Page 208
156 A PRIMER OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL
1. Defence to Start- Off —The defence
to the opening play is comparatively a very
simple thing. The side on the defence
should arrange itself so as to cover pretty
effectively its whole territory. The plac¬
ing of the men will depend largely upon
the characteristics or qualities of the indi¬
vidual. They should be so arranged that
an interference could be quickly formed
for a run or a return made from any part
of the field, no matter where kicked. Dia¬
gram 12 (on preceding page) may serve
to give an idea from which many varia¬
tions may be made.
The present code of playing-rules re¬
quires that the ball be kicked at least ten
yards into opponents' territory. An at¬
tempt is seldom made to kick only that
distance and no farther. Hence the three
centre men are placed on the forty-yard
line. If the ball be simply kicked ten
yards, they ought to be able to cover five
while opponents cover ten. The three