Cassius Marsh ... 254?

Seahawks DE Cassius Marsh has spent time at linebacker this offseason.
A 2014 fourth-rounder, Marsh played just 71 rookie snaps before a foot injury ended his season. Standing in at 6-foot-4, 254 pounds, the Seahawks had initially planned to bulk Marsh up into the 275 range, but that's no longer looking likely. His athletic profile fits the strong side.

Can anyone confirm that? Found it on rotoworld, but Im wondering if their plan has changed with Marsh and he will now play at 254? I think that was his weight after the draft but thought he was going to bulk up.

At the combine he weighed 252.

Definitely sounds like he's not being looked at to stay inside... interesting decision if true.

Eventual replacement for Irvin?

I am too lazy to find the links but Pete has said that he will play both Marsh and Pinkins at linebacker , He also states that Pinkins would become the fastest LB in the game

I know everyone will proceed with speculating as to who will replace who because they don't like X player, but the reality of it is that we have a stacked roster and coaches are trying to find ways to get the most out of it so that they have every justification to retain X player.

When cuts come, they're going to be difficult. It may come down to versatility.

"Wait....noo.....it's 7 minute abs!"



This ain't your grandpappy's football team, y'all. Things are just one way and players don't just play one position that fits specifically into what is predefined in a base defense only. This organization is much more fluid than that, thankfully.

Versatility adds to depth. Plus, I think Frank the Tank is now the #2 Leo so learning LB is the best way for him to see more snaps. I don't think he's necessarily an Irvin replacement. I think KPL, Clark, and Marsh are the replacement plan if Irvin won't take a deal that fits into our cap plan.

I said many times last preseason that the whole idea of Marsh puzzled me because he's got the body profile of a tall LB but was getting most of his snaps at DT. Sometimes he'd disrupt anyway, but more often he'd get completely stonewalled due to his lack of bulk. It was like watching 2011 Bruce Irvin playing over the guard during his last year at WVU. Just one of those ideas that never made sense to me.

I've long thought that Marsh moving to LB was inevitable for this reason, and I've really got to hand it to Pete, he has no ego. He moved Irvin to LB quickly, and now it appears he's considering moving Marsh to LB without wasting years trying to have him be something he's not. Irvin turned into a good SAM LB, and I bet Marsh would be very good at setting the edge and lining up a couple times a game as an outside pass rusher, just like Irvin.

As far as versatility goes, I doubt we'll see many snaps at DT for Marsh in the regular season if he's still at 254 pounds. We need our linebackers to be fast, so it's probably too much to ask a guy to be fast at LB and still be able to line up at DT.

I get the feeling that the team likes to develop versatility in the first couple of seasons before settling in. The fact is that SSLB and LEO utilize similar build qualities in Pete's defense. If you can learn both, it helps disguise the front, especially since LEO can be a stand up position.

Pete's defense really is a 3-4 defense disguised as a 4-3.

I'm a little skeptical. Didn't he run like a 4.9? Wouldn't that make him basically the slowest LB in the league? Eh. To me, he is a LEO or nothing, and I tend to lean more towards nothing. I just haven't seen much innate ability in the kid. Love the motor, but that only gets you so far without talent.

Marsh is tweeter and still a relatively strong pass rusher.

I'm leaning towards the versatility argument as well. I thought Marsh ran significantly better at his pro day than at the combine.

Tical21":1oueogco said:

I'm a little skeptical. Didn't he run like a 4.9? Wouldn't that make him basically the slowest LB in the league? Eh. To me, he is a LEO or nothing, and I tend to lean more towards nothing. I just haven't seen much innate ability in the kid. Love the motor, but that only gets you so far without talent.

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4.68 at his proday according to

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/nfl- ... r-runs-444

Tical21":wk7vh3qo said:

I'm a little skeptical. Didn't he run like a 4.9? Wouldn't that make him basically the slowest LB in the league? Eh. To me, he is a LEO or nothing, and I tend to lean more towards nothing. I just haven't seen much innate ability in the kid. Love the motor, but that only gets you so far without talent.

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The next positive thing you say about a player will be the first . . .

But seriously, it is amazing how two people watching the same games can see such totally different things. I saw a lot from Marsh in preseason and limited regular season reps last. He's different from Bennett in that his get off isn't impressive, but his hand fighting is amazing, and helps him not only as a pass rusher but in getting off blocks against the run as well. He's not a powerful player, but he's relentless and physical.

He was overmatched inside, but outside at either end he should be fine. The LB experiment is odd to me, but if KJ is our blueprint, Cassius fits.

I thought Marsh was starting to show he could be a valuable addition to the pass rush before he was injured last season. To me I was disappointed when he was IR'd b/c he was playing pretty well and as has been said is totally relentless and physical if nothing else. I like his fiery competitiveness.

PC has said on a quite a few occasions he's excited by the prospect of getting Marsh back for this season and sees him to be another positive improvement on last season's end of season squad.

McGruff":35xpaxpc said:

Tical21":35xpaxpc said:

I'm a little skeptical. Didn't he run like a 4.9? Wouldn't that make him basically the slowest LB in the league? Eh. To me, he is a LEO or nothing, and I tend to lean more towards nothing. I just haven't seen much innate ability in the kid. Love the motor, but that only gets you so far without talent.

Click to expand...

The next positive thing you say about a player will be the first . . .

But seriously, it is amazing how two people watching the same games can see such totally different things. I saw a lot from Marsh in preseason and limited regular season reps last. He's different from Bennett in that his get off isn't impressive, but his hand fighting is amazing, and helps him not only as a pass rusher but in getting off blocks against the run as well. He's not a powerful player, but he's relentless and physical.

He was overmatched inside, but outside at either end he should be fine. The LB experiment is odd to me, but if KJ is our blueprint, Cassius fits.

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That's a little unfair. True, I don't say the politically correct thing about the players I havent been impressed by. However, I say very positive things about lots of players all the time. I doubt there is anybody here who values Marshawn or our safeties more than I do. I was bullishly high on Maxwell long before he became a regular. I was incredibly high on Browner, Clemons and Red, and repeatedly said as much. I've been very high on Michael. Believe it or not, I've written very lengthy posts talking about how good one Russell Wilson is. I've sparkled about Kearse, said very nice things about KJ. I've discussed at length things I like about Britt and Bailey. I've spoken highly about Rubin.

Marsh was one of the players I focused on when we were on defense last preseason, and I saw a guy that played way too high and stuck like glue to the guys blocking him. I don't know if you can still find tape, but go back and look. He did have a couple nice hustle plays where he came off blocks late and chased guys down, but I wasn't impressed with him at all as a pass-rusher. I liked him coming out of college, and of course wanted him to be great, but I just didn't see it. I thought he looked quite overmatched just about everywhere they put him.

Tical21":j5i772rs said:

I'm a little skeptical. Didn't he run like a 4.9? Wouldn't that make him basically the slowest LB in the league? Eh. To me, he is a LEO or nothing, and I tend to lean more towards nothing. I just haven't seen much innate ability in the kid. Love the motor, but that only gets you so far without talent.

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I agree with your assessment. I think he's too unathletic to be effective as a SLB in space. I see this as more of an emergency contingency option. If a bunch of guys get hurt, then maybe Marsh will play SLB.

McGruff":21xop54g said:

Tical21":21xop54g said:

I'm a little skeptical. Didn't he run like a 4.9? Wouldn't that make him basically the slowest LB in the league? Eh. To me, he is a LEO or nothing, and I tend to lean more towards nothing. I just haven't seen much innate ability in the kid. Love the motor, but that only gets you so far without talent.

Click to expand...

The next positive thing you say about a player will be the first . . .

But seriously, it is amazing how two people watching the same games can see such totally different things. I saw a lot from Marsh in preseason and limited regular season reps last. He's different from Bennett in that his get off isn't impressive, but his hand fighting is amazing, and helps him not only as a pass rusher but in getting off blocks against the run as well. He's not a powerful player, but he's relentless and physical.

He was overmatched inside, but outside at either end he should be fine. The LB experiment is odd to me, but if KJ is our blueprint, Cassius fits.

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You dang near described Hill exactly. His get off is decent, but not great for a 3 Tech, but his hand fighting is great and he has great technique. He got washed out at the point of attack vs. the run in college, but showed some improvement on that in the pro's.

Marsh was always an enigma to me. The kid has played at DT at 300 lbs in college, then dropped to 254 for DE at the combine. I theorize that we have too many tweeners already with guys like Scruggs and the other 3 DT's that are in the 290 lb range on the roster. I'm guessing getting him reps at SAM is hedging our bets in case Irvin goes off this year (which I've predicted) and prices himself out of our range.

Hawks46":3rcthwvi said:

McGruff":3rcthwvi said:

Tical21":3rcthwvi said:

I'm a little skeptical. Didn't he run like a 4.9? Wouldn't that make him basically the slowest LB in the league? Eh. To me, he is a LEO or nothing, and I tend to lean more towards nothing. I just haven't seen much innate ability in the kid. Love the motor, but that only gets you so far without talent.

Click to expand...

The next positive thing you say about a player will be the first . . .

But seriously, it is amazing how two people watching the same games can see such totally different things. I saw a lot from Marsh in preseason and limited regular season reps last. He's different from Bennett in that his get off isn't impressive, but his hand fighting is amazing, and helps him not only as a pass rusher but in getting off blocks against the run as well. He's not a powerful player, but he's relentless and physical.

He was overmatched inside, but outside at either end he should be fine. The LB experiment is odd to me, but if KJ is our blueprint, Cassius fits.

Click to expand...

You dang near described Hill exactly. His get off is decent, but not great for a 3 Tech, but his hand fighting is great and he has great technique. He got washed out at the point of attack vs. the run in college, but showed some improvement on that in the pro's.

Marsh was always an enigma to me. The kid has played at DT at 300 lbs in college, then dropped to 254 for DE at the combine. I theorize that we have too many tweeners already with guys like Scruggs and the other 3 DT's that are in the 290 lb range on the roster. I'm guessing getting him reps at SAM is hedging our bets in case Irvin goes off this year (which I've predicted) and prices himself out of our range.

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If Irvin signs with someone else, I think Wright moves back to SLB and KPL or Pinkins takes over at WLB. Maybe Marsh would be a backup option at SLB. I would rather not see him dropping back into coverage in a game that matters.

I'm friends with someone in the Seahawks admin. and had asked him last year who showed the most potential out of all the rookies. He told me then that he thought Marsh had the look of the next standout Seahawk, yet his concern was that he was a little too wild and might let it go to his head. Take that for what you want. I'm surprised they have moved him out of the "Bennett" role as well.

It is possible that moving him out of the Bennett role has as much to do with Frank Clark being a natural fit for that role as it does with Marsh being a fit for the tall LB role. Wright's salary makes him expendable in the future. Which is good for Marsh.

Scottemojo":1zpseh2k said:

It is possible that moving him out of the Bennett role has as much to do with Frank Clark being a natural fit for that role as it does with Marsh being a fit for the tall LB role. Wright's salary makes him expendable in the future. Which is good for Marsh.

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Very true. I'm not wishing Wright ill, but cutting players two years after signing them is a bit of a thing for JS, and Wright's contract is structured in such a way that it makes some sense to cut or trade after two years of it. His cap hit the first two years is a reasonable $11 million, but the cap hit over the final two years will be $15 million, with only $2 million in dead money if they cut him to avoid those pricey years.

And of course, Irvin is probably gone. JS is probably already salivating over the 3rd or 4th round pick he'll be getting when Irvin signs elsewhere for big bucks.

I'm guessing Seattle had Marsh penciled in to move to LB since the start of the offseason. After all, it's not like he suddenly decided to weigh 254 pounds yesterday. Now it's making a bit more sense that Seattle felt they had to draft a pass rusher early this year, yet basically ignored the LB position in the draft. It was because they already planned on moving Marsh and Pinkins to LB.