First it was the Giants' three running backs who were dubbed "Earth, Wind and Fire," sparking a controversy regarding which player was represented by which element. Since that time, they seem to have settled on Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw, in that order.

Then the running backs from the Panthers, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, were tabbed as "Smash and Dash." That seemed to work. Only problem was that in Nashville, the Titans' running back combination of Chris Johnson and LenDale White already had claimed the moniker.

To make their point, White even shipped T-shirts to the Panthers' training complex this past week. They featured drawings of Johnson and White with the rhyming name.

"It does say 'Tennessee's Smash & Dash,'" Williams noted of the shirt, which sells in the Volunteer State. "Does that mean that we're 'Charlotte's Smash & Dash' or 'Carolina's Smash & Dash'?'"

It seems as if everyone needs a nickname. It's something that started way back with the Monsters of the Midway and Purple People Eaters and continued on through the No-Name Defense, the Steel Curtain and the New York Sack Exchange. But now the nicknames are getting specific. They're not about teams, about defenses. They're broken down by position.

"That's trendy now," Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said of coming up with the naming gimmicks.

The real trend goes beyond that, though. The real trend is this: In the age of speed and strength in the NFL, it's almost impossible for a team to survive, never mind succeed, with only one top-notch running back. Most good teams need two. Some, like the Giants, carry three.

"One is good if he stays healthy," Panthers coach John Fox said. "But that's the issue."

"Look at [the Redskins'] Clinton Portis," Ward said. "Every single part of his body is banged up, but they don't have any quality depth behind him. It works for teams that have quality depth behind the starter or whoever's playing."

Fox was one of the first to have layers of running backs at his disposal in this recent format, and it helped take him to the Super Bowl.

"We kind of employed this back in '03 with Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster, and sure enough, luckily we had a DeShaun Foster," he said. "It's hard to make it through the season with just one guy as far as a marquee guy. A lot of teams have done it since then, this is five years later, and I think you would be hard-pressed to pick a running team that doesn't have at least two marquee guys."

The Giants thought they had two, but Ward has been unable to maintain the productivity and Jacobs has missed time in recent weeks. Still, the Giants are tied for the lead in rushing in the NFL even though their leading rusher, Jacobs, has only 1,002 yards and is ranked 10th in the league.

"We have always experienced the idea that we needed another back, even if it was a rare occasion, to step up," Tom Coughlin said. "Last year we had three and this year we have three. To us, and the way we play, it's important."

Williams, whom the Giants face tonight, has 1,229 rushing yards and is averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Jacobs averages 5.1. Atlanta's Michael Turner leads the NFL in carries with 332, but Williams is way down the list with 224 and Jacobs has a meager 195.

What could Williams and Jacobs do with more carries? Probably not as much.

"Brandon knows how valuable we are to him and how valuable he is to us," Ward said. "We're extending each other's careers. We have three quality running backs to get the job done. Everybody can be fresh; everybody can keep it going for the rest of the year."

The top five teams in combined rushing yards between teammates this year are all in or poised to get into the playoffs.

Still, no one does it quite like the Panthers. Williams and Stewart - Smash and Dash until the copyright litigation commences - have the most yardage of any running back combo in the league with 1,980. In Week 11 against the Lions, Stewart ran for 130 yards and Williams for 120, marking the first time in team history that two backs reached the century mark in the same game. The second time occurred three weeks later when Williams exploded for 186 yards and Stewart "added" 115 against the Buccaneers.

The Panthers also restructured their offensive line this past offseason, as big a part of their success as Williams and Stewart. And though the Giants won't change their defense because of the backfield duo - "They can only give the ball to one of them at a time," Justin Tuck said - they are very aware of the duo.

If not their nickname.

"I don't know what they call themselves over there, but that is a great one-two punch," Pierce said.

After he was told the pending name, he grinned.

"We'll probably see a lot of Smash and Dash then. Hopefully, we'll have better luck."

IN TANDEM

Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams have totaled more yards rushing than any other pair of teammates in the NFL this season:

TEAMMATES TEAM YARDS

Jonathan Stewart-DeAngelo Williams Panthers 1,980

Adrian Peterson-Chester Taylor Vikings 1,967

Chris Johnson-LenDale White Titans 1,859

Jerious Norwood-Michael Turner Falcons 1,844

Brandon Jacobs-Derrick Ward Giants 1,735