Peyton Manning to San Francisco 49ers Would Derail Super Bowl Chances

By the end of the day, Peyton Manning will reportedly no longer be an Indianapolis Colts quarterback—a fact that is still hard to handle. It's important to remember that the legendary quarterback is not the answer to every last ill, and certainly not a great fit for the San Francisco 49ers. 

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on Peyton Manning leaving the Colts and a former star 49ers receiver who thinks San Francisco would be a perfect landing spot. 

Yes, Jerry Rice made his thought known on the subject, and he is a huge fan of the idea of Manning barking orders in a 49ers uniform. Here is what he had to say.

"

I think you go for it, you really do. You have to go after him. You've got a defense that's going to smack you in the mouth, but you need a little more from the offense.

Not knocking what Alex Smith did ... but a guy with the knowledge and talent of Peyton Manning, I think you'd take it to a whole different level. If he's healthy, he's going to have a chip on his shoulder like crazy. He's going to be pissed.

"

I love Rice stating that he is not knocking Alex Smith, because that is precisely what he is doing. Just when you thought Smith would go one offseason without being called out as a tenuous starter, Manning is on the open market. 

Let me talk some of you more overzealous 49ers fans down from cloud nine.

Jim Harbaugh Bubble

The 49ers were greater than the sum of their parts last season. There was no one player who stood out as the reason for their rise as a Western power. 

There was a quaint corner of Northern California where Jim Harbaugh was able to create this special bubble. His thought and motivations reached his players, and they played for one another. 

We were all surprised when this former Stanford coach was able to reach his players with the same exuberance that he coached with at the collegiate level. 

With Manning in town, all of that gets popped.

The camaraderie and fraternity completes transforms into answering questions about Manning, protecting Manning and concentrating on Manning. 

Health

This is the big one for me in that we still have no clue what shape Manning is in. All we have are the Zapruder tapes that show a grainy Manning throwing the ball. 

Consider that we have no idea how strong his arm is at this moment, and then you will see how many steps need to be taken until he gets the precision, timing and comfort to lead a team. 

Merely signing Manning doesn't guarantee a Super Bowl, and that is important to remember before millions are thrown at an indisputable legend. 

Paul Kuharsky of ESPN writes: 

"

Teams should wait until the release is official. That doesn’t happen with the announcement. That happens when Manning’s name is on the league’s daily transaction wire. It would seem that would happen Wednesday. If it does, then at the close of business Wednesday, executives who have attempted to dance around the subject will be free to talk about the former Colt, who will be a free agent. 

"

We may very well know exactly where his arm, neck and shoulder stand in just a couple of days. 

This is no knock on Manning, who is one of the best to ever play. 

We need to step back for a second and realize that just because you sign Peyton Manning, it doesn't mean you are getting a Super Bowl quarterback ready to win tomorrow.

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