Offside rule

“ A violation of the rules in football carries with it a severe penalty for the team, provided of course that the referee sees it, consequently, a beginner must be especially careful not to permit his anxiety to make a good showing to result in being offside when the ball is put in play, interfering with a man about to make a fair catch or in doing many other things which the excitement of the game may occasion. ”

“ The main principle is that any one who is not “offside” is in play. A player is offside if he gets in front of the ball—that is, on the opponents’ side of the ball, nearer than a colleague in possession of the ball to the opponents’ goal-line; when in this position he must not interfere with an opponent or touch the ball under penalty. The leading feature of the game is the “scrummage.” In old days at Rugby school there was practically no limit to the numbers of players on each side, and not infrequently there would be a hundred or more players on one side. ”

“ It was the second of these big clearances which fell at the feet of Osbody, and that loyal young gentleman, slavishly obeying instructions, parted with his prize at once to Dick, past whom the Octopus had rushed in his praise-worthy endeavour to score.
"Offside!" yelled half-a-dozen Cuthbertian players in chorus. "Offside, sir!" they repeated, as the referee made no sign. "Whistle there, please!"
It is this insistence on teaching the referee his business which costs so many teams dear. ”

“ The rest, including substitutes, water carriers, and all who are admitted within the enclosure, must be seated throughout the game. Breach of any part of this rule shall constitute a foul, and be punished by a loss of 10 yards to the side whose man infringes, the number of the down and the distance to be gained for first down remaining unchanged. See, however, Rule 28 J.
NOTE--The Rules Committee especially requests the captains and coaches to use every means to discourage and prevent side-line coaching. ”

“ How often it occurs that such opportunities are missed by players who are on-side; they do not realize that they have just as much right to that ball as the player making the fair catch. When the opponents are attempting a fair catch, after a kick-off, kick-out, punt-out, kick from a fair catch, both sides are on-side and any one may secure the ball or interfere with any one else securing it, since all are on-side. ”

“ Opponents who are off-side shall not interfere in any way with a player who has an opportunity to make a fair catch, nor shall he be thrown to the ground after such catch is made unless he has advanced beyond his mark. ”

“ The practice of obstructing—I mean legitimate obstruction, of course, by preventing him getting his kick—a back by one forward when another is making headway with the ball, is not so well carried out by many English teams as it should be. It ought to be a ruling principle, when the play is anywhere near the goal, for one or other of the forwards to impede and prevent the backs getting at the ball either by heading or kicking. Such tactics often demoralize the defence, and certainly destroy a great deal of its efficacy. ”

“ A Safety is made when the ball in the possession of a player guarding his own goal is declared dead by the referee, any part of it being on, over or behind the goal line, provided the impetus which caused it to pass from outside the goal to or behind the goal line was given by the side defending the goal. ”

“ Our full back plunges through the line and emerges squarely in front of the defensive quarter. The visitor forgets himself in the frenzy of defeat that seems certain, and his clenched fist shoots home. The blow was covertly given but the umpire is there to see such things. There is another distance penalty and the young man guilty of the slugging is sent from the game, while both sides cheer the decision. Foul play has no part in clean football. ”

“ After all a football team is but a small army and the discipline must be just as rigid as if something even more important than the mere winning or losing of a game were at stake. Orders must be obeyed unquestioningly after the team is on the field. The soldier who refuses to follow the mandates of his commanding officer is court-martialed, and the quicker the team gets rid of a member who willfully refuses to obey instructions, the better it is for the team. Rules for training, practice and play must be strictly adhered to if the team is to be a successful one. ”

“ In the Semi-final and Final Ties any Club failing to play, without showing a good and sufficient cause for such failure to play, may be adjudged by the Council to have been guilty of serious misconduct, and liable to be dealt with under Rule 45 of the Association. ”

“ If any player of the side in possession of the ball other than the snapper-back makes any deliberate attempt, by a false start or otherwise, to draw the opponents off-side, the ball, if then snapped, shall not be regarded as in play nor the scrimmage as begun. ”

“ Rules are nothing but football laws which must be obeyed. The practitioner in court who can quickly interpret a law bearing on the case that is being tried has an instant advantage over his slower opponent who is, for the moment, mystified. Correspondingly, no man can be a great football player unless he is an adept at the rules of the game. ”

“ But if any of the opposite side do charge before the player having the ball commences to run, or offers to kick, or the ball has touched the ground, the Referee may, provided the kicker has not taken his kick, and then only on a claim by the opposite side, disallow the charge. Except in a scrummage, it is not lawful for a player to charge against or obstruct any opponent, unless such opponent is holding the ball, or such player is himself running at the ball. ”

“ How justify the principle in accordance with which the captain on one side has an exclusive claim to the common ground of the club, and may charge every player exactly what he likes for the right to play upon it?—especially when the choice lies between playing on such terms, or being cast into the void, yourself and your family. ”

“ That in picking up their men, should the seconds or bottle-holders wilfully injure the antagonist of their principal, the latter shall be deemed to have forfeited the battle on the decision of the referee.
13. That it shall be a fair "stand-up fight," and if either man shall wilfully throw himself down without receiving a blow, whether blows shall have previously been exchanged or not, he shall be deemed to have lost the battle; but that this rule shall not apply to a man who in a close slips down from the grasp of his opponent to avoid punishment, or from obvious accident or weakness. ”

“ Jack was over, and had thrown himself, still grasping the ball, for the touchdown that tied the score!
Hardly had this happened when the shrill whistle of the referee announced that the fourth and concluding quarter had ended.
"A tie! a tie!" shrilled hundreds of excited voices.
"Hold on there, you're away off!" others called out, making frantic gestures as they shouted these words. "Don't you see the umpire using his megaphone, and that referee, head linesman, and field judge are waving their arms? Keep quiet, everybody! They've got a communication to make. ”

“ Section I. When the opponents are inside your own 35-yard line, there is always much danger of their scoring either by a touchdown or a goal from the field. Strive to prevent in every way possible the enemy's securing possession of the ball in this territory. The general policy should be to kick on first down or just as soon as you secure the bali. The danger in rushing the ball in Section I is that a fumble may occur and the ball be secured by the opponents. ”

“ Contravention of the rules laid down by the League of Nations shall be penalized according to the gravity of the offense, with penalties ranging from, let us say, an hour's free bombardment of the offender's position to the entire forces of the enemy being addressed very severely by the referee and ordered off the field. ”

“ But this much is certain, -the offense should include such a varied attack that some of the plays will be effective against any style of defense the opponents may offer. The game must not be played to suit the opponents, but should be so planned as to take every possible advantage of their weakness. How often it occurs that a team plays into the hands of its opponents, shoots the ball into its pocket, as it were, and wonders why the play fails to gain. The modern offensive game, to be as effective as it should, is one that is made up of a variety of plays and different formations. ”

“ The hands must be used freely on the defense to jerk the opponent aside. The most effective method of breaking up the play of an opposing team is illustrated when a team possesses forwards who are able to penetrate the opposing line, starting the moment the ball is snapped and either tackling the man with the ball or so throwing his interference into such confusion that the runner is tackled the moment he reaches the line of scrimmage or even before. ”

“ The object of football is to score points and no team is able to do this unless the backs receive the protection they have a right to expect from the men who are playing in the line.
There are two methods of blocking an opponent, although these two permit of numerous variations. Opponents can be blocked with the shoulder or with the hip. Blocking with the arms is attempted at times, but this comes dangerously close to holding and is, as well, less effective for the purpose desired. ”

“ Why are your eight score Oneidas absent—the eight score who still remain in the Long House? Surely, brothers, there are sachems among them? Why are they not here? Do you fear they might not agree to the punishment of the Oneida nation?"
I folded my arms and stared at the Mohawks.
"Clan ties are close, national ties closer, but strongest and closest of all, the six iron links that form the Great League! Why do you punish now? How can you punish now? Is it well to break the oldest League law to punish those who have broken the law of the League?" ”

“ NOTE--In case a team is penalized under this rule at or near their goal line, e. g., in case of illegal charging during a try-for-goal after touchdown or throwing the catcher of a punt-out, the regular penalty shall be exacted even though it results in placing them behind their own goal line. A second offense here shall be penalized exactly as if it had occurred outside the goal line.
J. Whenever the rules provide for a distance penalty, if the distance prescribed would carry the ball nearer to the goal line than the 5-yard line, the ball shall be down on the 5-yard line. ”

“ But one kind of intercollegiate football is now played the whole country over, and of recent years the changes in the rules have been comparatively slight and unimportant. The desire of the men who have from time to time served on the committee has been to develop a game which is clean and manly, and only a reference to the present code of rules is needed to demonstrate the stringent penalties placed upon any tactics even bordering on the unfair. ”

“ Holding by defensive side of player not carrying the ball (Rule 17, c) . - Snapper-back or man opposite touching ball before it has touched third man (Rule 16, c) . Piling up after the ball has been declared dead (Rule 20, c) . B. Loss of 15 Yards.
Tripping (Rule 27, g) . Holding or illegal use of hands or arms by team in possession of ball (Rule 17, b) . Illegal running by man receiving ball directly from snapper-back (Rules 16, e; 18) . Interference with fair catch (see provision “G,” Rule 28) . C. Disqualification. ”

“ Often the apportionment of the work among the individuals has been poorly done and advantage has not been taken in the games of the opportunities given under the rules, such as carrying the ball out of bounds when being downed near the sideline, or touching the ball as it is about to roll out of bounds on a punt and making the opponents take it for scrimmage within a yard of the sideline, instead of being permitted to carry it in for 15 yards. ”

“ The proximity of their positions to their opponents requires that the men in the line take a position considerably modified from that of the occupants of the backfield. Here, in addition to time necessity for a quick advance straight ahead or to either side, the player must guard against a sudden jerk forward from his immediate opponent. The weight of his body must therefore be less on his hands and more on his feet in order to guard against being over-balanced. ”