Today's Tidbit... Alternating Sets Of Downs

A Tidbit published a few days ago described how American football transitioned between 1906 and 1912 from requiring teams to gain five yards in three downs to ten yards in four downs. Some prominent coaches argued that teams should gain eight or fifteen yards in four downs, but they adopted the four downs to gain ten yards approach, which remains the rule today.

While footballers then argued the merits of various down and distance combinations, Eddie Cochems (pronounced COKE-ems) proposed a diffe...