[albany ed]

Originally, I was dead set against tagging Jones and risk losing Pierce to free agency. I say this without insider knowledge. Maybe Jones was firm on a huge guaranteed multi year contract, maybe Pierce stated that he wanted to remain a Colts and if they offered a decent contract, he'd sign it. Since they have both players for next season, I have to say I was wrong about how Ballard handled it. I didn't think they'd keep Pierce once they tagged Jones. Jones IMO is still a question mark. He never had enough games against quality opponents to convince me he's the real deal. Add to that his injury, and he's a big risk. There's a couple of QBs that you could have gotten for a song, since their previous team is on the hook for millions. I really don't believe there would have been huge competition for Jones, but that's only my opinion. I don't like losing Pittman, but if they couldn't get him to swing a cap friendly deal, he had to go. I still have a soft spot for AR, he's probably a bust, but dam, if he could turn it around, the Colts would be in QB heaven.