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METAIRIE, La. -- Saints running back Tim Hightower isnt about to assume New Orleans ground game will return to its usual form in Tampa this week -- even if last weeks anemic performance looked more like an anomaly than a trend.You cant look at what you did three weeks ago or what you did a month ago or at the beginning of the season, Hightower said. You have to look at, `Hey, why didnt we get it done this (past) week. Weve got to figure out what we didnt do last week and get it corrected.Hightower and several other key members of the Saints offense echoed the same theory about what caused the drop-off in production on the ground in a 28-13 loss to the Detroit Lions last Sunday, when New Orleans rushed for only 50 yards.The problem wasnt so much an inability to execute blocks or read the defense, they said. It was about a lack of opportunity to establish a rhythm because of how poorly the Saints executed on third downs, whether they were passing or running.If we can learn anything for last week ... its so important and imperative for us to sustain drives, keep the momentum going, keep the ball control, Hightower said. Then youll get more runs. Youll get more favorable runs. But when were three-and-out, three-and-out, teams can just hold the ball and try to play keep away from us and its not going to work out well.The Saints, who boast the No. 1 offense in the NFL, currently rank 12th in rushing, averaging 109.3 yards per game. When the Saints have run well, theyve been tough to beat.In Week 8, when Hightower rushed for more than 100 yards, the Saints beat Seattle. In Week 9, Ingram gained 158 yards and Hightower 87 in a lopsided victory at San Francisco. Then in Week 11, Ingram gained 146 and Hightower 51 in a rout of the Rams.A good running game is a quarterbacks best friend because it makes the defense respect it, Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said. `Then when you go to play-action you get bigger windows (to throw). And Brees, his accuracy is off the charts.A few days after that victory over Los Angeles, Lions safety Glover Quin said he felt the key to stopping the Saints offense began with shutting down the running game. Ingram broke loose for one 22-yard gain against Detroit, but had only 15 yards on his six other carries. Hightower gained just 5 yards on two carries, one of which went for no gain on a drive-stalling third-and-1 play.We want to be balanced, obviously, right guard Jahri Evans said, adding that linemen dont particularly like back-peddling in pass protection all game. That essentially forces offensively linemen to play defensively against attacking pass rushers rather than firing off the line of scrimmage and inflicting physical punishment on defensive players.First, it comes with just having the opportunities, Evans said of getting the running game going again. Getting the opportunity means converting on third down.For the season, the Saints lead the NFL with a third-down conversion rate of 49.7 percent. They converted six of 13 third downs (46 percent) against Detroit, but also saw three drives stall on interceptions thrown by Drew Brees. The result: New Orleans ran 62 total plays on offense, about 11 below its average coming in. All but 23 of those plays were run in the second half, when New Orleans was behind and more inclined to throw.Brees said if the Saints can sustain long drives and dont fall behind by much, if at all, at Tampa Bay, that should set the stage for a resurgent ground game.We didnt get the number of plays, Brees said when asked for his take on why the running games production plummeted last week. If you dont sustain drives and you get behind, then all of a sudden youre in a position where it changes the game plan a little bit and you become a little more one-dimensional. You have to manufacture some bigger plays to get back in the game. That was the real reason for the lack of rushing attempts, and therefore production in yards.Game notesThree players missed practiced Wednesday: linebacker Craig Robertson (shoulder), receiver Michael Thomas (foot) and tight end Josh Hill (fibula). Those players listed as limited included Ingram (toe, knee), left tackle Terron Armstead (quadriceps, knee), center Max Unger (foot), right tackle Zach Strief (elbow), guard Senio Kelemete (hip) and running back Daniel Lasco (hamstring).---AP Sports Writer Fred Goodall contributed.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLCheap Nike Vapormax China . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Cheap Air Max 1 Wholesale . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.com/cheap-kobe-bryant-shoes.html . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Air Max 1 Wholesale . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Cheap Air Max 95 China . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively.PHILADELPHIA -- The road-weary Chicago Bulls conclude a six-game trip Friday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. Along the way they have learned a great deal about themselves.Like?How together we are, man, veteran guard/forward Jimmy Butler told the Chicago Tribune. We win, we lose but its together. Everybody is going to smile tomorrow because were fortunate and were blessed to play this game and to be around one another. Ive learned that everybody in here is in high spirits and thats what we need.The Bulls revamped their roster in the offseason, notably signing free agent guards Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo and acquiring center Robin Lopez from the New York Knicks in a trade involving guard Derrick Rose. They also jettisoned free agents Pau Gasol and and Joakim Noah, who landed with San Antonio and New York, respectively.They are nonetheless off to a 9-6 start, and have already played 10 games away from home. They are 5-5 in those games, and have won three of five on their current trip.I like the resiliency our guys have shown, especially after that tough loss against the Clippers (on Saturday night) to bounce back with the next night against the Lakers, coach Fred Hoiberg told the Tribune. These guys have really bought into the chemistry piece and I think thats the reason weve had some success early on.Butler, a two-time All-Star, is averaging a career-high 25.8 points a game, 10th-best in the league. He scored 35 in Tuesdays loss in Denver.The 34-year-old Wade, who spent 13 years with the Miami Heat before signing with Chicago, is averaging 18.4 points. Rondo, playing for his third team in as many years afterr spending his first eight seasons with the Boston Celtics, has norms of 7.dddddddddddd points, 7.2 assists and 6.6 rebounds.Lopez averages 9.7 points and 7.9 rebounds.The Sixers (4-11) lost 104-99 in double overtime to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, despite 22 points and 12 rebounds from Ersan Ilyasova. Rookie center Joel Embiid scored 12 points with 11 boards. He did not play in the second extra period, however, because he exceeded by three the 24-minute limit the team has imposed upon him, after a pair of foot surgeries deprived him of his first two seasons.Embiid kicked a chair in anger when he learned he would be unable to continue.It was frustrating but those (medical) guys care about me and are looking out for me, he said later.Embiid, who has also been held out of four games to date, was given a choice as to whether to play Wednesday or Friday, and decided to suit up against Memphis so he could test himself against Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies outstanding center. He will not, as a result, face Chicago.The Sixers are without forward Ben Simmons (foot), the top overall pick in the last draft, and center/forward Nerlens Noel (knee), neither of whom has played this season.Chicago forward Doug McDermott is in the concussion protocol and will not play until the end of the month. Guard Michael Carter-Williams, a former Sixer, has missed all but three games this season because of a bone bruise in his left knee, and forward Paul Zipser is questionable Friday with a back injury. ' ' '