Indy's Manning, Harrison poised to break record

SAN FRANCISCO - Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison are poised to make history, and the San Francisco 49ers know there's not much they can do to protect one of their franchise's most hallowed records in their own stadium.\nThe 49ers are just hoping Dwight Freeney doesn't set some sort of sacks record of his own while chasing Alex Smith, San Francisco's own star quarterback of the future.\nWith one touchdown pass against the Niners' patchwork secondary Sunday, Manning and Harrison will become the most prolific passing combination in NFL history. Their 85th touchdown hookup last week tied the league record set by San Francisco's Steve Young and Jerry Rice from 1987-99.\nManning and Harrison already hold the records for most completions (726) and yards (9,677) by a tandem, but the scoring mark is the most prized. Young and Rice led the 49ers to dozens of victories and a Super Bowl title from their home at wind-swept Candlestick Park.\n"I have an appreciation for what Young and Rice did as a tandem," Manning said. "They threw a lot of touchdowns, but those touchdowns were helping the team win football games. That's what Marvin and I are about. He and I have definitely done some things together, but it's all come along with helping our team win games."\nIn fact, the Colts' first trip to the Bay Area since Manning's rookie season seems to be the NFL's biggest mismatch of the week. Indianapolis (4-0) has looked unbeatable this season, while San Francisco (1-3) has lost three straight and fallen into turmoil under rookie coach Mike Nolan, who benched veteran Tim Rattay and promoted Smith Tuesday, just in time to face one of the NFL's top defenses.\nManning made all the appropriate comments of concern and interest leading up to the game, but the Colts have much bigger games coming up in the next few weeks and months. This contest might only be memorable for a bit of history.\n"I think it would be fitting," Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy said. "If they don't break it at home, that would be the place to break it. With so many milestones that were set there by the 49ers, it would be a fitting, ironic touch for them to do it there."\nManning and Harrison have clicked since their first season together in 1998, when Manning started the first of 116 straight games. When he lines up Sunday, Manning will break a tie with Ron Jaworski for the second-longest starting streak by a QB in NFL history.\nAnd he couldn't have reached these superlatives without Harrison, whose cool consistency has been built through thousands of practices and constant communication.\n"Everything is not always 100 percent smooth," Manning said. "I guess the best thing about Marvin and I is that it's nobody else's business. We've had disagreements, but we've aired them out. We do it in the huddle amongst ourselves. We don't call a press conference and tell the rest of the world about it. I think that's the way you're supposed to do things like that."\nA smaller milestone will be reached by Smith, who could struggle behind a patchwork offensive line trying to slow Freeney and the Colts' fearsome defense.\nManning and younger brother Eli, both former No. 1 picks, gave plenty of advice to Smith during the offseason on the best way to survive as a member of their small fraternity. Both brothers spoke to Smith extensively by phone, and Smith learned he'll take plenty of lumps along the way to success.\n"We talked about ... the things that you're going to go through," Smith said. "We talked about the tough times. Both of their teams struggled their rookie years, and when you look at them now, it looks like it helped."\nNolan changed quarterbacks after San Francisco managed just 168 total yards and no offensive points in a 31-14 loss to Arizona in Mexico City last weekend. Smith won't have an easy transition against Freeney, who already has four sacks this season.