Jaguars are taking notice and talking up Garoppolo
SANTA CLARA >> Jimmy Garoppolo’s 3-0 start as the 49ers quarterback has won over this week’s opposing coach, Doug Marrone, of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“He is a really good NFL quarterback. We know that. That’s on film. That’s on tape,” Marrone said Wednesday on a conference call. “That’s not something we have to fabricate or make him seem better than he is.
“He’s as good as it gets right now for what’s going on around the league.”
That’s one way to talk up the prey for a Jaguars defense that leads the league in points allowed (14.9 per game), passing yards (168.9 per game) and sacks (51).
But the 49ers are also feeling pretty good about themselves amid a three-game winning streak.
“It sounds like we’ve got a good thing going,” Garoppolo said. “The fans are excited. Levi’s, the stadium, was on fire Sunday. So hopefully it’ll be like that this Sunday and we’ll give them another good performance.”
The Jaguars (10-4) can clinch the AFC South — their first division title since 1999 — by beating the 49ers (4-10) on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
The Jaguars’ Blake Bortles deserves a say of his own in the hottest-quarterback-going talk.
Bortles, often criticized as the 2014 draft’s No. 3 overall pick, is also on a tear amid a three-game winning streak. He’s averaged 301 passing yards per game while totaling seven touchdowns and no
interceptions.
But Bortles is still just 21-38 all-time as a starter, and after routing the Houston Texans 45-7 last Sunday, linebacker Jadeveon Clowney referred to Bortles as “trash.”
“If the way we’re playing is trash, then I’m fine with being trash,” Bortles responded Wednesday, as told to Jacksonville reporters.
Garoppolo is a 5-0 treasure as a starting quarterback, including two wins to start last season as Tom Brady’s fill-in at New England, which dealt him to the 49ers on Oct. 31.
“Obviously he’s done an outstanding job, obviously along with Coach (Kyle) Shanahan,” Marrone said. “It seems like he’s hitting his groove, playing on all cylinders.”
Marrone referred to the “tape” evidence that’s building on Garoppolo. As is the praise among observers. As are the stats: 68.7 completion percentage, 336 yards per start, three touchdowns, two interceptions.
Garoppolo’s ability to mesh so fast with Shanahan is noticeable to Marrone, who said: “It’s a very dangerous combination. Coach Shanahan is an outstanding coach offensively. He’s an excellent head coach, an excellent play-caller. You can see, hey, there’s a rhythm, there’s a confidence.”
Marrone has opposed
Garoppolo. On Dec. 28, 2014, Garoppolo replaced Brady at halftime of the season finale, and he was 10 of 17 for 90 yards in a 17-9 loss.
That was Marrone’s final game in Buffalo, quitting
three days later. He got hired a month later as the Jaguars’ assistant head coach and offensive line coach, and he replaced Gus Bradley as head coach last Dec. 19.
• Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin did not practice Wednesday as he dealt with a personal matter; he also was listed as having a back issue.
Goodwin was a Buffalo
Bills third-round draft pick in 2013 when Marrone coached there from 2013-14.
“Obviously I loved him,” Marrone said. “I’ve always said he’s the fastest player I’ve ever seen on a field. And I’ve been around some fast players.”
Goodwin has a seasonhigh 51 receptions for 897 yards and one touchdown. He had a career-high 10 catches last game when he went over the 100-yard mark for a second straight Sunday.
• Kicker Robbie Gould won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the second time in three weeks. David Akers (2011) and Phil Dawson (2013) also won that award twice in a season with the 49ers.
Gould’s game-winning kick Sunday got him lifted into the air by teammates, to which he said: “That talks to the level of camaraderie of this team and how this team is gelling.”
• Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette (quadriceps) is expected to play after missing last Sunday’s win over Houston, Marrone said.
• Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (ankle) and cornerback Greg Mabin (calf) did not practice; left tackle Joe Staley and linebacker Elvis Dumervil had veteran rest days.
• Limited were running back Matt Breida (knee), tight end Garrett Celek (knee, rib), safety Adrian Colbert (concussion, thigh), linebackers Brock Coyle (elbow) and Mark Nzeocha (hamstring), and wide receivers Aldrick Robinson (concussion, wrist) and Trent Taylor (shoulder).
• Defensive back Trovon Reed joined the practice squad.