Eli Gridders Defy 'Injuries" for Harvard Tilt

About this time every fall, as Old Blues scan the sports pages for news of Yale's preparations for the Harvard game, the New Haven correspondents for the national wire services set up a five-day wailing.

"Jackson bruises leg," "Nadherny wrenches knee". . . this year, as ever, the stories come off the practice fields reeking of iodine and arnica. Two years ago they practically amputed Ferd's foot before he managed to escape from the pressrooms in time to smash Harvard into minute particles.

When Herman Hickman lets his "Po" L'il Boys" loose in the Bowl tomorrow, the big ones will all be there, sprinting into the Crimson backfield with cavalier disregard for the crippling injuries the received this week.

These will include in their numbers Captain Levi Jackson, a pepper guy practically without equal in the Ivy League, who has made up for the partial loss of his phenomenal speed by emerging as a fine pass receiver; Nadherny, who always goes through a Harvard line as if those red shirts were so many muletas; and Jim Fuchs and Charlie Keller, two backs who also have been "sick" recently.

Yale Offense

Attempting to spot the Yale offensive pattern for this week is a risky business. The Elis installed a completely now cycle of plays against Princeton last Saturday; the difference between Harvard's banged-up line and Princeton's powerful one is enough to cause Hickman to revert to straight running if the occasion offers.

But there are some basic elements of the Yale attack that are pretty sure to show up this week. They Elis have made Jackson into a fine downfield receiver: he is very fast starting, he changes speeds deceptively, and he has a great pair of hands.

Herman sends him deep from a right flanker position, shallow from his normal left half position, and just over the line of scrimmage from a motion right. The first of these plays looks something like Harvard's "transcontinental" play that scored against Brown last week-quarterback Stu Tisdale fades back and to the right, and then throws deep and across the field diagonally to Jackson. You will see this one most often when Yale is near the right sideline.

The other passes go mostly to end Brad Quackenbush on short patterns. John Setear, who was used extensively in this capacity last year, caught a few passes in the first quarter at Princeton and then served as a faker for the rest of the game.

Spears is Line-Bucker

Yale did not run against Princeton. It did not run because it could not. However, Messrs. Hickman and Jack Lavalle have seen Harvard's defensive setups. The latter, an operative whose girth is comparable to Hickman's and whose football sagacity is legendary, scouted Army nine times a year for three years while in the employ of the Notre Dame Athletic Association. If he found flaws in the 1944, 1945, and 1946 Army lines he must have noticed by now the carefree fashion in which Princeton and Brown went through the center of Harvard's line. This means that Yale will send fullback Bob Spears into the line early in the game to look for a hole.

If he finds it, Yale may well run through that one spot for at least half the game. The rest of the offense will consist of passes, unless Spears finds no holes. In that case, it will have to be "gingerbread" stuff around the ends--and passes.

Tisdale Can Pass . . . And Does

The rest of the Eli backfield consists of Tisdale at quarterback and Nadherny at right halfback. Tisdale, who found himself rattling around in the shoes of Tex Furse in September, is a capable passer.

He is an "arm passer," rather than a Furse stand-up-and-throw passers--he generally fades or jumps before throwing. His throws, although not the flat passes that Yale used last year, are accurate and more often than not cover the distance between the scrimmage line and Jackson.

Nadherny hasn't carried too much recently. He has been listed as ailing for various reasons; in the Princeton game his presence alone was enough of a threat to justify his use as a decoy. Harvard partisans will remember his tackle and guard dives in the 1946 and 1947 games, however; the memory alone should be enough to frighten anyone who believes that Nadherny is through.

Mediocre Line

In the line, Yale is unspectacular. There are no apparent weak spots, but neither is there any one position where an Eli really shines. The ends were pretty well taken care of by Princeton's vicious blocking last week; the guards and tackles gauged up to stop Tiger plays but seemed weak when they had single shots at runners