One running back uses more boogie than his partner and friend. Both bring bash. Although they both are first-round NFL Draft picks, they unselfishly share the workload in offenses that rely on running backs.

Maybe you already knew that about the Dolphins' Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Maybe you didn't know that about DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart of the Carolina Panthers.

Thursday night's showdown with the Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., would be a ball-carrier's version of The Road Warriors vs. The Hart Foundation but for the foot injury that ended Brown's season. Lex Hilliard, who coincidentally had a 39-yard touchdown run against Carolina in the Aug. 22 preseason game, is the next running back on the Dolphins depth chart.

For the Panthers, Stewart has been rested this week with an Achilles' tendon problem, and DeAngelo Williams was held out of practice Friday with a knee injury.

No matter how many of the top four backs dress, don't expect either team to resort to the Ultimate Frisbee offense. The Dolphins rank fourth in rushing yards per game, seventh in yards per carry. Carolina is No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

FAST FRIENDS

Each duo shares a special bond. Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor, who considers his Williams one of the best teammates he has ever had, said: ``He doesn't talk much. He talks to Ronnie Brown, and then if you go bug him, he will talk to you a little bit. He has always been that way.''

Meanwhile, up in Carolina, 2006 first-round pick DeAngelo Williams didn't indulge in diva pouting when the Panthers took Stewart in 2008's first round. Instead, the two launched a website, doubletrouble3428.com, that grants members -- for $34.28 per year -- several perks.

The ego and desire for the ball all top-notch runners possess increasingly shrinks before the bigger, faster physics reality of the NFL. Dolphins linebacker Reggie Torbor pointed to the way Cedric Benson's comeback year in Cincinnati could be deflated by a hip pointer sustained Sunday. The Bengals signed Larry Johnson, a risky move considering that Johnson hasn't been the same since a combined 752 carries and 74 catches over the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Two running backs means there is always a fresh runner in the game, but Torbor doesn't think that's the major advantage.

``For a defense, fresh legs aren't as big [an issue] because we switch also,'' he said. ``The problem comes when you have two different styles. You get a slasher, you're on your heels a little bit because you don't know if he's going to make a cut and try to juke. You're in that mind frame. In comes the bruiser, and you're sitting back, and he puts his helmet in your chest. Then, I'm wondering: `What happened?' That's what Carolina has.''

POWER TO BURN

Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder said of the Carolina duo: ``They're not as big [as Brown and Williams], but they come. They're scatbacks with power, almost. They can juke you out; they can run. Both of them run 4.3's or whatever. I've seen them catch some linebackers in the hole and teach them a lesson, too.''

The NFL Network could fill an offseason hour just with Williams runs that start into a hole clogged with defensive linemen, bounce off that hill of humanity and accelerate around the corner and upfield. The Dolphins saw a similar run from Williams in the preseason, of which they were reminded several times.

DeAngelo Williams, that is. Ricky Williams approaches such clogged holes like a snowmobile into a snow bank. That's more akin to the 5-10, 235-pound Stewart's style. Brown, when healthy, picks his way through holes better than any of the other three, yet no defender wants to be in front of him two strides after that.

``I would never trade [Brown and Ricky Williams] for anything. This is, to me, two of the best backs in the league,'' Taylor said. ``We talk about it all the time in this locker room -- Channing and I, [linebacker] Matt Roth and I this past game or two games ago -- I would not want to play against Ronnie or Ricky in the third or fourth quarter.

``Sure, I'll hit them in the first and second, but by the third and fourth quarter, it's one of those things: Who is going to cry `uncle' first? Those two guys are always so fresh and going at you. I would hate to play those two.''