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Which NFL rushing tandem is tops? Yahoo sports

Gscottnc5

By Gscottnc5,
in Carolina Panthers

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Gscottnc5

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http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AnBaoCQU4nvp9yUnzD0EPQA5nYcB?slug=cr-rbtandems090409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

You can follow Charles Robinson on Twitter at @YahooSportsNFL.

ATLANTA – Michael Turner(notes) identified the number before a visitor had a chance to get to the second digit. 376 – the number of times Turner ran the football last season. And the curse of the 370-carry running back? Yes, he’s heard the lore.

“It doesn’t mean anything to me,” the Falcons running back said with a shrug. “What was I doing before last season? I can tell you I wasn’t playing a lot.”

Turner nodded downward and wagged one of his feet.

“People forget,” he said, “these are some fresh legs.”

Fresh legs that make Turner half of one of the NFL’s best running back tandems. Paired along with lithe gazelle Jerious Norwood(notes), who is expected to see increased receiving opportunities this season, the duo features a lethal versatility. Both are among the fastest players in the league at the position. Both have physiques that lend to greatness: Turner with his granite shoulders and wrecking-ball torso, and Norwood with his long, grasshopper legs churning at freakish speed.

But the pair isn’t alone. As the NFL has shifted toward more two-back committees to cut down on wear and tear, rotations have improved dramatically. Gone are most of the bell-cow backs who once enjoyed (or endured) 90 percent of the touches in a backfield, replaced by 60-40 splits and dazzling third down specialists.

That in mind, here is our ranking of the NFL’s running back tandems: Williams

1. DeAngelo Williams(notes) and Jonathan Stewart(notes), Carolina Panthers

No two running backs fit together as well as Williams and Stewart. It’s arguably the only tandem in which the No. 1 and No. 2 could swap positions and not hinder the performance of the offense. Stewart may even be the most physically talented of the two, but there is no ambiguity about their seamless fit. Both players are young, have explosive touchdown-producing ability, can play between the tackles, and have shown the ability to catch the football at some point in their careers. From the longer view, maybe only the health factor could hinder this duo – something that has reared its head this preseason with Stewart. But unless the tandem misses significant time together, there’s no question as to which is the best two-deep backfield in the NFL.

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