Betts, Cartwright Can Help Keep Things Running

"There's no jealousy or ugliness between us competing for the same position. We're totally supportive. When I get married, Ladell is going to be the best man at my wedding."

Imagine being best friends with a guy whose professional goal was to take your job. Awkward? No, it's NFL reality, the same reality that allows two role-playing running backs to survive in a world of diva ballcarriers.

Like Portis, who wondered why a player of his caliber should even have been playing in the preseason last week. "I wouldn't say that bothers me," Betts said. "I understand a player with credentials feeling that way. He's entitled to his opinion. But I don't agree with that. There is a game speed you get in the preseason that's impossible to simulate in practice. We don't hit and tackle in practice like a preseason game.

"And the idea if you get hurt, you should get hurt in the regular season also doesn't make sense. I mean, you can get hurt in practice any day of the week. So we shouldn't practice? That's just me."

"Clinton's his own guy," Cartwright said. "But you don't get hit in camp like you get hit in a game. The way you get hit in a game shocks you, wakes you up, readies you for the real thing."

The Rock is biased, of course. He and Betts need the preseason to annually show they belong. Betts has to keep showing he's not brittle. He started last year in training camp, but missed four games with a knee injury. He missed seven games in 2003 with a fractured left forearm.

Cartwright doesn't expect a lot of carries, so he has to maintain his identity as a special teams monster whose edge and attitude are more responsible for his staying power than his 5-foot-7, 223-pound frame. When you're the 257th overall pick in the draft, you tackle and block who they tell you to.

The truth is, either one could end up playing a huge role this season. One of the easiest big-time positions to fill in the NFL is running back. The Seahawks got to the NFC championship game without NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, knocked out against Washington in the first quarter.

In Kansas City, Saunders plugged in Larry Johnson for Priest Holmes. Jamal Lewis became great when Holmes left Baltimore. Saunders employs two backs more often than Gibbs. It's conceivable Betts or Cartwright could be in there with Portis at the same time.

Either way, the offense survives the way the Class of '02 survived each preseason the past four years.

Betts said it best: "It's nice they kept us together. As we've grown in the NFL, so has the organization."