Harvard System Out of Date, New York Sporting Writer Says, Prophesying Changes in Crimson Gridiron Methods

In view of the curtain of secrecy that has enveloped all the happenings in the Stadium this fall and the unusual amount of speculation as to the plans of Head Coach Fisher the following excerpts from an article that appeared in the New York World yesterday is significant. It was written by Charles E. Parker, one of the football experts of that newspaper's staff. He has the following to say about the features that have distinguished the University teams for the last decade, namely the three man backfield, the high standing defensive line, and the waiting ends.

"A quarterback who does little else but call signals, a line which plays high on the defense and employs its hands rather than the force of its drive to force or develop openings, and ends--waiting ends--who are charged with territorial responsibility both on enemy rushes and forward passes and whose first duty on each play is to protect that 'territory before committing themselves to other action, constitute three features of the Harvard system of play which differ strikingly from the football scheme of other colleges, and it is in one or two or all three of these features that random looks for a change.

Each Feature Has Advantages

"There is a reasonable argument to support each of the three Harvard features. A quarterback who is not called upon to submit to the bumps and spills which come to those who carry the ball will continue cool and clearheaded throughout a full game; a semi-standing line relying on the use of its hands is in a position to overlook the enemy line, size up, the play and move towards the point of attack; waiting ends are seldom boxed and are in a position to intercept those always dangerous semi-lateral passes toward the sidelines.

But the majority of football students believe four active backfield men, each of whom is an offensive threat, are of greater value to a team than three active backs and a signal caller, cool and clear-headed though the latter may be. And they opine that a line which charges low and uses its hands produces a wearing and wearying effect upon its rivals and develops opportunities for its secondary defense which gain better results than can be obtained by a line assuming a more upright stance. And they agree that wingmen who tear in and force a hurried development of a rush or a pass form a better gamble than do the waiting ends.

"And Harvard, by reason of the character and quality of its football squad, may be forced, after fifteen years, to agree with the majority.

"Harvard's best quarterback prospects are said to be Izzy Zarakov, Adolph Cheek, and Joe McGlone, all three of whom are dazzling broken field runners. Harvard's linemen, only one of whom has had first string varsity experience and that in a different position than he now occupies, are much smaller physically than those of former years, and in consequence, less apt to shine in the upstanding, hand-fighting game, and the fact that Robb, a Harvard sprint champion, has been assigned one of the end positions and another fast man the opposite wing position, would indicate that there will be little or no waiting on the Harvard flanks."