Touchdown

“ The various changes in rules have been made with a view to making the game less dangerous to the players and more interesting to the spectator.
The principal scores in football are the “touchdown” and the “field goal.” In a touchdown the ball is carried by one of the players and touched on the ground behind the opponents’ goal line. In a field goal, or, as it is often called, “a goal from the field,” the ball is kicked over the crossbar between the goal posts. In a field goal the player executing it must not kick the ball until after it has touched the ground. ”

“ When a kick is blocked there is great opportunity for a touchdown. If the ball is bounding and can consequently be easily picked up, the tackle can frequently snatch it up and race on over the goal line. Sometimes he can kick the ball forward along the ground until it is kicked in goal, where he can fall on it for a touchdown. ”

“ We're not reinstated till the beginning of the last quarter but it's time enough for "Butter Fingers," with the score 13 to 7 against us, to scoop up an Edgewood fumble on our seventeen yard line and run practically the length of the field for a touchdown! Then I kicks the extra point to make the score 14 to 13 which is the way it stands when the game ends. ”

“ If the try-at-goal is to be preceded by a punt-out, the punter shall kick the ball from the point at which the line parallel to the side-line, and passing through the spot of the touchdown, intersects the goal line. The players of his side must stand in the field of play not less than 5 yards from the goal line. ”

“ Like a shot, through the rush of men one of our ends tears in, dives for the ball, rolling over and over. He grasps it in both arms and tries to regain his feet for a run to the opponents' goal, but there is a man who throws himself at him and flattens him to earth again. It is our ball, however, but 15 yards from the goal, and a touchdown almost within our grasp. Can the team make it? ”

“ The ball is dead when it rests absolutely motionless on the ground.
9. A touchdown is when a player putting his hand upon the ball on the ground in touch or in goal, stops it so that it remains dead or fairly so. ”

“ Knowing they had little chance to win the game, the cadets devoted all their energies to trying to score. They wanted at least one touchdown, or a field goal, and Randall was determined they should have neither. ”

“ 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. ”

“ By tremendous efforts, ploughing through the line, bucking great holes between their opponents, and by putting up a great defense, Randall succeeded in getting another touchdown, and a goal from the field, while Boxer Hall was unable to score in the last half. ”

“ As far as football players are concerned, the ordinary ball carrier will try to make a touchdown, but he will be satisfied with a five or six yard gain. The champion athlete, the All-American back, is dissatisfied when he fails to score. He is always going for the opposition’s goal line. The ball carrier actually does not succeed in his objective unless he runs for a touchdown on every play (except for occasional tactical situations) , and he should never be made to feel he has accomplished his objective unless he scores. ”

“ It had been definitely decided to keep him at fullback, for three things were imperative in the weak backfield: some one who could catch punts, with nerve enough to get off his kicks quickly in the face of a stronger line, and above all some one on the last defense who would never miss the tackle that meant a touchdown. ”

“ Providing we do this, and eliminate the “easy” touchdown, we believe our opposition’s own offense will stop itself 65% of the time through a broken signal, a penalty, or some other offensive mistake. Therefore, if my boys are aggressive while on defense, we’ll probably keep our opposition from scoring about 25% of the time they have the ball. The remaining 10% will be a dog fight. Therefore, we must instill in our defensive men a fierce competitive pride that each player is personally responsible for keeping the opposition from scoring. ”

“ In football the ball is concealed in the line, very few can see exactly what has happened, and no one knows whether a run or a touchdown is going to count or not, until the official has given his consent; and if he withholds his approval, and the ball is brought back, the spectators do not know why. ”

“ While one quarterback is playing the game, the other quarterbacks are listening. If the boy at the board fails to make a first down, he must punt, and the coach appoints another quarterback to take over. After each play the coach will plot the position of the ball on the diagram, and the players learn to know which defenses to expect. We have found, with other things being equal, the quarterback who has the mental ability to sustain the ball for a long drive and a touchdown will usually be your best quarterback. ”

“ After the safety has lined up in his proper position and stance and sees the flow pass develop, his first step is back and out toward the flow. His area of responsibility is the deep middle one-third of the field, but he goes back facing or favoring the flow. He must get as deep as the deepest receiver and be in a position to cover the middle one-third, as well as be in a position to help out on deep passes from sideline to sideline. He must remember he is the safety, and he must prevent the touchdown regardless of where the ball is thrown. ”

“ We will go into a 5-man line if we have the game won and our opponents are not close to our goal line. Under such circumstances we can afford to permit the opposition to get a first down or two, but we cannot afford to let them complete the long pass or the long run for a touchdown. We believe our victory defense is sound, and we are playing sound defensive football when we employ it. Figure 24 illustrates the victory defense we used eight times in one year, and we intercepted our opposition’s intended forward pass on seven of the eight occasions. ”

“ For those minutes courage flowed like wine out of the November dusk, and he was the eternal hero, one with the sea-rover on the prow of a Norse galley, one with Roland and Horatius, Sir Nigel and Ted Coy, scraped and stripped into trim and then flung by his own will into the breach, beating back the tide, hearing from afar the thunder of cheers... finally bruised and weary, but still elusive, circling an end, twisting, changing pace, straight-arming... falling behind the Groton goal with two men on his legs, in the only touchdown of the game. ”

“ To win the game, you need power in the line—power that will let your ball carrier cross the line again, and again, and again, the way I became an All-American by scoring those three touchdowns against California back in 1930. ”

“ The #4 man is not blocked, and the passer is going to option from him. As soon as the passer has possession of the ball, he watches the #4 man. If he comes up to tackle the passer, the latter throws to the open receiver. If the #4 man drops back to play pass defense, the passer is instructed to turn upfield and run with the football. If our passer feels he can gain at least four yards on the play, we want him to run with it most of the time. The play is much better against a team that uses a 9-man front than against an 8-man front alignment. ”

“ When punting from near the sideline, care must be taken that the ball does not go outside too soon in flight. If punting from near the sideline, do not kick too far toward the other side, as the opposing backs will have a great chance to run the ball back along the side of the field that is little protected. The punt should always be high enough to permit the ends to go down the field with the ball to tackle the runner or get the ball in case of a fumble. ”

“ On the defense, half backs take the places ours have now--back of the tackles to assist the ends, for this is a frequent point of attack. The full back of the attacking side stands directly behind the quarter, with the halves on either side of him, while our full back is 30 yards or so behind his own line, waiting for a possible punt and acting as a final line of defense, should the opposing runner succeed in carrying the ball past the rest of his comrades. ”

“ Our left end and right tackle will go down and set up five yards outside of the safety man, and five yards away from him. We set our right end out about 10 yards, and he is our “sprinter.” His assignment is to sprint straight for the safety man, and force the safety to fumble the ball, if possible. His line of direction has a second purpose, too. Since he is in an excellent position to catch the football should the punter fake the punt and pass, the defense must adjust to him and cannot merely permit him to run a diagonal course downfield every time we have a punting situation. ”

“ If a forward-pass develops on his side his place is under the ball. Right half-back plays about three yards back, between his guard and tackle. Full-back occupies a similar position on the other side, ready to go in or out, as play develops. He and left tackle must look after the opposing tackle and end. Behind him, more to the right and well back, is the left half. The quarter, of course, is up the field. Chancellor will almost always punt from that formation, but she may fake, and it is those fakes you must watch out for. Full-back must be especially alive. ”

“ How soon to let the man through is also an important question. When the ball is to be punted, the tackle upon the kicker's side must block long and hard, while the tackle upon the other end should block sharply, and then let his man through for the sake of getting down the field under the kick. When a drop is to be attempted, the blocking upon both sides must be close and long, much longer than for a punt. ”

“ If the ball goes in goal the opponents will fall on it for a touch-back, and they will be permitted to kick out from the 25-yard line instead of being forced to take a kick from scrimmage on or near their own goal line.
Section 3. When the team has once crossed the opponents' 35-yard line, the attack should grow stronger and more determined. Every inch counts now and every member of the eleven should get in with all his power. The selection of plays is very important and only the ones that are strongest and best should be attempted. ”

“ Rushing the passer is a good element of surprise, especially with an 8- or 9-man line. Overloading one side of the line is a sound tactic, too, because you have more men rushing than the offense has blocking, and the quarterback must get rid of the ball quickly. If the quarterback has sufficient time to spot his receivers, then throw to one of them when he breaks to get open, it is difficult for the defense to cover the pass properly.
The men rushing the passer must have their hands up high, forcing the passer to release the ball higher than he does normally. ”

“ We are trying to force the opponents to rush from the outside, rather than permitting them to rush inside.
Up-Backs—The up-backs line up about a yard deep and a yard inside our offensive ends. They are in a position where they can reach out and touch the tail of our end on their respective sides. The up-back’s assignment is to keep his inside foot in place and force the rushers to go wide. He cannot move his inside foot, and he must not be knocked down. On a field goal attempt he has wide responsibility to his side of the field. ”

“ A coach goes to the blackboard and draws a diagram of a football field, along with the defenses we expect Georgia to use on the hash mark, in the middle of the field, on the goal line, and in a short yardage situation. On the board the coach will also list the backfield personnel, so the quarterback will have an opportunity to use his men properly. To digress for a second: the quarterback uses the wrong judgment if he calls for sweeps with a slow backfield, does not employ the best blocker to block, etc. The quarterback must know his offensive personnel thoroughly. ”

“ Two forms for holding ball on plunges through the line. The art of taking a secure hold of the ball when called upon for a gain and retaining its possession from the time it is received from the center or quarter back till the play is ended is an important feature of football, but one often overlooked. How many times, by one disastrous fumble, is a team that has apparently won been forced to see its colors trailed in defeat! ”

“ These spread punt blocking rules apply to any defense and provide the most protection at the spot where the ball will be kicked. The basic principle for the linemen in carrying out their assignments is never to move the inside foot. If the lineman makes contact with the defensive man and throws him off-balance, then he can cover the kick immediately. The up-backs take a good stance with a wide base and uncoil at anyone coming [120] through the inside gaps. ”

“ Then, the ball had to go through the quarter's hands, and the kicker in consequence had so little time in which to get the ball away that he was really forced to kick in his tracks and immediately on receipt of the ball. Fortunately I was able to do both, and I never had a try for a drop blocked, and only one punt, the latter due to the fact that the ball was down by the side line, and I could not run to the left (which would have taken me out of bounds) before kicking. ”