Chiefs a good fit for Manning

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By Bill Williamson

The Peyton Manning saga will surely be the story of the NFL offseason. The question in the AFC West is, will the Kansas City Chiefs be the story along with the legendary Indianapolis Colts quarterback?

As of now, we have to think it is a real possibility that the Chiefs will heavily pursue Manning -- who may be cut by the Colts as soon as next week -- if he becomes a free agent. Manning, who will turn 36 on March 24, missed all of last season with a neck injury and there is no certain date when he will be 100 percent, although there have been reports he will be ready to play in 2012.

If the Chiefs end up signing Manning, it won’t be the first time the organization brought in a living legend at the end of his career after he suffered a serious injury. The Chiefs traded for San Francisco’s Joe Montana in 1993.

The Chiefs have been connected to Manning in recent weeks. A Kansas City radio station has even reported that the team has had multiple conversations with Manning’s agent about finances and that the Chiefs feel comfortable about what Manning may want. That would constitute tampering and it is highly unlikely any team would talk finances with Manning before giving him a physical and knowing more about his recovery timetable. Still, the Chiefs have a load of salary-cap room and they can easily construct a deal for Manning in addition to making other improvements.

Of course, Kansas City coach Romeo Crennel did nothing to take the scent off a potential Chiefs-Manning pairing when he said this at the NFL combine last Saturday: “With a talent like that, I would be crazy not to consider it if he’s available. I’ll leave it at that.”

The Chiefs are not necessarily looking for a new starting quarterback. At the combine, Kansas City general manager Scott Pioli wouldn’t say the job is open. He said the starter is Matt Cassel. However, there will be competition at every position. The translation is the Chiefs expect Cassel to be the starter, but if a better option comes along, they will consider it. There’s no doubt a healthy Manning would be a better option.

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Kansas City's Matt CasselDak Dillon/US PRESSWIREMatt Cassel may find himself backing up Peyton Manning next season if the Chiefs make a move.
If the Chiefs do want to go deep into the Manning sweepstakes, they will have competition, likely beginning with Miami and Washington. There will surely be other teams that show interest in the player who many consider one of the greatest NFL players of all time.

In addition to their interest and financial means, here’s another reason the Chiefs could be favorites to land Manning: They may be the best team interested in him. That would surely appeal to Manning when he is making his choice. I’m not sure many of the interested teams can offer Manning a better supporting cast.

The Chiefs have a strong running game and Manning would have plenty of receiving options. No. 1 receiver Dwayne Bowe is expected to be franchised, 2011 first-round pick Jonathan Baldwin is a potential game-changing deep threat and Steve Breaston is a solid possession receiver. Tight end Tony Moeaki is expected to be healthy after missing the 2011 season with a knee injury. He was terrific as a rookie in 2010.

In addition to appealing offensive weapons, the Chiefs have the makings of a strong defense. A healthy Manning would immensely help any team. But Manning could be a difference-maker in Kansas City. Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. said adding Manning would make the Chiefs -- who finished 7-9 in 2011 despite major injury issues -- “the clear favorite to win the AFC West” in 2012.

Putting Manning in the Heartland would make many teams in the AFC nervous.

I would think Manning would also be fine with working with Crennel and Pioli. He is close with New England quarterback Tom Brady and Brady won Super Bowls with both men. I’m sure Brady would give Manning glowing reports on both of his potential bosses. And don’t think Manning would have trouble working with a defensive-minded coach like Crennel. Remember, the man Manning won his Super Bowl ring with, Tony Dungy, was a defensive-minded coach.

Cassel is also a factor in this scenario. Because Manning will be signed before there are any guarantees he’ll be ready to play, any team that signs him must have a good fallback plan. There are fewer better fallbacks than Cassel.

If Manning is signed and he has a setback, the Chiefs can rely on Cassel, who shined as Brady’s injury replacement in 2008. While Cassel wouldn’t be thrilled with the idea of backing up Manning, I’m sure he’d understand the Chiefs taking advantage of a rare opportunity to pick up a future Hall of Fame player.

There are a lot of reasons this pairing makes sense. If it happens, the Chiefs will be at the center of the NFL universe.

Peyton wont be a Chief. Ever.

Touchdown Bowe wrote:

Peyton wont be a Chief. Ever.

I will agree with you, but I will hope until he signs a contract.

Im ok with it really. It would be amazing for sure though. If he does go to denver Tamba and Houston will make him very sorry he did.

What’s Peyton Manning worth?

Not contract-wise, but to a team. He’d create an immense buzz in Nashville and Tennessee, and the Titans might max out in popularity. Certainly that is of great value.

But for a team that sells all its tickets, what kind of dollars will it translate to? The people will actually be in all those seats from kick to horn, and that will improve game-day parking, concessions, etc.

Manning
A lot of fans are talking about how the Titans would rake it in on jersey sales. But they only get a full share of the profits from jerseys sold at their team-run pro shop and through their website. Every jersey sold elsewhere gets put into the big pool that gets split up around the league.

Kristi Dosh, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, said there is a split opinion among those who monitor such things as to what sort of financial influence a superstar can bring a team.

“The experts I’ve spoken with have had a mixed reaction,” she said. “Some have said while it adds buzz and can re-energize the fan base, there aren’t tangible financial rewards if he goes to a team who already sells out its stadium. Basically, he helps maintain the status quo in those cities. While important, that doesn’t necessarily increase revenue.

“However, Lou Imbriano, former chief marketing officer of the New England Patriots, tells me a team who markets Peyton correctly could see as much as an eight-figure bump. Adding a player like Peyton would increase demand, making tickets more valuable even if they’re already sold out. Ticket prices could be increased or more expensive packages could be created for the upper echelon of fans. It could also cause an increase in the season-ticket waiting list. Imbriano says when he was at the Patriots the waiting list was 60,000 and each had paid a $100 deposit. Not only do you increase demand, but that demand allows you to market the team to sponsors differently and can increase revenue from those sources. In addition, you can market to those on the waiting list for non-game events.”

The Titans' waiting list spots don’t cost money, so there isn’t money to be made there.

If Manning came to Nashville, the Titans would be expecting to make several charges into the playoffs and win at least one Super Bowl. Winning a Super Bowl makes a team more valuable.

I don’t know what that number would be, but it's not a small one.

Another blow to the Chiefs are cheap and just want to make money. As we see in the this article; popularity, profitably, and winning all go hand in hand. It's just a shame Manning snubbed his nose but something I anticipated.

I dont blame the chiefs management for not signing Petyon. It was ultimately his choice and its not like they didnt try. Manning wouldnt even take the time out of his week to have a meeting with us. ASSHOLE!

Theres something obviously behind the scenes with KC..there has to be a reason he wouldnt give us the time of day. He would be a complete idiot to not even consider us, but meet with Miami, Denver, Arizona, and Tennessee.

exactly. Manning wouldnt even give them a visit. Orton would rather back up Romo than start here. Maybe people are figuring out Pioli is an idiot and a jackass.

Chiefs09 wrote:

exactly. Manning wouldnt even give them a visit. Orton would rather back up Romo than start here. Maybe people are figuring out Pioli is an idiot and a jackass.

This also speaks volumes to how shitty our team must actually be. Kyle Orton would rather be a sure back up to Tony Romo than compete for and likely WIN a STARTING JOB on this piece of crap team.

Meanwhile in the midst of free agency, Scott Pioli is scouting late round QBs and crossing his fingers than one of them is the next Brady.

as long as he comes cheap for hunt that is all that really matters. gonna suck for me in KC when the second half of the season has all the home games blacked out.

I wouldnt mind if games were blacked out. Hopefully it will send a message to this dumbass management.

its what the fans are gonna have to do if they want any chance of getting through to these morons.

they like to keep everything secret so the fans can think they are doing things "behind the scenes" when in truth they are sucking each other off.

The Chiefs are going to that playoffs next year even if Cassel is the QB, Dallas isn't making it.

I agree with Rust here. If you look at the division we play in I think that the Broncos will be our real competition for the division next season.

I dont see playoffs unless we have a schedule like we had 2 years ago. and if we do happen to go it will be another ass whoopin for KC like Baltimore gave us. But if winning the worst division in football and getting your ass kicked by a real team is what you dream of then KC is doing great. I would rather be contenders for the whole thing myself which they arent even close to.

chiefbravebull wrote:

I agree with Rust here. If you look at the division we play in I think that the Broncos will be our real competition for the division next season.

If they get Manning they are! If it's Tebow we are going to the playoffs. You can never count out SD but they are taking a beating in FA

The Broncos aren't getting lucky in ten games next year or however many the won in OT. They aren't winning the division. SD is getting worse and Oakland really fucked up firing Hue IMO. Chiefs are winning the division next year.

BigRatt wrote:

chiefbravebull wrote:

I agree with Rust here. If you look at the division we play in I think that the Broncos will be our real competition for the division next season.

If they get Manning they are! If it's Tebow we are going to the playoffs. You can never count out SD but they are taking a beating in FA

Yeah maybe Manning can make chicken salad out of chicken shit. Orton sure couldn't throw to no one when he was there. Tebow didn't win by passing either.

If our ground game is as legit as its starting to look for next season, we probably will. Oakland will have a top 10 pick next season. Denver has Teblow. San Diego several key players. It looks like a crap shoot between KC and SD.

RustShack wrote:

The Broncos aren't getting lucky in ten games next year or however many the won in OT. They aren't winning the division. SD is getting worse and Oakland really fucked up firing Hue IMO. Chiefs are winning the division next year.

Manning changes the whole picture if they get him signed. I hope like hell he goes to the Titans

Idk would like to see him as a 49er "the mystery team" Hell then maybe we will look at Alex Smith as competition for Cassel. He did pretty damn good in SF last year with only Vernon Davis as a real recieving threat.

If he picks the Niners they just need one more reciever and they are legit on offense. If they line up with Gore at RB, Miller at FB, Crabtree at WR, Davis at TE, then maybe Moss if he is back to form or another FA which I think they need, with there OL they could be dangerous. And their Defense is top 10 also.

49ers have to be the favorite to land him now that Smith is visiting Miami. They have everything he could want, and them signing Mario Manningham now on top of Moss, Crabtree, and Davis is huge.

Yeah I think he will end up there also.