Marsh played nine games for the Patriots in 2017. During that span, Marsh had 19 tackles, 2 quarterback hits, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble. Marsh even started 1 game for the Patriots. New England's pass rush is typically bad, so those sound like normal stats for the average Patriots front seven player.
Marsh was traded out of New England and sent to the 49ers, where he would get 2 sacks and 11 tackles in six games. Marsh would play in every game the next season for the 49ers and record a respectable 5.5 sacks, 38 tackles, and 14 quarterback hits. Since then however, it's been all down hill for him.
So again, why give him a microphone and why ask him to talk about his time in New England, when he's a nobody? The answer is clickbait. Clicks equal money. On top of that he's not afraid to speak negatively about his time in New England.
Let's look at the first part of his statement from the Tony Segura podcast.
Marsh says, "The Patriot Way is extremely impressive,” Marsh said. “They work day-in and day-out. Their work ethic over there, what they instill, is pretty legendary."
That doesn't sound disrespectful at all. He's actually praising the New England Patriots. Nothing at all about what he said there will anger fans but than again, it's not gonna make any money. It's not gonna give him 15 minutes of fame.
Marsh continued, "But they also treat players like crap. You don’t have a lunch period. You get there and you have to make time to eat in between meetings. And they’re like five to 10 minute periods where I would literally go scoop food and put it in a cup and crush it real quick before I got to the next meeting. There’s no fun. There’s no — well, that is what I got in trouble for, for saying they don’t have fun.”
Well now, that's not exactly something the team would want out there if true because it paints them in a bad light. However, it does reinforce what some former players have said which is, "you have fun at the ring ceremony."
Fans were angry when Marsh spoke out orginally after being traded, and they're mad again that he's spoken badly about their team, especially since his time was so long ago. Many don't even remember his time with the team, just that he's the guy who spoke out against the organization.
However, many value the opinions about how things are from several players of the first part of the dynasty. That kinda makes us as a fanbase a little hypocritical.
Marsh added, "“A lot of the players like thanked me for making it public on how bad they treat guys. I mean, they win games so you just really can’t argue with championships."
Fans don't believe players agree with Marsh but the Patriots way isn't to speak out and many players that leave the Patriots continue to act like robots once they leave the team, when it comes to speaking with the press. For those that believe there's nobody in the locker room thanking Marsh, let me shed some plausibility to his comments.
Tom Brady, the GOAT, the person many believe responsible for helping Belichick maintain the Patriots way still in quite robot at press conferences. On HBO Max's show the shop, he made a comment that gives some credence to Marsh's comments.
Brady said, "What I say vs. what I think are two totally different things. I would say 90 percent of what I say is probably not what I'm thinking, which is challenging. I really admire people that actually can do that and say what they think because they invite a lot of other things into their life. I think there's part of me that doesn't like conflict. So in the end, I just always try to play it super flat. From a strategic standpoint I never want to give away what we're doing. I usually say the opposite."
That is the Patriots way. There were obviously things that happened internally that don't get talked about. How often does anyone hear Brady, Bruschi, Mcginest, Moss, Dillon, Wilfork, Faulk, Venitari, or any of the other legends from the first dynasty say anything bad about the organization? They don't because the Patriots program their players not to and very few players have the mental ability to break programming.
Many of those players are the players we as fans look to for how things actually are in the organization but a guy that played five years ago, we denounce because who is he? He didn't win a ring, what does he know about playing for the Patriots. He only played half a season, that's no different than the amount of time Eric Decker, Reggie Wayne, or Demaryius Thomas spent with the team, am I right?
That's how the fanbase thinks and it's unfair and bias. With the first part of his comments, he's not disgruntled about his time here, and what I shared wasn't even the entire interview. It's just a sample I seen going around.
So don't be angry at Marsh for being able to talk negatively about his time with the Patriots. Be mad at the media for putting a microphone in front of his face, with expectations that he'll talk about the Patriots in a negative light. Be mad at former and current players for not being more open about their time with the team.
Respect the team for making silence part of their success but understand they're not perfect. Also keep in mind that Robert Kraft has connections with media owners and Patriots nation has a deep rift over Cam Newton.
What if Mr. Kraft asked someone to put Marsh in front of a microphone and get him talking about his time with the Patriots, very well knowing it would unite the fanbase? It's not out of the realm of possibility, so we must keep that in mind as an option as to why now of all times, Cassius Marsh is interviewed. Was it truly for clickbait or was it something a little deeper. Either way, it put money in Tony Segura's pocket, so he doesn't care and isn't going to say. And neither will Robert Kraft.
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