The last blowout came in January of 2003 when the Bucs manhandled the Raiders, 48-21. So we are unfortunately overdue for a dud.

This game is ripe for just that, too. The Colts are playing fantastic on both sides of the ball and shut down two formidable rushing attacks in the playoffs against the Ravens and Jets. Peyton Manning, who was named the NFL MVP, also has so much experience and won not only a ring but the game MVP in the same Miami venue in Super Bowl XLI.

The Saints did look strong in pasting the Cards, but were outplayed two weeks ago in the NFC Championship Game. The Vikings had a huge day offensively, easily outgaining the home team, 475 to 257 yards. If not for a late interception thrown by Brett Favre, the Saints would not have had the opportunity to win the game in overtime by a field goal.

The Colts are favored by four points in this game, and that seems like a low number, all things considered. If the weather turns wet, both teams play in a dome. But it was a torrential downpour when Indianapolis beat Chicago three years ago and they didn’t miss a beat. Even with a banged-up Dwight Freeney (at best), the Colts still have the horses to run away with it.

At least you can still follow your boxes.

On Saturday, the New Orleans Saints rebounded after a lackluster end of the regular season with a convincing 45-14 knockout of the Arizona Cardinals. last season’s NFC representative in the Super Bowl. Reggie Bush scored two touchdowns as the Superdome rocked and rolled. Not much of a surprise there, as the Saints were expected to dispel of a team that may have still been showing the affects of an exhausting overtime win against Green Bay the week before.

That evening, the Baltimore Ravens were ousted by Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, 20-3. They took a two-touchdown lead at half time and coasted the rest of the way. Three turnovers did the Ravens in, setting up Indy to play host next weekend one game away from Super Bowl XLIV. Although they played extremely well in taking out the Patriots in the Wild Card round, Baltimore was clearly outclassed versus a well-rested Colts squad.

On Sunday, Brett Favre turned back the clock and led his new team to the conference championship. The 40-year-old former Packer and Jet threw for four touchdowns (three to Sidney Rice) to lead the Minnesota Vikings to the 34-3 victory over Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones’ boys may have exorcised some December (and early January) demons by winning their division and then dispatching the Eagles, but were never even competitive in the dome.

Saving the best for last, the game of the weekend came in San Diego pitting the Chargers against the upstart New York Jets. Given no chance to move on, the Jets came out and played the 11-win Bolts tooth-and nail. They trailed by a mere seven points heading into the locker room and were clearly the team ‘hanging around’ against a formidable opponent.

Jay Feeley hit a 46-yard field goal to cut into the lead during the third quarter. Then the turning point in the game occurred towards the end of the quarter. The Jets downed a punt deep in the Chargers zone and a few plays later, Philip Rivers was intercepted by Jim Leonhard. A Chargers personal foul moved the ball inside the 10 at the start of the final stanza, which set up Mark Sanchez’s two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dustin Keller and a 10-7 advantage.

Sanchez is not the only Jet rookie to be making a name for himself in the postseason, as running back Shonn Greene had another 100-yard performance and a long run for a score. He scampered 53 yards to give the Jets a 10-point lead with 7:26 left in the game. San Diego scored with 2:14 left when Rivers dove in from a yard out, but Kerry Rhodes recovered Nate Keading’s onside kick. The game wasn’t decided until Thomas Jones moved the chains on fourth and one with 1:09 left in the contest.

Keading, the AFC’s Pro Bowl representative, had a forgettable day with three missed field goals (36, 57 and 40 yards), which opened the door that the Jets kicked in on their way to Indianapolis for their first appearance in the AFC Championship Game since 1998.

Say what you want about the Jets and their outspoken rookie head coach, but Rex Ryan will have another week in the spotlight to psyche up his charges. The strategy has clearly worked and this team is going into Indy believing in themselves.

When the two teams met up in Week 16, Colts head coach Jim Caldwell pulled Manning in the third quarter with a 15-10 lead. The Jets rallied against back-up quarterback Lance Painter and that began their ascent towards where they are today. Once again, the Jets will be heavy underdogs and that is exactly the way they like it.

This semi-hypothetical situation is a mere reflection on the Mets doing their best in a thin free agent and trade market. Minaya did have an offseason checklist that was quite long and scratching a corner outfielder off of it is a positive, but did he get the right player for the team without overpaying?

The general manager brought Jason Bay to Flushing at anything but a discount and although he is a talented player, is he the cleanup-type that they were so desperately looking for? At 31, Bay still has many quality years ahead of him and should be productive for the length of the deal, but he will be making superstar money and has yet to shown that he can carry a team.

The four-year, $66-million contract both sides agreed to (pending a physical) has to make one think why it has taken nearly three weeks to hammer it out when there were clearly no other serious suitors for Bay, another glaring point in itself. The Boston Red Sox wanted to retain him and made a generous offer for the same length but $6 million less. Bay chose to test the waters out there on the open market and did not find as many takers as he may have expected.

Other than the Mets, there were no other teams making more than brief inquiries of Bay. Maybe Minaya did not bid against himself, but he is on the hook for $16.25 million a year for a player who strikes out frequently and will not make folks forget Kevin McReynolds in left field any time soon.

Bay was actually a Met farmhand at one time before being traded to the San Diego Padres in a two-for-one deal, with the main player changing addresses being righthanded reliever Steve Reeves. He then made his way to Pittsburgh and won the 2004 National League Rookie of the Year award. Playing in virtual obscurity for a team spinning its wheels, the Canadian-born outfielder was a steady hitter who played in 162, 159 and 145 games the next three seasons. He also hit 30 home runs and drove in at least 100 base runners in two of those campaigns.

In 2008, Bay was part of the three-way trade that shipped Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers and had his highest numbers as far as productivity (36 home runs, 119 RBI) last summer in his walk year. He also had his worst season as far as striking out goes with 162 Ks and his batting average (.267) was the second lowest of his career.

For a team that was lead in home runs by Jeff Francouer with 12, even the mention of someone who can hit 30 long balls is good news. But Bay is probably geared more for what he was in Boston, which was a role player with a lot of talent around him. Maybe he had to carry the load in Pittsburgh, but there was not much pressure there and championships were the furthest expectation at PNC Park. That is not the case at Citi Field.

Minaya is on the hot seat and must have felt that he needed to do something so he can say he filled a need with what was available. You can easily make the argument that the organization would have been better off waiting for a player who filled more holes if they were going to spend a large sum of money.

But that would have been a cold act at this time of year. Bah-humbug.

Speaking of the Saints (13-2), they have now lost two in a row in the dome after the hapless Tampa Bay Bucs (3-12) came back from a 17-0 hole to win 20-17 in overtime. Also in the NFC, the New York Giants – after coming out of the gate 5-0 – all but put their postseason hopes to rest with a putrid 41-9 pasting at the hands of the carolina Panthers. This occurred in their final game at Giants Stadium, with the grand opening of the still yet-unnamed new Meadowlands stadium opening up in 2010. The Panthers (7-8) have been out of the playoff picture for quite some time while the Giants dropped to 8-7 and left their rabid fanbase wondering what happened.

In Indianapolis, possible MVP candidate Peyton Manning was pulled from the game in the third quarter with the Colts nursing a five-point advantage. Back-up Curtis Painter was not effective and allowed the Jets to get right back into the game.

Not only did Gang Green do the unthinkable after dropping a heartbreaker last week to the Atlanta Falcons, but actually control their own destiny if they can defeat the Cincinnati Bengals (10-5) at home next Sunday night. The Jets (8-7) needed a lot of help heading onto the day and by the time they kicked off at 4:15, much had broke their way.

Miami (7-8) dropped a 27-20 decision at home to the Houston Texans (8-7) while the Steelers (8-7) took care of the Baltimore Ravens (8-7), 23-20, in the Steel City. All of this activity coupled with Jacksonville losing and falling to 7-8, the Jets slid up into one of the wild card spots in the AFC. Denver (8-7) lost by a late field goal in Philadelphia after a big comeback, but still can get in at 8-7 with tiebreakers.

At the time, they were coming off a disappointing loss to the Florida Marlins in the Fall Classic and needed a public relations boost. Trading for one of the top young arms in the game – who was winning despite playing for a weak team in limbo – was mostly lauded and although the Yankees had to give up a few good young players, they appeared to have gotten the best of the deal.

Going north of the border were first baseman Nick Johnson, outfielder Juan Rivera and lefty reliever Randy Choate. Johnson was the big name in the trade, but was expendable with Jason Giambi in the fold.

A hot first half resulted in Vazquez being named to the American League All-Star team, but he faltered as the season wore on. Most Bomber fans will not recall his 14 wins, but rather an abysmal early relief appearance in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series to cap off a monumental collapse to the Boston Red Sox, who went on to break the Curse of the Bambino and win it all that year.

Although he did not know it at the time, Vazquez’s days in the Bronx were numbered. By the time January rolled around, he found himself on the move again, this time to Arizona as part of the Randy Johnson deal. He then went on to pitch for the White Sox (2006-08) and Braves (2009).

Last summer, Vazquez finished fourth in the Cy Young Award voting after going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA in Atlanta. He pitched over 219 innings and finished second in the league with 238 strikeouts.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman felt that the time was right to bring Vazquez back and he certainly will be coming in under much different circumstances. For one, the team is coming off a dominating season and a World Series win. Secondly, there will be a lot less pressure and expectations from him as the number four starter. With CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte ahead of him, Vazquez can be the best back end of the rotation starter in the game and is still only 33 years of age. With Vazquez earning at least 10 wins each year this past decade, he became just the 10th pitcher in major league history to do so. That becomes even more special when you consider that eight of the other nine are enshrined in Cooperstown.

Sent to Atlanta was a package that included three players and cash. Outfielder Melky Cabrera, lefthander Michael Dunn and righthander Arodys Vizcaino were moved with lefthander Boone Logan also coming to New York.

Cabrera was well-liked in the clubhouse and played with spirit but with the earlier offseason acquisition of Curtis Granderson, he was slated to slide over to left field and battle it out with Brett Gardner and even possibly Xavier Nady, who is a free agent that the Yankees have expressed interest in bringing back.

If Vazquez can just do what he needs to and not put any pressure on himself, he will be just fine. An innings eater and strikeout artist is not easy to find these days, especially as a luxury instead of a necessity. And that is what he is on a team like the defending champions.

It came during the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 1941 World Series. The Brooklyn Dodgers led 4-3 and when the Yankee right fielder swung and missed at a low curveball. Dodger’s catcher Mickey Owen couldn’t handle the pitch and it got by him as Henrich scampered to first base. Low and behold, the Bronx Bombers rallied and took a 3-1 lead in the Series, wrapping it up the next game and breaking hearts all over Flatbush.

The Dayton, Ohio native passed away on Monday at the age of 96 in his hometown. He made his major league debut on May 11, 1937 and played 11 seasons, all for the Yankees. He missed three years serving in the Coast Guard during World War II (1943 through 1945) and won five rings in the Bronx.

“Tommy was a darn good ballplayer and teammate,” former Yankee Yogi Berra said. “He always took being a Yankee to heart. He won a lot of championships and did whatever he could do to help us win. When I came up in 1947, he taught me little nuances about playing the outfield. Being around Tommy made you feel good, whether playing cards or listening to him sing with that great voice. He was a proud man, and if you knew him, he made you proud too.”

Although Henrich was a very productive player his first few years in the league, he broke out in 1941 with a career-high 31 home runs and made the All-Star team a year later. After the war, Henrich returned and became an integral part of a very successful club. With a superstar like Joe DiMaggio playing next to him, it was easy to remain in the background, something not lost on his teammates.

“The called him “Old Reliable” and he was just that,” said Jerry Coleman, who played two years with Henrich. “My first year with him was 1949 and it seemed like every home run he hit won the game. His career stats might not show it (.282 career batting average), but he was a great clutch player. When he hit, it counted. He was also a fine defensive player in the outfield.”

That same year, Henrich was instrumental in the Yankees winning another pennant in a close American League race and hit the first walk-off home run in World Series history. The Yankees and Dodgers were locked in a scoreless tie when Henrich led off the bottom of the ninth inning against Don Newcombe. He launched the 2-0 delivery into the stands and sent the crowd home happy. He also starred in Game 5 as the Yanks won yet another Fall Classic.

Although Henrich was named to the All-Star squad in 1950, he retired after the season. Playing through injuries, he hit only .272 with 6 home runs and 34 RBI. Henrich went on to become a coach for the Yankees, New York Giants and Detroit Tigers.

Yes, Henrich did many great things on the baseball diamond, so many in fact that a strikeout can be included in that list.

While the future is undecided, the present certainly is. The current group of Nets may be in the mix all season long for dubious distinctions and they have come out of the gate swinging by dropping their first 15 games. The latest was a 10-point road loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thanksgiving Eve.

They are two losses away from being lumped into the record books by matching the expansion 1988 Miami Heat and 1999 Los Angeles Clippers. They face the Kings, Lakers and Mavericks next.

“You walk into that locker room and it’s like a morgue in there,” Nets head coach Lawrence Frank said to reporters.

With his head on the chopping block, Frank may need a win in one of those three contests to save his job. He has been teetering for a while and although management realizes that they didn’t leave him much to work with, having zero wins and getting blown out of the building on a nightly basis may be too much to stand pat with.

Since being named interim head coach in January of 2004, Frank has experienced both ends of the spectrum. He set an NBA mark by winning his first 13 games of his coaching career and was named NBA Coach of the Month on four separate occasions (February 2004, April 2004, March 2006 and April 2007). The second longest tenured coach in the Eastern Conference had led the team to four consecutive playoff appearances before the roster began to be broken up by management.

Point guard and team leader Jason Kidd was traded to Dallas in February of 2008 and the Nets were a lottery team for the first time in seven years (34-48). That June, Richard Jefferson was moved and it became apparent that a youth movement was in the works. After missing the playoffs again with the same record, the final straw came when Vince Carter was dealt to Orlando last June.

There is so much hanging in the balance with the Nets. The vagabond franchise hopes to once again pack their bags and make Brooklyn their permanent home. The project at the Atlantic Yards has run into some red tape but the Barclays Center is scheduled to open for the 2011-12 campaign. Owner Bruce Ratner has brought in Mikhail Prokhorov, a Russian businessman with deep pockets, so funding should not pose any problems.

The team is obviously clearing salary cap space to make a run at LeBron James and the rest of the 2010 free agent class. But for any of the elite players to even give the Nets a sniff, ground will have had to be broken in downtown Brooklyn.

Until then, this season cannot end fast enough and it has barely started.

You see, the Wilpon era has been one totally void of any wrinkles to the extent that if a player is said to spit too far he is weeded out. It almost seems beyond comprehension that they would take a chance on Wally Backman managing their short season Single-A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, is a pleasant surprise.

“My heart never left New York,” Backman said in a Coney Island press conference. “I’m excited about the opportunity for a new start with an organization I love.”

The fiery former second baseman, 50, had an infamous short four-day stint as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004. After holding an offseason press conference, the team discovered that the Oregon native had a checkered past that included domestic disputes and an arrest for DUI and quickly let him go.

“I like to play an aggressive style of baseball, and I’ve always been partial to speed and defense,” said Backman, who spent nine seasons at Shea Stadium. “My goal is to teach the kids who will be playing for me – both on and off the field – and help them to become better ballplayers and better people. There’s a right way to play the game and that’s to play hard, smart and give it everything you’ve got.

“That’s how I always played and that’s how I’ve always taught,” continued Backman. “My job is to prepare my players as best I can, and hopefully get them to Citi Field in a few years.”

Too bad that Backman himself will not be at the big league ballpark. He talks about aggressiveness and the right way to play the game. Those traits have been missing for the past few seasons, especially since Jerry Manuel has been in charge. Nice guys finish last, they say, and if not for the hapless Washington Nationals, that is exactly where the Mets would have found themselves this past season.

How do you think Backman would have reacted when Jose Reyes threw one of his public tantrums? Or when Fernando Martinez failed to run out a pop up that fell to the ground and was thrown out at first while standing in the batter’s box? Those countless base running mistakes would also have become a thing of the past with a hard-nosed guy like Backman wearing the captain’s hat.

Always giving themselves a fail-safe net, Mets VP of Business Operations David Howard stated that there is a zero tolerance clause in Backman’s contract. Because he has basically been blackballed since the Arizona debacle, Backman had little choice but to agree to that nonsense. He has been plying his trade but had to do so in Georgia for an independent league club.

Backman may not have hit rock bottom but he was closer to that surface than the other. This may be the first step in making his way back to ‘The Show.’ As a matter of fact, when the Mets were looking for a replacement for Art Howe, Backman was on their short list. General manager Omar Minaya ended up settling on Willie Randolph.

Things may come full circle and the politically correct Mets have gone against the grain for the first time in a long time by making this move. A baby steps, indeed, but one that is pointed in the right direction.

Two September collapses followed by a summer of long-term injuries to key components may be the big picture but the smaller one – perhaps an even more glaring one – is that neither Willie Randolph or Jerry Manuel were able to get the best out of their players. Heck, they weren’t even able to get a full day’s pay out of the majority of the locker room on a daily basis.

To say the Mets gave up before they were mathematically eliminated this past summer is like saying reality television has become a bore. Even the young replacement players for the banged-up veterans appeared as if they were just going through the motions. Mental and physical errors made the season reminiscent of the 1962 Mets, with the main difference that they were loveable losers while these imposters were down right deplorable.

Now we have the pleasure of seeing it all over again for the fourth consecutive season. Jeff Wilpon has already announced that both Manuel and general manager Omar Minaya will be back.

The core group of players that have all been either a part of the collapses, the injured or unable to take charge when needed may all return, as well. The one question mark is first baseman Carlos Delgado, who is a Type B free agent after his contract ran out while he was on the disabled list.

The 37-year-old underwent hip surgery back on May 19 and left a huge hole not only at his position but also as the Mets’ only real power threat, the team had a popgun offense. Delgado then strained an oblique muscle while rehabbing and that put him on the shelf for good. Not exactly much of an endorsement for his conditioning.

Now Delgado has stated that he will be playing winter baseball in his native Puerto Rico to salvage what may be a career nearing its end. If he shows that he can still consistently hit the ball out, the Mets may offer him a one-year deal with incentives. But has the front office taken into consideration that a veteran such as Delgado has been a part of both the 2007 and 2008 collapses and never has taken a step up to become a team leader?

While we’re on the subject of players who have no desire to be in the driver’s seat, let us bring David Wright into the mix. The young third sacker is certainly talented and a model citizen but had the perfect opportunity in 2009 to become Mr. Met. He certainly did not do that and actually took a few steps back. He also has shown that he is a singles and doubles hitter at a power position, more alarming especially since the Mets lacked a big stick everywhere else in their line-up. His home run total (10) was reminiscent of a utility player.

Carlos Beltran did his best to play through pain but still had to succumb to missing a good amount of time due to a bum right knee. But he also is a ‘stand behind someone else’ type of person. He is not a take-charge guy by any means, even though he gets paid like one. That was one intangible that Minaya did not seem to think or care about when he threw boatloads of money at the free agent centerfielder, who did his best to take less from the cross-town Yankees before settling on the Mets.

And the last of the fearsome foursome? None other than Jose Reyes, who has made a career out of committing rookie mistakes year after year. Bad habits such as not running out ground balls or pop ups and horrendous base running mistakes has definitely rubbed off on some of the younger players on the team.

What needed to be done was not and Manuel seemed more like a substitute high school teacher than a major league manager. Basic fundamentals that are a part of spring training were botched up through Game 162. Inexcusable to say the least, but management seems to be content with him as the field boss because he is the furthest thing from controversial. The image-conscious Mets love to remain squeaky clean, even to a fault.

While the outcome of 2010 may be predictable wit the Mets, their excuse of what went wrong will not be as easy.

But as we have reached the halfway point in the schedule, what seemed like a sure thing is anything but that. The playoffs are a shaky proposition right now for the 4-4 Jets, while the 5-3 Giants are struggling to hang in after looking like the favorite to win the always-tough NFC East.

Ironically, both teams were handed their first loss in New Orleans by the still undefeated Saints. Sanchez had the proverbial bad game that every rookie must experience while the G-Men were merely outplayed in the Big Easy. But these are losses that you can live with. It has been the defeats since then that are troublesome for New York/New York.

Gang Green dropped three divisional games, two to Miami. All three were winnable, especially the abysmal overtime home loss to the Bills, hardly a powerhouse team. Big Blue, during their current three game losing streak, fell at home to the inconsistent Cardinals and then took a 40-17 spanking in Philadelphia to an Eagles squad that had the nerve to lose to the hapless Raiders two weeks ago.

An easy excuse would be to point at Manning suffering plantar fasclitis in his foot for his and the team’s struggles, but the Ole Miss product would have none of that. “It feels great,” he said. “It hasn’t bothered me all week. I’m not taping it; I’m not doing anything with it anymore. That’s not the problem.”

Tom Coughlin wondered if the foot problem was causing Manning’s mechanics to become an issue. “That’s the first thing you think of when someone injures themselves like that,” the head coach said. “Your concern is if the mechanics are changed, then the shoulder, the arm, the back or something else will be an issue if you’re not careful.”

Injuries have not been the problem with Sanchez, but rather what would be expected from someone just a few months removed from college. “That’s the kind of pressure you’re under every week, every play, every game,” he said. “It’s this kind of league. Inside, it’s about mental toughness at this position.”

His rookie head coach has no regrets naming Sanchez the starter during the preseason and knew that there were going to be some growing pains. “I think he’s done a heck of a job, especially these last two weeks bouncing back from that poor performance against Buffalo (five interceptions),” he said. “I think the guy’s had a pretty damn good year. Obviously he’s going to get better.”

Ryan hopes and it starts this week when the Jets have a bye. The entire team can recharge their batteries and take a good, hard look at some ugly game film to try to correct their mistakes. The Giants do not have that luxury, though. They will host the Chargers (4-3) on Sunday, November 8.

Just as easy as their fortunes changes from good to bad so quickly, the opposite can happen, too. Both teams can go out and win four out of their next five and hop right back into the driver’s seat.