Peyton Manning To 49ers Is Not My Cup Of Tea

Nuff said.

is built around Alex Smith’s mobility. Manning doesn’t have any. Another thing is that Alex took a lot of sacks. Yes some of them where because he held on too long, but Manning wouldn’t survive some of the hits Alex took.

Manning would be similar to Favre in Minnesota. I think Manning has as good a shot to lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl as Alex, and with Manning you’d have a 1-2 year window whereas Alex has probably a 4 year window.

Don’t break up the team, just go with what got us to the NFC Championship, add a few pieces and let the full offseason help you improve.

First off, I do have to say that I think it will be an unlikely circumstance in which he would come here to SF. However if he did it would be a superb situation.

Think back to the NFC championship game and think what the outcome would have been with Peyton and the helm. I’m not saying that Alex is to blame for the loss at all. I’m simply saying that it would have been a different ball game if Peyton was at the helm.

Another thing to consider are the doctors that have said the success rate for athletes to compete at a high level after this kind of surgery is about 80-90%. That is a risk the 49ers can afford to make. Peyton Manning wasn’t exactly playing poor football before he was injured. He will pick up right where he left off.

The NFL is essentially a business and these players are their investments. If you speak to any stock broker he will tell you to ‘Buy low and sell high’. That is exactly what the 49ers need to do. Sell Alex when he is high and buy Manning when he is low.

I have to agree with you completely.

I’m interested in seeing the progress in Alex with an off season and being in the same system for two years in a row…

Its funny because all you Smith lovers out there were hating on him this time last year. You were saying how poor he played and what a bust he was. Now all of a sudden he is the best choice at quarterback. He is a good player but we are talking about getting that elusive sixth super bowl here. I would only want to sign him for one more year and see how he does. We need a quarterback that is good with any coach, not a qb that is good with only one specific coach. Alex has a lot of improving to do if he wants to get to that level. I do believe he can do it but at what cost to us. I mean here we are about 7 or 8 years later and he has one playoff appearance and one playoff win.

No doubt in my mind Niners win a superbowl, maybe more with this defense, and the run game helping Manning. That’s something Manning never had in Indy.

But the thing with that is I would lose little bit of respect in Haubaugh, because of the things he has said about Alex being “elite”, and what he had to go through to get Alex to come back. If Harbaugh trully believes Alex can be “elite” in this league he is going to do everything he can to prove to all the doubters wrong. For Harbaugh to do the things he did with this team in one year after a lockout is no fluke. This team is a couple of pieces away from winning it all next season even with a 27 year old QB in Alex

First, for a summary of James’ arguments why we shouldn’t get Manning:
1) Manning is expensive
2) The Niners offense is centered around Frank Gore, not the quarterback
3) The Niners’ receiving corps isn’t talented enough to maximize Manning’s strengths
4) Manning may not be healthy

Second, concessions or rebuttals:
re: 1) Manning will undeniably be expensive. But he’ll also be looking for an ideal football and competitive situation. Sort of like Harbaugh last January. There are good reasons to think that the 49ers would be such a situation; the team has good weather, good coaching, and a strong veteran core.

re: 2) It’s true that the 49ers want to run the ball as much as they pass it, and their system is not designed to have the QB put up video game numbers. Andrew Luck threw the ball fewer than 27 times a game under Harbaugh. Peyton’s average is over 34 attempts per game, which is sneakily a ton more. But if Peyton isn’t driven by statistics and career records, but by Super Bowl rings, he might think that a more balanced offense with fewer pass attempts per game will expose him to fewer hits and actually make his job easier — because defenses have to honor the run threat. Heaven knows that the lack of a running game in Indy probably actually contributed to his neck injuries.

re: 3) It’s true that the 49ers don’t have the greatest set of receiving weapons. But as we saw with Jacob Tamme, Manning is able to make just about anybody look better than they are. And although his hands aren’t as good as Dallas Clark’s, Vernon Davis has about twice the speed of Clark, and much better run after catch ability. Moreover, Crabtree is actually similar in terms of skill set to Reggie Wayne, who is definitely not a burner. I think Crabs could really blossom in a slightly higher-volume passing attack with a QB that’s more willing to throw the ball into double-coverage. Kyle Williams could become the slot option similar to Austin Collie (his raw skills are better than Collie, IMO).

re: 4) This is the proverbial turd in the punchbowl. The fact that the Niners would have to throw everything at Manning not knowing if he is fully healthy and when he’d already be 36 years old by season’s start is the obvious down side to this whole scenario.

Bottom line:
I think the Niners’ history with the Kurt Warner dalliance is really informative here. Peyton can’t be traded. And the Colts would be committing $50 Million to the QB position if they were to keep Manning on the roster.
The biggest reason to NOT sign Manning besides the ones that I’ve already mentioned would be that he would leech all the reps from Colin Kaepernick. But being in the same meeting room with the guy would do a lot to aid his development too.
I’m not an Alex hater, but Manning would be a significant upgrade over Smith. That’s a fact. Manning would do more with the passing attempts that the Niners would run and would set the running game up with pre-snap checks than Alex does. Alex has the potential to develop somewhat, but we more or less know what he is, and that’s a player that the 49ers coaching staff has to design schemes for if they want him to be successful.

I’m not advocating getting Manning because getting him would guarantee a Super Bowl. I do think it would improve the team’s chances though. The best argument against it would be that Manning would be a relatively short term solution, and that you’d be limiting the team’s potential for a long term dynasty. But I really think his career could be extended and having him in place could accelerate the start of that upswing, and get the Niners to the top of the mountain much more quickly than if they were to stand pat with Alex and Kaep.

However, we aren’t even guaranteed a playoff spot next year. Alex is the king of inconsistency, he even showed that this year. We just need to see where Kap fits in and if he can prove something.