Walter Camp - American Football

The instructions to the end are to handle the ball as much as possible while the opponent is endeavoring to get it in, and thus make the work of that individual as difficult as possible; and, secondly, to plant one foot close to the touch line and the other as far out into the field as is consistent with stability, and to maintain that position until the play is over. He must neither try to go forward nor around, but, braced well forward, hold his ground. If he does this, no runner can pass within three feet of the touch line, and outside of that the tackle can take care of him. This player, like the end, should, when the ball is played from a fair, be very loath to plunge forward until the play is located, because in the present stage of development of the game one can be quite sure that the opponents will not play the ball from touch unless they have some definite and usually deceptive line of action. Without such it is by far the better policy to walk out the fifteen paces and have it down. The quarter-back also has work to do upon side-line plays, in assisting at the edge as much as possible. But to return to the end. When his own side have possession of the ball, his play, like that of any other man, must be governed by the character of the intended move, and the knowledge of what this move will be is conveyed to him by the signal. The nearer the play is to his end, the greater is the assistance he can render. There is little need of coaching him to do his work when the run is along his line, nor, in fact, when it is upon his side of the centre. The knowledge of the proximity of the runner stirs him up sufficiently, if he have any football blood in him. The point towards which coaching should be directed and where it is needed is in starting instantly to render assistance when the play is upon the other side of the line. There is no limit to the amount of work an end may perform in this direction. A good end can toss his man back so that he cannot interfere with the play, and then cross over so quickly as to perform effective interference even upon end runs. In "bucking the centre" he can come from behind with valuable weight and pressure. A coach should remember, though, that it will not do to start an end into doing too much unless he is able to stand the work, for an end had better do the work well upon his own side than be only half way useful upon both ends. A tired-out end makes the opponents doubly strong.

Those teams upon which the work of end and tackle has been best developed have, for the last few years, been markedly superior in the opposition offered to plays of their opponents. This fact in itself is an excellent guide to the style of play one ought to expect from these two positions. The four men occupying them are the ones to meet nine tenths of the aggressive work of the opponents. The position of end has already been dwelt upon at length. That of tackle, a position much later to reach the full stage of development than the end, has nevertheless now attained almost an equal prominence. The tackle is an assistant to both end and guard, while he has also duties of his own demanding constant attention.

When the opponents have the ball and are about to kick, the tackle is one of the most active components of the line. He may not be moving until the ball is snapped, but upon the instant that it is played he is at work. He may himself go through to prevent the pass or kick, or still oftener he may make a chance for a line half-back to do this. By a line half-back is meant that one who, upon his opponents' plays, comes up into the line and performs the duties of a rusher. This method has become so common of late that it is well understood. The play of this line half-back must dovetail into the work of the tackle so well as to make their system one of thoroughly mutual understanding. For this reason they should do plenty of talking and planning together off the field, and carry their plans into execution in daily practice until they become in company a veritable terror to opponents, particularly to kicking halves.

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