Peyton Manning: First-Year Adjustments Will Crush QB's Super Bowl Hopes

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning's 2012 NFL season will be more of a struggle than a success.

Despite all the chatter coming from Broncos fans about Manning making Denver a Super Bowl favorite this fall, the veteran signal caller will have to deal with a plethora of first year adjustments that will undoubtedly put him and the Broncos behind the 8-ball. 

Manning is coming over from the Indianapolis Colts, a franchise that he had previously played for for his entire NFL career—13 seasons to be exact.

To suggest that Manning will transition from the days of Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark to his present situation without experiencing some lumps would be wishful thinking at best.

Denver's opening schedule presents some major obstacles for the 36-year-old passer. He'll face a pair of the league's most dominant pass defenses in the first three weeks of the season in Pittsburgh (171.9 Passing Yards Allowed) and Houston (189.7 PYA).

Not to mention the AFC is stacked this year and features a handful of teams with Super Bowl potential, among them Denver's AFC West rival San Diego, a team the Broncos the will face twice. 

The New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals all boast championship-caliber football teams in 2012, and will all get a crack at Manning and the Broncos at some point this fall.

Unfortunately for Manning and the Broncos, none of the aforementioned teams will have first-year quarterbacks under center. That leaves Manning as the lone quarterback set to experience growing pains this year. 

Even second-year quarterbacks Andy Dalton and T.J. Yates have more experience than Manning in their current offenses. 

Anyone who believes that Manning will step in and lead Denver to a Super Bowl (something he has managed only twice during career despite having the talent to win) after taking an entire season off is foolish. 

They say that defense wins championships, and Denver has serious questions to answer on defense.

The Broncos allowed 45 points in their last showing in January against the Patriots, and ranked below average during the regular season in both pass and run defense. They've even allowed 59 points combined in the last two preseason matchups this August. 

The lesson to be learned here is that Manning will have to be near flawless during his first season in a new city, in a new system on a new team if the Broncos are to even sniff the Lombardi Trophy this winter. 

Sure, Manning is a future Hall of Famer and one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the history of the sport statistically, but he'll have to make first-year adjustments for the first time since 1998 when he was a rookie. 

That fact will crush the Denver Broncos and their quarterback's Super Bowl hopes in 2012.

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter all season long for more NFL reaction and analysis.