose only duty was to put the ball in play. After that he was merely a passenger. From the snap-back the centre rush has been evolved by gradual enlargement of his duties. To-day he is chief of forwards, there being no duplicate to his position, as there is of tackle and guard. Every play starts from the centre rush, and depends upon him for a large share of its success or failure. The position is one requiring painstaking, conscientious hard work, admitting of very little glory, although the centre handles the ball more than any other player. On the offensive, the first duty of the centre rush is to put the ball in play. Much depends upon this. The team can play no faster than he does. If he is slow, the whole thing is slow. He must follow the ball closely, and the moment it is down, take it from his back and put it down for the next play. When the ball goes out of bounds, he must be the first man on the side lines, to take it in on the jump for the next play. The line forms on him, and to have his team line up quickly he must be doubly quick.

To snap the ball back, the body should be just low enough to reach the ball with the snapping arm, and no lower nor higher. The distance between the forward and rear foot must be obtained by practice. The rear one, in general, should be just far enough back to give him a good start. The centre should straddle only enough to keep from wobbling from side to side. The centre should never stand flat-footed. The feet should be at right angles to the gridiron lines. The position is much like that of a sprinter on his mark, as is shown in Fig. 2.

Different Methods of Snapping.—First, the flat, or side, snap, or snap on the longer axis of the ball. Place the ball upon the ground about two inches from the forward foot. Turn the lacing in. Have the seams of the ball parallel with the gridiron lines. Take a firm grip of the ball. Let the fingers be well over the front of it. The ball is sent back to the quarter with a downward motion of the wrist and arm. Place the ball as far under you as possible; it shortens the distance. The advantage of the side snap is that the snapper can balance himself partly on the ball, so that he can ofttimes put the ball into play under very trying circumstances.

Second, the end-over-end, or snap on the shorter axis. This snap is in most general use at present. It requires more skill in handling than the other. It has the advantage that it is quicker when well executed, and enables the quarter to be of considerably more aid in the interference. To use this style of snapping, place the ball on the end, the head out a little, although the exact angle must be acquired by practice. The ball is put into play by a delicate wrist motion back and downward.

The defensive-work of the centre is almost illimitable. He can be of as much or of as little use to his side as he has a mind to. He has more opportunity for brilliant tackles than any other man on his side, for the sole reason that he is not expected to do anything, and is the unaccounted-for man. His own man is handicapped by having to snap the ball, and he has no other assignment except that man. He should remain in his position long enough to see whether the play is coming at him or not. This will, of course, be determined by his shrewdness in guessing the play. If the play is at him, by keeping his man away from him, he can get under and into either hole. If his own position is not attacked, he should take the hole nearest the runner. He can often go through between guard and centre by having his guard break to the outside, and the opposing guard, following him, makes the hole for centre to go through.