I disagree on the Lions secondary and Pleasant portion.
The Lions have lost the top 2 CBs going into the season to injury. They are now playing 3 UDFA guys at corner and nickel. 2 of them are rookies.
The Lions defense is playing 5 rookies overall, most in the NFL and it shows.
Those rookies are certainly getting exploited some like Long jr. and to some extent Rochelle. They are also showing some play making ability and grit.
Pleasant is making lemonade the best he can over there. Here is an article with stats showing improvement. It also looks like Holmes identified some real gems in UDFA.
https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2021/10/14/detroit-lions-pass-defense-young-secondary-2021-nfl-stats/Excerpt with stats:
Despite losing top CB Jeff Okudah in Week 1 and his replacement, Ifeatu Melifownu in Week 2, the Lions pass defense has performed much better in Weeks 3-5 than it did in the opening two games. Some of that credit must go to youngsters like Jerry Jacobs, AJ Parker and Bobby Price, who have made some plays while taking their lumps as they learn how to play in the NFL on the fly.
The Lions still sit 30th overall for the season in QB Rating allowed to opposing passers. The 110.9 cumulative rating is ahead of only the Colts (124.9) and Jaguars (115.5) through five games. But Detroit’s awful ranking is weighted heavily by the dreadful first two weeks.
Over the last three weeks, th
e Lions have allowed a QB Rating of 87.0 to the Ravens, Bears and Vikings. That’s the 11th-best QB Rating allowed in that timeframe and well below the league average of 99.7 in those three weeks.
Detroit’s patchwork set of young cornerbacks has allowed just two touchdown passes in those three games, all losses. They held MVP candidate Lamar Jackson to just 16-of-31 passing, for 287 yards, one TD and one INT in Week 3. Chicago’s Justin Fields completed 11-for-17 but also threw an interception against no TDs, while Kirk Cousins threw for 275 yards, one TD and one INT. That’s not bad defense against a guy who had a QB Rating over 112 and a 9/1 TD/INT ratio entering the Week 5 game.
