Thienemen was in the program longer and had much more experience play calling than Grant. I'm not saying intelligence doesn't matter, because it does. But top teams don't always play the most intellectual player. They generally play the most physically gifted athletes. And that's what Grant was vs Thienemen. And why Grant started taking away playing time from Thienemen as he learned more.So now I think we're getting somewhere. I think it's easy to lock in on what players don't do well and define talent in narrow terms. Dependability is a talent. Understanding defensive concepts is a talent. In this example, Thienemen was more valuable than Grant to the coaching staff because he had certain talents that coaches desire. I get that you guys want players to have 4.3 40 yard dash talent. But if a player is running a 4.3 in the wrong direction, that's a talent that can be detrimental to winning. What if Douglas' talent as a Mike linebacker is properly communicating to teammates? You say that Douglas maximizes his talent as if it is meaningless. But playing with great effort is a talent that not everybody has. What if having a player with Douglas' talent on the field raises the effort level of the entire defense?
Physicality is a talent. Intelligence is a talent. From the coaching interviews it would appear that Douglas is the most talented linebacker in these areas. But that still doesn't explain the play he made on Saturday.
Douglas may very well be in the game because Brothers isn't ready. Or, he may just be better overall than Brothers. I don't have an opinion on that yet because I haven't really seen either play much. But the coaching staff has and they know better than me. But it was pretty clear last year why Thienemen started at the beginning of the season over Grant. Even the coaches stated that. And why Grant eventually gained playing time. If you watched any games last year, that was pretty evident.