group stage.Sporting, whichh arrived with a two-point lead and could have secured third place with a draw, played with 10 men from the 85th minute after midfielder William Carvalho was sent off for

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 notes Three 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-NFL Cheap Clippers Jerseys . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Clippers Jerseys Outlet . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. http://www.cheapclippersjerseyschina.com/ . -- 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 . Clippers Jerseys From China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Discount Clippers Jerseys . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. WARSAW, Poland -- Even Polands president joined in the celebrations after Legia Warsaw marked the clubs return to the Champions League after more than two decades with its first victory in the group stage.Players said that President Andrzej Duda went to the changing rooms to congratulate them after Legia defeated Sporting Lisbon 1-0 in its final Group F game on Wednesday. After four defeats and a draw in this seasons competition, the victory secured third place and a spot in the Europa League.This is one of the best moments of my life. The president of Poland came to our dressing room and sang with us. It means we did something special tonight, forward Aleksandar Prijovic said.Prijovic set up Guilhermes goal from close range in the 30th minute, a strike that brought the hosts their first victory since a 1-0 triumph over Blackburn Rovers in 1995, the last time it played in the competitions group stage.Sporting, whichh arrived with a two-point lead and could have secured third place with a draw, played with 10 men from the 85th minute after midfielder William Carvalho was sent off for a second yellow card.ddddddddddddThe Portuguese side hasnt won an away game in the competition since 2008, losing six of its seven games since then.We played against a team that believed they could qualify tonight, Sporting coach Jorge Jesus said. They had already showed they were good in the attack, because they had scored plenty of goals against Real Madrid and (Borussia) Dortmund. They got the advantage and they knew how to defend that advantage.Dortmund, which scored late to draw Madrid 2-2 in Spain, won the group with 14 points, two more than the defending champions. Legia ended with four points and Sporting three. ' ' '