TAMPA, Fla. -- Even with a strong-armed quarterback in Jameis Winston and impressive young receiver in Mike Evans, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers know they need a consistent running attack.With two-time Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin sidelined with a hamstring injury the past month, the Bucs were unable to establish much of one until Monday night, when Jacquizz Rodgers made his first start of the season in a 17-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers.Rodgers rushed for 101 yards on 30 carries -- both career highs -- as the Bucs ran the ball more times (37) than Winston threw (30) for the first time this season.Any time you have a balanced offense, its huge, offensive tackle Donovan Smith said. To see (Rodgers) carry the ball 30 times, it was huge. It was fun for us also up at the line to be able to just mash the guys in front of us.Coach Dirk Koetter said the opening series of the game set the tone for what the team was going to accomplish.The Bucs (2-3) drove from their own 25-yard line to Carolinas 17 before Roberto Aguayo kicked the first of his three field goals. They ran the ball 10 times during the 14-play drive that lasted more eight minutes, including six straight running plays to begin the game.We were missing two Pro Bowl players in Gerald (McCoy) and Doug, missing three of our four defensive linemen, missing our (top) two running backs, missing one of our best tight ends. We really felt we needed to run the ball, control the clock (and) try not to put our defense in bad position, Koetter said.To have a 14-play drive to start the game was huge, the coach added. Hopefully in the future we can end it with a touchdown and not a field goal. But to go down and get the lead and then give our defense a chance to play (was big).Now, the Bucs have six of the next seven days off. When they return from their bye week to prepare for an Oct. 23 road game against the San Francisco 49ers, Koetter hopes to have several injured players back on the practice field.Tampa Bay trails first-place Atlanta by two games in the NFC South, but owns road victories over the Falcons and Panthers for a 2-0 start in division play.Were a team with a lot of talent, Smith said. I think were right where we need to be looking at the division. Its the bye week, were going to be getting guys back healthy, and weve got a great situation coming off the win. ... Its great.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFLPedro Chirivella Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. 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The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments.CHASKA, Minn. -- Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin were a big part of the Ryder Cups opening ceremony on Thursday, each of them serving as a reminder that while this competition may be fierce, it should be conducted with both honor and integrity. There are some things, they pointed out, that are bigger than golf. Nicklaus conceding a 2-foot putt to Jacklin at Royal Birkdale in 1969 -- ending the match in a tie when a miss would have given the United States the Ryder Cup outright -- is now considered one of the most important moments in the history of the event.While this is a nice reminder, and perhaps an important lesson we should always keep in the back of our minds, let us now offer a few words in praise of Ryder Cup trash talk.Just because the two teams agree to be friends afterward does not mean they cant exchange some friendly barbs in the buildup to the event. It has become increasingly absurd when people try to shame the players into acting like boring robots. The Ryder Cup is one of the best events in sports specifically because it can get a little heated, specifically because its not just a clash of personalities but also a clash of cultures.Englands Danny Willett found himself on the business end of some of that shaming this week after his brother, Peter, penned an article for National Club Golfer that mocked American fans as fat, stupid, greedy, classless bastards. Willett and European captain Darren Clarke repeatedly mentioned how disappointed they were with the column and that it did not represent the views of Team Europe. They didnt want to give American fans the wrong idea and apologized repeatedly. The controversy, silly as it was, even appeared to play a role in Clarkes decision to sit Willett for the Friday morning session of foursomes.Frankly, I wish Willett hadnt apologized. I wish hed fully embraced the role of Ryder Cup villain. Ian Poulter wouldnt have apologized. Patrick Reed wouldnt have apologized. I dont think, for a second, that Seve Ballesteros would have apologized either. They would have soaked up the negative energy and produced some amazing golf. Willett certainly wasnt shy about taking a little dig at Jordan Spieth in April, retweeting a photo of Spieth looking shell-shocked during the greenn jacket ceremony in Butler Cabin after the Masters, so I wish hed just own it.ddddddddddddory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson have learned to own it over the years. Mickelson got in a clever dig at McIlroy and Graham McDowell in 2014 when he mentioned before the start of competition that one of Team USAs strengths was we dont litigate against one another, an obvious reference to a legal dispute between McIlroy and McDowell after their management company dissolved. And McIlroy couldnt resist throwing a barb at Team USA this time around after he was asked about captain Davis Love IIIs comment this was the best American team ever assembled. Definitely assembled the best task force ever, thats for sure, he said.No one blinks an eye in football or basketball when teams goad one another or try to get under one anothers skin. It has become part of the buildup to every NBA Finals and every Super Bowl, but when it comes to golf, its often seen as an ungentlemanly act, an affront to the gracious spirit of the game.Thats nonsense. The Ryder Cup has always been at its best when the competition has gotten a little heated, the celebrations a little too rowdy, like when the United States went bonkers and ran on the green after Justin Leonards putt in 1999, or when the Europeans were dancing in a conga line around the 18th green after they won the Ryder Cup on U.S. soil for the first time in 1987 at Muirfield Village.Weve talked a lot this week about how gracious Arnold Palmer was, how he made everyone feel loved when in his presence, but there is another side to Palmer that was an important part of his legacy too: He was a relentless competitor who wasnt afraid of anyone in his prime. In 1963, Palmer was both the captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team and a participant, and he was so confident in his squad, he told the press before the tournament: This team would beat the rest of the world combined. He was probably right. The United States went on and won 23-9.So bring on the trash talk. Dial up the intensity. That too can be a tribute to Palmer.Shake hands when its over, and then start crafting a few barbs for 2018. ' ' '