Peyton Manning Made Wrong Choice to Sign with the Broncos

There are at least $95 million reasons why Peyton Manning is in the process of finalizing a five-year contract with the Denver Broncos.

He also gets to stay in the AFC where he is familiar with the teams. He has a low-key coach in John Fox who is more of a defensive guru and will let him run the offense.

Manning has John Elway, who can empathize with the expectations that come with greatness. And he keeps alive what appears to be a Manning family dream of Peyton vs. Eli in the Super Bowl.

It still was the wrong choice.

I'm not in the group that says he should have gone to San Francisco even though the 49ers are just an elite quarterback away from being in the Super Bowl. 

I could see some head-butting there eventually with coach Jim Harbaugh.

Harbaugh is a strong personality who was a quarterback for 14 years in the NFL. He played for four teams but spent his first seven years with the Chicago Bears.

He wasn't an elite quarterback by today's definition but he was a starter most of his career and made the Pro Bowl with, ironically enough, the Indianapolis Colts in 1995.

It would have been difficult for Harbaugh to give the reins of the offense to Manning. The Arizona Cardinals were a better fit than San Francisco. But the Tennessee Titans are the team Manning should have chosen.

It would have been the return of a favorite son, who played at the University of Tennessee, and an opportunity to play in the same division as the Colts.

Manning might have some true affection for Indy and former teammates still there, but don't think he wouldn't relish a chance to school Andrew Luck twice a year. 

The Houston Texans might still be the favorite in the AFC South, but they lost pass-rushing defensive end Mario Williams to Buffalo and have never really gotten the better of Manning.

The biggest determining factor should have been the environment. Peyton Manning is an indoor/warm-weather quarterback.

In addition to playing half his 208 career games indoors in Indianapolis, he also played in a division with Houston, Jacksonville and Tennessee, cities with warm or temperate climates.

That means 11 of 16 games were pretty much guaranteed to be played in optimum conditions. All he has to do is ask his brother Eli what it is like to play in the elements on a regular basis.

I am not questioning Peyton Manning's stature as a future Hall of Fame inductee.

But I do not believe he would have a career completion percentage of 64.9 or a home record of 76-28 if he were playing for the New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles or Pittsburgh Steelers.

What if Dan Marino played his pro career in a cold weather city like Pittsburgh, where he played college ball?

Would Kurt Warner have had the same success playing in the rust belt as he did playing indoors in St. Louis and then in Arizona, the land of the sun?

There is plenty of talent in Denver and if healthy, Manning will have no problem getting the Broncos to the playoffs.

Even Tim Tebow, essentially a wild-cat quarterback, managed to do that. According to weather.com, Manning can expect fairly mild weather through September.

The average low in October is 33°. It drops to 23° in November and 16° in December.

The average high for those months is 66°, 54° and 46°. Oh, and it snows sometimes as early as September.

I remember being in Denver on assignment in early May when it snowed four inches overnight.

Manning is said to be a creature of habit. Denver, with its altitude, outdoor stadium, cold and snow is not in Peyton's comfort zone. Good for him if he wants a new challenge.

Not so good if the next stop isn't New Orleans and the 2013 Super Bowl.