Face or Feet?

A remark in the liturgy section of today's Zenit has drawn my attention to what the new Pontifical says about the position of the remains at a funeral Mass: "It is laudable to retain the custom of placing the deceased in that position which was commonly his in the liturgical assembly, namely, an ordained minister with his face towards the people, a layman with his face towards the altar." [My trans.] Yes, the new Pontifical would have us standing caskets on their ends (presumably with the deceased well strapped in, to prevent sagging). How much more direct and sensible was the rubric from the old ritual: "...unless he was a priest, the feet of the deceased should be towards the altar." Does anyone else suspect that the silly language of the new Pontifical is the product of the silly versus populum ideology?