SOLONS CURTAIL USE OF FORWARDS

Rigid curtailment of the forward pass as an offensive weapon came with the new ruling, passed on Saturday by the Intercollegiate Football Rules Committee at its meeting in New York. This move comes in answer to an increasing feeling that the pass has developed to a point where its use must be more strictly regulated. Minor rulings were also passed by the committee.

The forward pass rule was adopted merely to restrict the indiscriminate use of the pass. According to the new ruling, a team shall be penalized five yards for failure to complete a second or third pass in any series of four downs before a first down is made. In other words, no penalty shall be attached to an incomplete pass, provided that it is the first attempt before a first down is made. But if the team in possession of the ball is guilty of a second incompleted pass, it shall be penalized five yards. Another penalty of the same number of yards will be imposed in the event that the team attempts a pass on the third down.

Moore Explains Reasons

"Most of the Committee felt that the forward pass was tending to overbalance the game because of the skill of some college teams," was the statement issued to a CRIMSON reporter, by F. W. Moore '93, Harvard's representative on the Committee. "We decided that we needed something to check the overuse of the pass. Football was resolving itself into a game of basketball. The new rule was merely adopted to curb the so-called 'wild' passes which usually feature the end of a close game. It will not effect the use of legitimate forward passing.

"We did not wish to re-adopt the old rule of returning the ball after an incomplete pass to the spot from which it was passed. The penalty was too great. The late rule of returning the ball to the line of scrimmage encouraged promiscuous passing. These were the facts considered by the Committee in adopting this new ruling."

Hope To Cut Out Intentional Safety

Mr. Moore, when asked concerning the Committee's reasons for adopting the new safety ruling, replied. "The new rule requires that, after a safety, the ball must be kicked from the 20-yard line by the team against whom the safety was made. The reason for its adoption is that safeties were being made intentionally to waste time and thereby prevent the opposing team from making a touchdown. A team in the lead by the margin of one touchdown can afford to allow its opponent as many as three safeties. The new play makes it absolutely necessary to put the ball into play by kicking. This takes the ball away from the team playing for time."

C. D. Coady '27, who will captain next year's eleven, was asked his opinion concerning the new forward pass ruling. "I think the change is a good one," he answered. "It will provide a check on exercise use of the forward pass in the closing minutes of a game; but, with the forward pass as a definite offensive unit of the game, it may prove rather drastic for the losing team."

The most important of the lesser rulings is that the ball is to be considered dead after it has crossed the side or end rulings instead of the fences or ropes which formerly formed the boundary. Some of last year's rules were clarified, and the rule, which penalized for striking the opposing player in the face with the heel of the hand, has been extended to include the back and side of the hand.