R&R Express returns: Dolphins' running back tandem together again

[DolFan619]

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080701/SPORTS/807010327/1002/SPORTS

R&R Express returns: Dolphins' running back tandem together again

BY CARL KOTALA
FLORIDA TODAY

If one's a little bit country, the other's a little bit . . . Bob Marley meets Yanni?

Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams -- together again. With Jason Taylor missing in action, Jake Long getting set to be the franchise left tackle and three quarterbacks battling it out for the starting job, the reunion of the two Miami Dolphins running backs hasn't generated a lot of fanfare this offseason.

But if the team is going to rebound from last season's 1-15 debacle, the old R&R Express is going to have to get rolling again.

"Having Ricky again, I think it's going to be exciting," Brown said. "As long as we keep working, I think we've got the opportunity to be pretty good on offense."

Miami's ground game certainly wasn't bad in 2005 -- the only year Brown and Williams played together. Brown was a rookie then. The No. 2 overall draft pick ran 207 times for 907 yards. Williams carried the ball 168 times for 743 yards.

The duo's combined 1,650 yards helped the Dolphins finish 14th in the NFL in rushing that season. To put that mark in perspective, Miami's running game has ranked higher only once during the past 13 seasons -- and that was in 2002, when Williams rushed for an NFL-best 1,853 yards and the team ranked second in the league.

"I think it will be great," new Dolphins quarterback Josh McCown said. "Just from the short time I've been with them, they seem like very hard workers and really committed this off-season to working hard and getting themselves ready to play.

"It will be nice to have a one-two punch like that in the backfield. You have two solid backs who could be starters, both of them are starter-type people. Any time you can have that in this league at that position where a guy takes so many hits, it's a good thing for our team."

That could be true, especially for two players like Brown and Williams.

Off to a Pro Bowl-type start in 2007, Brown was leading the NFL in total yards from scrimmage when he sustained a torn ACL in his right knee Oct. 21 against New England.

Rehabilitation has been going well enough that Brown has been able to take part in the Dolphins' offseason workouts, though he was being held out of the team portion of the drills. He has a goal of being ready by the time Miami opens training camp in late July and will not only attempt to return to last year's form, but also play 16 games for the first time in his four-year career.

"Last year, I was going through the season and I was excited being out there and things were going pretty good for myself," Brown said. "After the injury, the main thing was I tried to tackle this and come back with a positive attitude. Whatever I'm doing -- whether I'm going to rehab or obviously getting back on the field -- I wanted to go ahead and go it at full speed ahead and make sure I'm back by the time the season starts."

Williams, meanwhile, has fully recovered from the torn pectoral muscle he sustained on Nov. 26 in Pittsburgh -- his only game of the 2007 season.

Prior to that, he had been serving a suspension that began after the 2005 campaign for a fourth violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy.

New Dolphins coach Tony Sparano has been impressed with the way Williams has handled himself throughout the team's offseason workouts.

"I'm not surprised, I guess, just knowing how hungry Ricky really is to get at this thing," Sparano said. "I love his attitude. I love everything about what he's doing right now. I really do. I'm excited for the guy. I'm excited to see him doing well out there and having a little bit of fun."

Some of Williams' relationship stems from his relationship with Brown.

While the two don't have a lot of common interests off the field, Williams' and Brown's relationship is a strong one.

"Since pretty much day one, Ronnie and I have been close, kind of like brothers almost," Williams said. "I love Ronnie to death, he's a lot of fun to be around. He keeps things light. He's got so much confidence, he gives everyone around him confidence, and that's good for me."

[YoFuggedaboutit]

I love the idea, as this tandem provided a lethal 1-2 punch out of the backfield in 2005.  With our QB position unsettled, we will need to run the ball alot and having two capable backs is the answer. 

Imagine you're a LB playing for the visiting team in Dolphins stadium.  It's mid September, the temperature is about 88 degrees and the humidity is at 95%.  You've just played through three quarters of grueling football in this suffocating heat.  You're exhausted, sweat running down you in rivets, cramping up constantly, and had to take two IV's on the sidelines.  Now it's the 4th quarter, and you're back on the field sucking wind.  You're down to petro fumes, but you desperately need to make a stop and get your team the ball back.  Unfortunately, these two backs have been spelling each other all game and are just as fresh as they are in the 1st quarter.  They come plowing into you just as hard, but you no longer have the strength to bring them down.

Game over.