FOXBORO, Mass. –Cassius Marsh wasn’t lying when he said, shortly after being traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the New England Patriots, he’s a fast a learner.
After a less than ideal debut for the Patriots, which came five days after the trade, when he was flagged for running into the kicker and chased down Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt on a 78-yard touchdown catch, Marsh has quickly settled into a role on his new team.
Marsh has played nearly 50 percent of defensive snaps over the Patriots’ last two games, both wins, playing in a hybrid-linebacker/defensive end role. He has a sack and six hurries in that role and has given up just one catch in coverage after Hunt’s long score.
“I caught on to the defense pretty quick, so that wasn’t anything crazy,” Marsh told NESN.com on Wednesday. “Just learning the language and getting used to the guys around me. I think that at this point, I’m just trying to figure out my teammates and how to work with my guys and trying to fine tune my mind for this defense.”
Marsh primarily played as a defensive end with a focus on pass rushing with the Seahawks and was prepared to do the same in Seattle this season. But at 245 pounds, Marsh isn’t the ideal weight for a Patriots defensive end. So, he’ll be forced to show some versatility in New England.
He welcomes that.
“I think that here it changes week to week, and so I’ll probably be asked to do a lot more here, which I’m perfectly fine with,” Marsh said. “I’ve always been extremely versatile. The more comfortable I get here, the more comfortable coaches get with me, they know what I can do, what I do best. I think that you’ll probably see a little bit more from week to week. Like I said, I have a high expectation for myself and I know that the coaches have a high expectation for guys. It’s great to be in a place that uses versatility very well.”
On top of having to learn new faces, a new role and new terminology, Marsh also is adapting to the change in culture between the Patriots and Seahawks. Both are winning organizations, and Marsh is far from the first player who has been swapped between the two teams. But you’d be hard-pressed to find two head coaches with more dissimilar styles than Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick.
Patriots fans know this well. Carroll failed as Patriots head coach when he took over the team from Bill Parcells in 1997. One of the reasons was Parcells, like Belichick, was hard-nosed and prickly. Carroll is a “rah-rah” players coach.
Marsh knew what he was getting into.
“I’m not surprised because of just things that I’ve heard since being in the league and talking to guys who have played for the Patriots,” Marsh said. “It’s just a different style of coaching. It’s more straight to business. Just a different style. Over there, it’s a lot more about fun. It’s a lot more light-hearted. It’s lot more like college. I feel like this is the ultimate pro’s pro team. Every team I’m sure and every organization is different, but here, they take their ball seriously. Losses are rare here, and there’s a reason for that. It’s because they come in every day with a very serious agenda to get better.”
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
