HISTORIC DUO IN “THE QUARTER”?

 Some observers questioned why the New Orleans Saints chose running back DEUCE MC ALLISTER with their first selection in the NFL Draft in April.  “Why does the club need another running back when they already have Ricky Williams?” they asked.  Saints general manager RANDY MUELLER has the answer.

"This gives us more versatility and more opportunity," says Mueller.  "Deuce is the speed guy who can get outside.  Ricky is the inside-the-tackles guy.  We've got plans to use both of them."

Although uncommon, great running back duos – and even trios -- are scattered throughout the history of the National Football League, and in most cases, have produced outstanding results.

Some of the great duos and trios of the past include the “Bull Elephant” backfield of the 1950s’ Los Angeles Rams consisting of DICK HOERNER, DAN TOWLER and TANK YOUNGER; the “Million Dollar” backfield of the 1950s’ San Francisco 49ers, made up of Hall of Famers JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, HUGH MC ELHENNY and JOE PERRY; Hall of Fame backs PAUL HORNUNG and JIM TAYLOR, who led the 1960s’ Green Bay Packers to five world championships; the 1970s’ Miami Dolphins trio of LARRY CSONKA, JIM KIICK and MERCURY MORRIS, who helped Miami to back-to-back Super Bowls; FRANCO HARRIS and ROCKY BLEIER of the 1970s’ Pittsburgh Steelers, who won four Super Bowls; and ERNEST BYNER and KEVIN MACK of the 1980s’ Cleveland Browns, who went to three AFC title games.

Who are the best statistically? Following are the top rushing seasons in history by duos (at least 500 yards each):

RAMS IN “LOVIE”: The St. Louis Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV on the strength of an explosive offense and opportunistic defense.  Last season, the club’s offense was as potent as ever, scoring 540 points -- third-most in NFL history and 14 points better than the previous year -- but the defense lost its bite, allowing a league-high 471 points.  In order to make another run at the Super Bowl, the Rams needed to radically improve their defense this offseason.  Enter LOVIE SMITH, their new defensive coordinator from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Last year, the team blitzed a lot more than what we’ll do this year,” says Smith.  “Our defense is more of a base-defense, a zone-coverage defense.  We’re going to stress fundamentals -- being as simple as we can possibly be while still giving offenses multiple looks.”

Smith came to St. Louis from one of the NFL’s most respected defensive units, the Buccaneers, serving as linebackers coach for five years.  His defensive philosophy mirrors that of his former boss, Bucs head coach TONY DUNGY.

“What I’m bringing here is the same philosophy that Tampa Bay has.  I really believe in that system,” says Smith.  “One of the things I learned from Tony was how simple you can really be.  It’s the year 2001 and people think they have to have 20 million defensive schemes, but Tony’s philosophy was to just do a few things really well.  Whether you win or lose a football game is really based on whether you do the fundamental things right.  It’s a players’ game.  You have to let them get into position to play to the best of their ability.”

And the Rams added players this offseason for their new defensive philosophy.  Following is Smith’s analysis of five new players he expects to make significant contributions this year:

Safety Adam Archuleta (Draft-1b, Arizona State): “When we watched Adam’s college tapes, he was making every play all over the field.  His workout habits and his discipline have been well-documented.  He’s just a great football player.”

Linebacker Mark Fields (FA-N.O.): “Our WILL (weakside) linebacker ends up being in position to make the most plays, so we needed a special guy there who can play the run and the pass and who can be a good open-field tackler. That’s going to be Mark.”

Safety Kim Herring (UFA-Baltimore): “Kim has done it.  He’s wearing a Super Bowl ring.  At free safety, we needed a smart guy there but I also wanted a guy who could tackle AND cover.  Kim has cover-corner skills."

Defensive Tackle Damione Lewis (Draft-1a, Miami): “The first wave of your defense is your D-line and we needed a dominant defensive lineman.  We didn’t feel the ideal guy was out there in free agency so we pinpointed Damione early.”

Cornerback Aeneas Williams (Trade-Arizona): “In order for all the things up front to work, you have to be able to play some man coverage and you need a cornerback who can cover a team’s best receiver.  We pinpointed Aeneas right away.  He’s also a leader.  The young players need a veteran who can show them how to act on and off the field.”