Team Play.

EDITORS DAILY CRIMSON :-At the Harvard-Princeton game last Saturday' I was struck with the difference between the two contesting teams ; whereas the Princeton men did not seem to play in the rush-line with any more vigor and earnestness than our men, still they so surpassed our rushers, in system, that the greatest difference in effect was discernable. Each man on the Priceton team seemed not only to know where he himself should be at a given time, but also where every other man in the team was and should be. And this seems to me, to be directly due to the fact that he had been told by the Captain, or whoever acted as coach, what to do in any given case. This idea was thoroughly confirmed in my mind, on the evening following, when I was told that such was truly the state of the case. To quote in the words of my informer, "Each rusher was told to back up' some other individual rusher, and if he was not there, he was 'cussed.'" Now I do not advocate the "cussing" part, but it seems to me, that much of the recklessness, and uncertainty in play could be done away with provided some such action as this should be taken. Let each man be told to back up some other particular man. And when this man gets the ball, he will be expected to be there by every man on the team. Then the rest of the team are not compelled to rush after the ball itself, but can be helping this man in other ways. They may be running ahead and "hunting." It is not needed that every one in the team should back up. At present most of the rush line stand around and act the part of spectators. Let them be told how to act, and they probably will act so as to be of some service to the work of the whole team. It seems to me not only this suggestion, or something like it, should be acted on, but also that other suggestions that arose in the mind of anyone on seeing the Princeton game should not be dropped. My space is too limited to call them to mind here. If they are adopted much of the uncertainty and recklessness of the play will be done away with, and also a few men on the team will be prevented from doing all the work. Each man will know his place and there will be no "spectators,"

X. '85.