Why Arizona Cardinals Were Better Fit for Peyton Manning Than the Denver Broncos

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning have found mutual grounds:

"

The Denver Broncos and Petyon Manning reached agreement on a five-year, $96 million contract on Tuesday, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

"

So, it was a tough break for the Arizona Cardinals because landing Manning would have been huge. Now, the Cardinals must continue on with Kevin Kolb, who has yet to prove himself after a disappointing 2011 season.

That said, Arizona had pieces in play for Manning to succeed and here are a few reasons why the Cards were a better fit than the Broncos.

Larry Fitzgerald

Need anyone say more? Arguably the best receiver in pro football, Manning would easily be the best quarterback to be under center for Larry Fitzgerald.

Also, Fitz would arguably be the best receiver for Manning to target, as he has been selected to six Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams.

Considering that Fitzgerald's quarterbacks have mainly consisted of average to below-average players (with the exception of Kurt Warner), this would have been a special connection. Not to mention that Manning's presence alone would take pressure off the running game.

Fitz has the ability to beat double coverages, dominate against single coverage and split zones on a consistent basis. You can't ask for much more from a No. 1 receiver.

Less Pressure to Win

As we saw with Kyle Orton in Denver last season, Broncos fans can get impatient when it comes to losing. Quickly, Tim Tebow was embraced, and despite not having any pressure to deal with, Denver won.

In Arizona, though, before the 1998 season the Cardinals had just one postseason victory (in 1947). After the '98 campaign, the Cards won a postseason game but then didn't win another until 2008.

After some impressive years with Warner that included two division championships and an NFC title, the Cardinals have gone just 13-19 between 2010 and 2011. Obviously, Manning would have increased expectations, however, not to the extent of Denver fans.

The Broncos were spoiled with John Elway from 1983 to 1998, and when he retired he was the winningest quarterback in NFL history. Arizona has never had a quarterback like that, and even if Manning were to underachieve, it's unlikely that he would have gotten run out of town for Kolb, like Orton was for Tebow.

Long-Term Rushing Attack

As previously mentioned, Manning's presence on Arizona's offense would have taken a lot of pressure off the running game. Well, yes, regardless of where Manning were to play the ground game wouldn't have had to carry as much of a burden.

Still, the difference between the Cardinals and Broncos lies in age. Denver has Willis McGahee who is undoubtedly reliable and solid. However, Arizona's Chris Wells is only turning 24 years old before the 2012 season begins, whereas McGahee will be 31 by mid season.

Last year, Wells ran for over 1,000 yards and scored 10 touchdowns, which helped the Cardinals finish 7-2 after a 1-6 start. But, with Manning under center instead of Kolb, Arizona's rushing offense would have hit another level of production.

As for Denver, McGahee will see an improvement as well; however, it's not going to last another three years. Wells, on the other hand, could have provided Manning with a sound rushing attack for at least the next five seasons, thus elongating his career even more.

John Rozum on Twitter.