As fans all over the country speculate on whether future Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Peyton Manning will sign with Tennessee, Denver, or some other team, Nissan North America has just sweetened the deal by offering to “… make Manning a Titan.”

But in this case, the automaker, which is based in Franklin, Tenn., a suburb of Nashville, where the Tennessee NFL franchise plays, is offering to “make,” or rather, “build” Manning a 2012 Nissan Titan Pro-4X pickup truck.

On its website and Facebook page, Nissan extended the offer in an open letter to Manning. In an effort to remain neutral, Nissan indicates it will make Manning a Titan regardless of the NFL team he chooses.

Tennessee has been the corporate headquarters for Nissan’s operations covering all of North, Central and South America since 2006 when the company moved to Nashville from California. The company, now based 15 minutes south in the suburb of Franklin, Tenn., is one of the state’s largest employers. Nissan operates technical and design centers in California, Arizona and Michigan, two assembly plants and one power-train plant in Tennessee, as well as a third assembly plant in Canton, Miss.

“The Nissan Titan V-8 engine is built in Tennessee,” said Brian Carolin, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Nissan North America. “And even more poetically for Mr. Manning, the Titan itself is assembled in a place called Canton.”

Manning played college football for the University of Tennessee. He is expected to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee when he becomes eligible after retirement. The NFL Hall of Fame is located in Canton, Ohio.

An Open Letter to Peyton Manning

Dear Peyton,

We hope it’s okay to be informal and call you Peyton. You’ve been like one of the family to sports fans, especially Tennesseans, since your record-setting college days at the University of Tennessee.

Like you, we at Nissan North America were not all born to Rocky Top. But it is now home to our corporate headquarters and three manufacturing facilities employing more than 6,000 Tennesseans.

At Nissan, we too have fans all over the U.S.A. and we appreciate them all. And like all of your fans, we’re awaiting your decision on where to play next season. While we are in no position to sign you to any particular NFL franchise, we at Nissan North America want to make you a Titan – a 2012 Nissan Titan – as a gesture of gratitude recognizing your great accomplishments and philanthropic contributions to our national community.

We extend this offer on behalf of a nation of football fans and Nissan fans, not necessary to influence your decision.  So next time you’re in Nashville, give us a call and we’ll bring the keys.

Sincerely,

Nissan North America

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnjn/

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The Peyton Manning era in Indianapolis officially came to an end Wednesday at noon, as the team’s 14-year quarterback held a nationally televised press conference with Colts owner Jim Irsay, who announced that the team was cutting Manning. Manning missed the entire 2011 season following multiple neck procedures and was due a $28 million bonus this month.

However, after a 2-14 season landed the Colts with the number one overall draft pick and the opportunity to bring in the highly touted quarterback out of Stanford, Andrew Luck, both sides were in agreement that it would be in their best interest to part ways.

There had been an abundance of chatter over the last few months about the possibility of Manning calling it a career due to a cloud of uncertainty about his ability to return from this serious neck surgery continuously hovering in the picture. Manning completely put that notion to bed when asked after making his speech at the press conference, however.  He stated, “Well, I don’t want to retire,” and continued, “Nobody loves their job more than I do. Nobody loves playing quarterback more than I do, and I still want to play.”

Twelve teams have already expressed interest in signing Manning, but only seven have been confirmed thus far – the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins, and Seattle Seahawks. The Jets, though, pulled out of the Manning race over the weekend after giving their young quarterback, Mark Sanchez, a three-year contract extension. Rumors have also included teams like the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans. Manning has said that he will sign with a new team within the next week.

Which team would offer Manning, not only a chance to make it to the Super Bowl next year, but the best chance overall?  The answer would have to be the Houston Texans. Although the Colts were Manning-less all year long in 2011, do not think for even one moment that the Texans’ ensuing level of success was a fluke by any means. Last season was the greatest in Texans franchise history–one in which they clinched their first ever AFC South title, playoff berth, and victory.

Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart were both placed on IR with major injuries during the regular season, but rookie third-string quarterback T.J. Yates had plenty of talent around him to win a playoff game after making his five regular season starts. Despite all of the other interested/potentially interested teams having their own share of talent, the Texans certainly boast more than anyone else.

The depth of the Texans roster begins on the outside with their wide receivers. Andre Johnson is a four-time Pro Bowler and one of the elite deep threats in the league with his lethal combination of size and speed. Jacoby Jones, a fifth year receiver, shows great promise as one of the faster wide-outs in the game.

Their starting tight end, Owen Daniels, has become one of the more consistent players at his position as well. Houston’s starting running back, Arian Foster, also gives the Texans one of the most dangerous running attacks out there. With Ben Tate behind him, the team led the league in rushing at 159.5 yards per game.

And the Houston defense? Well, they were no joke either. They ranked in the top five in the league in all defensive categories, despite missing Pro Bowler Mario Williams for much of the season, were second in both passing and rushing, and first in yards per game.

The AFC South, as Manning knows from playing his whole career there, is one of the weaker divisions in all of football. This would only improve his chances of making it to the promise land even more. Houston appears to be the way to go for Peyton.

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With the NFL regular season set to kick off in less than two weeks, the Indianapolis Colts might have a problem. The NFL season was delayed with the lockout between the players and the owners but the Colts season could be delayed without their future Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning. This off-season Manning underwent surgery to repair a nerve in his neck.

The surgically repaired neck was said to take about 6-8 weeks to heal, well in time for the regular season, but at this time it’s not healed and coming up on three months! As you can see this isn’t an ordinary Peyton Manning type scenario where it doesn’t matter what the injury, you know Peyton would be ready for week one of the regular season.

This injury is different because it’s the neck and with this he can’t be 80 or 85%, he must be 100% to play. The neck is in the process of nerve regeneration and with Manning’s eight weeks past due it’s no telling when the neck will be fully healed.

What makes this story even more intriguing is the signing of formally retired QB Kerry Collins. The Colts signed him Wednesday August 24, which leads you to believe that the Colts are starting to have doubts about their star quarterback being back in time for week one. Kerry Collins brings a lot to the table that the backup QBs currently on the Colts roster don’t have.

The accomplished Veteran brings leadership as well as experience. Another thing he brings that Curtis Painter and Dan Orlosky don’t have…is a win. A combined zero career win for the Colts backup QB duo compared to Kerry Collins who brought a team to the Super Bowl.

Also Kerry Collins played for the Tennessee Titans last year, so he knows the division well and week one the Colts face off against division rival the Houston Texans. So in a lot of ways this move makes sense. The negative of this signing is that he’ll have less than two weeks to prepare to start week one and learn the offense of the Colts. We’ll also see if this move sits well with the Colts locker room that has trust in the QBs who are already in place.

What’s on the line for Peyton Manning? Just his active streak of a whooping 208 consecutive starts since his rookie season. Nine years in a row the Colts have one double digit games with Manning at the helm but the longer he’s out, the slimmer those chances of winning at least 10 games get.

Manning is currently on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list but there is still optimism that he very well could be ready for week one. After all it is the former Super Bowl Champion Peyton Manning. My guess is, he’ll be starting under center and he keeps the streak alive.

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