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SANTA CLARA - While Peyton Manning is going through a predictable patch of unsuccess as a rookie quarterback in the NFL, most everyone around the league is convinced the son of Archie will one day become a stalwart at the position. "Hopefully, not this Sunday," John Marshall said. The 49ers' defensive coordinator is responsible for putting together a game plan that will keep young Manning flummoxed for three hours on Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts come to Candlestick. Through six games Manning has thrown six touchdown passes and 14 interceptions - numbers compatible with a rookie struggling to cope with the speed, complexity and ferocity of the pro game. "I expected it to be hard," Manning said Wednesday in a conference call."I didn't want to struggle, but I kind of knew Imight.Unfortunately, that part's coming true. I'm definitely learning a lot. I'm trying to learn from my mistakes and get better each week." Manning's appearance at Candlestick is of some local historical interest. It will be only the third time since 1970 that the 49ers will have faced a rookie quarterback drafted No. 1 overall. In 1971 they played Jim Plunkett and New England and beat the Patriots, 27-10. Four years later San Francisco lost a pair of games to divisional opponent Atlanta and Steve Bartkowski. Plunkett, fresh out of Stanford, passed for 102 yards and one touchdown. Bartkowski, fresh out of Cal, had 399 yards passing and three touchdowns in the two Atlanta wins. Now comes Manning, the No. 1 pick of last April's draft by the Colts. Unlike the No. 2 selection, San Diego's Ryan Leaf, Manning has kept his composure, but for all the good it has done him the Colts are still 1-5. "The jump from college to the pros is like going from a tricycle to a car on the highway," said Steve Young, who made that move long ago. "When I first started playing I swear there were 30 players on defense and the field was too small." Manning, with 210 passes so far, is throwing more than anyone in the league, so naturally some of them are going to be picked off, especially when thrown in the vicinity of savvy defensive backs who can read the quarterback's eyes. "Obviously, he's not playing as well as he'd like," said defensive end Chris Doleman, who will be chasing Manning Sunday. "He has a lot of talent. He has an enormous well of resources he can draw from, being that his dad is Archie. He's a guy right now who's learning. Next year you'll look at him and say, "Was that the same guy from last year?' " Being the son of Archie Manning, Peyton has an impeccable pedigree as a quarterback. He's also 6-feet-5 and 230 pounds with a strong arm, a quick release and excellent study habits. Although his passer rating is quite low (55.7), it's nearly 26 points higher than Leaf's. What Manning is going through is typical for young quarterbacks. The exception was Dan Marino, who went to a good Miami team in 1983 and enjoyed immediate success. "I knew it'd be faster and more complex and that I'd be going against better athletes," Manning said. "Really, the games are the only way to get used to it. That's what I expected. It's a marathon, it's not a sprint, and you've got to remind yourself of that. No question it's frustrating and you don't like things that are happening, but I'm very confident that things are going to get better." The 49ers say they will not do anything exotic in order to make sure Manning is shaken, not stirred. They believe they can get enough pressure from their front four without resorting to more than a few blitzes. San Francisco has 17 sacks in its last three games. Doleman has seven overall and Bryant Young has five. Sacks may not determine whether or not Manning plays well. He's been sacked 11 times in six games, which speaks to the good work of his offensive line, notably former Cal standout Tarik Glenn at left tackle and Tony Mandarich at right guard, who has been considered, at various times, as the greatest offensive line prospect ever and the biggest draft bust in history. Take your pick. "They're going to do what they can to protect him, because he's their future," said Doleman, who will oppose Glenn most of the game. "We expect them to max protect (use the tight end for blocking help and use an extra back for blocking help). They've got a young offensive line, but a good offensive line. They do a real good job of protecting." If that's the case Sunday, the 49ers will need to have sound coverage on wide receiver Marvin Harrison and tight end Ken Dilger (who killed them in a 1995 Colts win at Indy) and try to force Manning into making mistakes. "This is a good quarterback," cornerback Darnell Walker said. "I don't get caught up in the statistics stuff. You just play him honest. He's done some things that some rookies don't as far as looking off receivers." Summing up what kind of game he expects from Manning, Marshall said, "I hope he has a miserable time out there this week." More times than not, that's just what happens to rookie quarterbacks. |