Doug Marrone says he’s not considering QB or DC change after Titans loss

The Jags will stay the course with Nick Foles and Todd Wash despite the scrutiny both have received for the Jags’ struggles.

The Jacksonville Jaguars continued their theme of losing to divisional opponents by over 20 points this Sunday after another poor showing against the Tennessee Titans. In a game in which they kept close in the first half, it never felt like the Jags were going to find themselves — and they didn’t — as the wheels fell off in the second half, leaving both the fans and players looking for answers.

When looking at the box score, there were issues all over the place and the team as a whole didn’t show up. However, the defense failed the team once again by not only allowing the opposition to have another big day on the ground with over 200 rushing yards, but through the air as well after allowing 252 total passing yards on the night.

Needless to say, a performance like that led to fans once again questioning if Todd Wash will get fired but head coach Doug Marrone shot those speculations down by telling the media he has no plans to do so. Marrone also shot down any speculations as to if the Jags would bench quarterback Nick Foles, who also hasn’t been the answer for the offense since returning from his collarbone injury.

Of course, neither statement will make fans happy but they also aren’t shocking. In Wash’s case, Marrone may feel that the staff should all go down together, which is actually a respectable stance if that’s his thought process. In all probability, the playoffs are out of reach when considering how the team has played in their last three games, so a change at defensive coordinator might not make much of a difference.

As for Foles, the coaching staff put a lot of time into making him the offense’s guy. While it also shouldn’t be ruled out that the front office is influencing the situation because of the money they invested in the veteran, I believe Marrone rather place the fate of his job in the hands of a veteran like Foles over a rookie in Gardner Minshew II. When looking at the momentum the rookie had earlier in the season, that may be a questionable call, but one Marrone is fine with losing his job over.

Doug Marrrone says he’s enjoyed watching DJ Chark evolve from rookie season

There hasn’t been much to smile about on offense for the Jags but Doug Marrone likes what he’s seen out of WR DJ Chark.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars offense hasn’t been good since coming off the bye and it’s resulted in two consecutive divisional losses for the team. Running back Leonard Fournette has been underutilized and veteran quarterback Nick Foles didn’t provide the spark fans were hoping for in his debut last Sunday. However, one player has continued his growth in receiver DJ Chark Jr., who is playing at a Pro Bowl level and is tied for the most touchdowns (eight) of any receiver in football with Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr.

In Sunday’s blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Chark was the only bright offensive spot in the eyes of most, registering his third 100-yard day and hauling in two touchdown passes. As a result, he was one of the topics of discussion for coach Doug Marrone Wednesday, who raved about what he’s brought to the table.

“He just keeps getting better,” Marrone said Wednesday “I mean he’s wherever he is in receptions and yardage and he has eight touchdowns for us this year, so he’s playing really well. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he can get to contested balls, he can catch the ball over the middle, he can run and then score, so he’s doing a lot of things well.”

Marrone also went into details about how the second-year receiver has evolved from his rookie season, which was a rough one full of drops, mistakes, penalties and ended with injury for Chark.

“It’s been great,” Marrone added. “For as much hard work as he’s put in, he’s kind of quiet and just works his butt off. It’s always good to see someone with the talent he has really starting to come along and he’ll get better and continue to get better.”

It’s beginning to look like the Jags have fallen far enough behind to say they won’t make the playoffs, however, Chark is one of the bright spots fans can watch along the way. The Jags came into the season needing an answer at receiver due to Allen Robinson leaving in 2018 and they’ve seemingly found a new No. 1.

Chark will roll into Week 12 with 796 yards to his name, which means he needs slightly over 200 yards to be the first receiver since the Allen Bros. to hit 1,000 yards. With six games he should do that with ease, which could lead to him garnering the votes needed to make the Pro Bowl depending on how he does it.

Doug Marrone admits he has to do a better job with getting Leonard Fournette more carries

The Jags have only given Leonard Fournette 17 touches in to games and Doug Marrone knows that has to change.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars tough loss to the Indianapolis Colts Sunday still has a bad taste in the mouths of the fanbase as the team was outplayed in almost every way after the first quarter. Another issue a lot of fans had with the way things went was the lack of utilizing tailback Leonard Fournette, who only had eight carries for 23 yards.

In Monday’s conference call with Marrone, he took full responsibility for the loss and lack of Fournette being in the gameplan, stating that the Jags simply got in a situation where they were behind and it caused them to get away from the guy who is basically the offense’s engine.

“That probably comes back to my end, that I’ve got to do a good job,” Marrone said. “In the second and third quarter we weren’t able to get much going offensively as a group. Not just Leonard [Fournette], or the line, or anyone. We had back-to-back three-and-outs before the interception. I was looking back about my mindset on the game, and I can only explain what my though process is, and where I made a mistake, or where I make mistakes.”

Many fans voiced their frustrations towards offensive coordinator John DeFilippo after the game as he was on record for saying Fournette was the key to the offense this summer. However, in the last two games he’s gotten away from the young tailback, who only has 17 carries in the Jags’ last two games despite being the AFC’s top rusher just a few weeks ago.

With the Titans coming up and having some momentum on offense, Fournette would be perfect to slow down Ryan Tannehill and company, especially with how the Jags’ defense is playing. Additionally, Marrone’s seat will likely continue to get warmer, as will the rest of the staff’s, so it might be wise of them to get back to the basics and lean on their first-round selection of 2017.

Doug Marrone praises Colts guard Quenton Nelson and discusses what makes him good

Doug Marrone knows a good offensive lineman when he sees one and praised Colts OG Quenton Nelson by calling him “one of the best” he’s seen.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the process of preparing for the Indianapolis Colts for a must-win game this Sunday. One of the stars they’ve likely been paying extra attention to is guard Quenton Nelson, who is one of the best players in the league. With that being the case, Jags coach Doug Marrone (a former offensive line coach himself) was asked about the second-year player and praised him by mentioning with two of his former offensive lineman in Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks.

“Probably. I’ve been fortunate, I’ve been around. When I was in New Orleans, I felt like I had the two best guards in the league with Jahri [Evans] and Carl Nicks,” said Marrone. “Very fortune to coach those guys. I think Quenton’s one of the best guards that I’ve seen throughout my whole time in the NFL. He’s an excellent football player.”

Afterward, Marrone went into the specifics of what makes Nelson elite, adding that he’s truly a student of the guard position.

“Strength, speed. Just finish-ability. Leverage, technique,” Marrone said about the traits in which make Nelson good. “I think if someone’s going to go draft a guard, and you’re a coach, and you want to go into management, you say, ’Hey, get me a guy like [Quenton].’ He’s an excellent, excellent, football player and he’s been an excellent football player from high school on up. From high school, went to Notre Dame, Harry [Hiestand] coached him at Notre Dame, he’s an NFL [offensive] line coach, he’s back in the NFL now. So technically, from that start, he’s been technically sound and he’s a master at what he does.”

Nelson has absolutely been a force of nature since entering the league and even during his time in Notre Dame. Some fans questioned Colts general manager Chris Ballard for taking him with the No. 6 selection of last year’s draft, however, he’s proven it was a smart move by earning Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro honors as a rookie. He also earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 74.3 last year and has drastically improved as a player this year by upping his grade to a current figure of 89.4.

On film, Nelson is the all-around type of lineman the Jags could use in the interior. He’s nasty as a run blocker and is technically sound as a pass protector. With Sunday’s game being one in which will be won in the trenches, the Jags’ defensive line could have their work cut out for them against the young ascending talent.

Doug Marrone says Yannick Ngakoue has improved both against the run and as a pass rusher

Yannick Ngakoue hasn’t let the fact that the Jags elected not to pay him this offseason bother him, instead he’s made a stronger case.

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Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue may not have received the contract extension he was hoping for this offseason, but that hasn’t stopped him from going on the field and proving himself. In fact, despite having to battle through an injury, he’s been one of the defense’s best players (which is no surprise) accumulating 23 tackles, four sacks, a pick-six and a Pro Football Focus grade of 70.4.

Of course, one person who has taken note to Ngakoue’s 2019 campaign is Jags coach Doug Marrone, who praise the fourth year edge rusher’s efforts and told the media that he’s improved both as a pass rusher and run defender.

“When you see the production by him you have to remember that teams are doing a lot to stop him, especially in the pass rush phase,” Marrone said about Ngakoue. “He’s had a bunch of quality rushes, but he also has a bunch of double teams that he’s fighting through or chips. I think he has improved greatly in the run game; I think he’s done a really good job there, and I think he has improved as a pass rusher and has done an excellent job.”

Clearly, Marrone understands that having Ngakoue makes his roster better. He also understands that Ngakoue has been a key figure in his locker room when it comes to leadership — something the Jags lacked in 2018.

The Jags reportedly shot Ngakoue at least one deal this offseason which would’ve paid him over $50 million over two years and would’ve came in at an annual amount of $19 million, however, the guaranteed amount that would’ve came with that deal is unknown. At the rate he’s playing, there is certainly now a stronger case for a better deal and one in which should exceed two to three years. Add in the fact that the team already loss Jalen Ramsey earlier this season and it appears Ngakoue could put the Jags in a predicament where not paying him would absolutely look bad on the organization’s part.

Doug Marrone just discovered the RedZone channel, and it blew his mind

Doug Marrone made a shocking discovery this past weekend when he got to sit down and watch NFL Network’s RedZone for the first time.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars having to claw for all of their victories while also dealing with the absence of Nick Foles, the trade of Jalen Ramsey and the emergence of Gardner Minshew II, it’s easy to see why coach Doug Marrone hasn’t had a lot of time to watch television. However, with the Jags on their bye week last week, he got a chance to check out the rest of the league’s teams.

In the process, he discovered NFL Network’s RedZone channel, which blew his mind.

“Well, I’ll tell you, yesterday was the first time I was able to kind of watch some stuff, and I don’t normally do it,” Marrone said about the upsets that happened during Week 10. “But I got around and I watched that NFL Network RedZone. That stuff’s crazy. It goes from game to game to game. It was crazy. I didn’t know they had that stuff.”

Yes, Coach, I completely agree, NFL RedZone is indeed crazy. It’s also been around for 10 years.

Marrone continued by stating that the upsets he witnessed Sunday are proof that each NFL organization has to bring it week in and week out. Heading forward, that will also need to be a point of emphasis for the Jags, who can’t afford to slip up like they did several times before the bye week.

“I think it goes back to the same thing I said before, I think that it is extremely difficult to win on Sundays,” Marrone said. “I know sometimes you look at it, and you look at records and all this stuff, and you’re like, ‘Well, this team should win,’ and then all of a sudden at the end of the day, get a couple turnovers, this happens and the next thing you know a team that you thought should win on paper doesn’t win.”

Unfortunately for Marrone, Sunday was probably the only time he’ll get to use his RedZone subscription this year as there is a lot of work for the Jags to do.