Burning Questions Still Waiting to Be Answered in NFL Training Camps

After about a week-and-a-half of training camp for most NFL teams, there are some burning questions that are close to being answered around the league.

Quarterback competitions in Oakland and Buffalo are starting to solidify, and teams are starting to get a good idea of which rookies are going to contribute early in 2013.

However, since the full slate of preseason games have yet to be played, a lot of burning training camp questions remain unanswered. Performance in game situations can trump a couple days of practice performance, so the answer to some training camp questions are still up in the air.

Many of these questions need an answer by Week 1, while other questions will drift into the regular season because of ongoing uncertainly.

What burning questions are still yet to be answered during NFL training camps? Let’s take a look.

Can the NFL Go More Than Three Days Without a Serious Injury?

The rate of injuries in training camp so far has been alarming.

The vast majority of teams were in camp by July 25. Since that time, the NFL hasn’t gone longer than three days without losing a well-known player to a season-ending injury.

The obvious question is whether the NFL can make it more than three days without another player suffering a serious injury, or should we get used to this type of injury rate?

As Bleacher Report’s Will Carroll explained, the first week of training camp is the most dangerous, but fans may want to get used to seeing a few more players hurt before Week 1:

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Until the NFL makes a concerted effort to change its culture, focusing on prevention, research and reducing the opportunities for injury, there's little chance that injury prevention and management will take great strides forward.

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At this point, even a week without a serious injury would be considered a victory. The league has to hope that the injury rate drops when teams start to trim their 90-man roster down to 53.

Who Will Be Peyton Manning's Running Back, Ronnie Hillman or Montee Ball?

When the Denver Broncos selected Montee Ball in the second round of the NFL draft in April, the thought was that he was the heir apparent to Willis McGahee as the starting running back in Denver.

As it turns out, second-year speedster Ronnie Hillman had other ideas.

It’s Hillman who is listed as the starting running back on the Broncos' first depth chart. It’s something that should come as no surprise based on the performance of the two backs in training camp thus far. Cecil Lammey of ESPN Denver reported that Ball is not surprised either about being second on the depth chart:

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Yeah I’ve most definitely seen it but I think that’s right because Ronnie [Hillman] has done a great job. He’s been doing a great job this camp and he most definitely deserves it right now. But like I said I’m most definitely going to try to take it.

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It can take a bit of time for a rookie to get up to speed in the NFL, so it’s a little too early to count out Ball.

Also, unlike a quarterback competition, the Broncos can take it all the way down to the final week of the preseason before deciding which running back is going to get more handoffs from quarterback Peyton Manning.

Will Robert Griffin Be 100 Percent by Week 1?

Washington Redskins star quarterback Robert Griffin III is coming off a knee injury he sustained during the playoffs last year, so the obvious burning question is: Will he be 100 percent healthy by Week 1?

"I don't know what number (percent) I am," Griffin said when asked if he was 100 percent (via CBS Sports). "I feel healthy. I don't know if anyone plays at 100 percent."

Griffin may be correct, but many quarterbacks do play at 100 percent in Week 1. The fact that Griffin also won’t play during the preseason means we may not have the answer to this question until the regular season, unless he’s lighting up training camp practices in the next couple of weeks.

It’s smart of the team to take it slow with Griffin, while also trying to conceal—for competitive reasons—any shred of evidence that suggests he isn't 100 percent just in case he's not all the way back by Week 1.

It’s a burning question that may just continue to burn for several more weeks.

How Will Alex Smith Perform in Andy Reid’s Offense?

The Kansas City Chiefs made wholesale organizational changes this offseason after a 2-14 campaign in 2012, but perhaps the biggest move they made was trading for quarterback Alex Smith.

Over the past two years, Smith has been an above-average starter in San Francisco, but he was not asked to throw a lot of passes either.

Now, all eyes will be on how Smith fits in with head coach Andy Reid’s high-volume passing attack for the Chiefs. Of course, it’s best not to think of the additional attempts as traditional pass attempts as much as they will be short, high-percentage passes that substitute for rushing attempts.

Although Smith’s chances of success in a system outside of the one he used in San Francisco originally seemed pessimistic, a deeper analysis showed that Smith could become the franchise quarterback in Kansas City in Reid’s offense, depending on a variety of factors.

The problem the Chiefs may have is that defenses should be able to predict how Smith is going to be used, and that could negatively impact his performance. Preseason games should yield insight into how Smith will perform in his new offense. By the end of camp, we should have a pretty good idea if the Chiefs offense will be potent or impotent.

Who Will Be the Eagles Starting Quarterback, Michael Vick or Nick Foles?

One of the most intriguing training camp battles in the league is in Philadelphia, where Michael Vick and Nick Foles are competing to be the starting quarterback of the Eagles.

Vick and Foles are both listed as the starters on the Eagles' depth chart for their first preseason game against the Patriots, according to the team’s official website.

That highlights how fierce the competition has been.

Head coach Chip Kelly said he will name the starter for the preseason opener on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, but it’s entirely possible that whichever quarterback isn’t the starter for the opener is the starter in Week 2 of the preseason.

After an early surge by Foles, Vick seems to have made up ground in the competition. According to Reuben Frank of CSN Philadelphia, Vick has been tremendous over the last few days, even though Foles hasn’t looked bad.

Something tells me this competition isn’t over quite yet.

Can Sean Payton Right the Ship in New Orleans?

The New Orleans Saints went 7-9 without head coach Sean Payton and a defense last year.

OK, the Saints did have a defense, but it was terrible and finished 31st in points allowed. They also had pretty good interim coaches, so the drop-off without Payton shouldn’t have been significant.

However, Payton is one of the best coaches in the NFL, and he will attempt to right the ship after watching last season in New Orleans from afar. The offense should be fine as long as quarterback Drew Brees is throwing the ball, but the defense will have to play better if the Saints are going to improve.

Payton hired Rob Ryan as the Saints' defensive coordinator to help him, but in Ryan’s nine years in that position, he has never been on a playoff team. Ryan has also worked for three different teams in those nine years, and his best defense finished 13th in points allowed.

The average finish of Ryan-coached defenses in points allowed has been 22nd, and his defenses have only had year-over-year improvement in five of his nine years as defensive coordinator. That’s average-to-below-average territory.

Based on Ryan’s track record, it makes sense to take the wait-and-see approach to the Saints defense during training camp. So far, the early returns have been favorable. The defense was getting the best of the offense during last Saturday’s scrimmage, according to Mike Triplett of NOLA.com.

Payton’s ability to right the ship is ultimately going to depend on Ryan and his revamped defense, but it’s far too early to tell how much progress has actually been made. By the end of camp, we should have a better idea if the defense will be good enough to get the Saints to the playoffs.

How Will Jay Cutler Adjust to Marc Trestman’s Offense

A lot of people talk about Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly being a wild card in the NFL this year, but Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman might be an even bigger one.

Trestman has spent the last several years in the Canadian Football League, so no one knows exactly what he’s going to do in the NFL.

One guy who must know what Trestman wants to do is quarterback Jay Cutler. The enigmatic Cutler has struggled balancing big plays with big mistakes over the past few years, but the offensive line and wide receivers have taken a big portion of that blame.

Now, Cutler must learn a new offense. According to ESPN Chicago, Cutler called the verbiage of Trestman’s offense the most challenging factor, but it was something Trestman seemed less concerned about:

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I feel (Cutler) is doing an excellent job (learning the verbiage). We've had some long calls today in the huddle. I gave it to him once. He spit it right back out. He's on top of it…It's very difficult to hear it, repeat it in the huddle, and then go out and execute it.

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It’s pretty clear that Chicago’s offense is still a work in progress. Will Cutler be far enough along to be successful once the regular season arrives? He thinks so, but there’s still a lot of work to be done during training camp.

When Will Rookie Cornerback D.J. Hayden Be Cleared for Contact?

Oakland’s first-round draft choice D.J. Hayden has been practicing in a red, no-contact jersey to start training camp. Allen has explained to the local media that Hayden has yet to be cleared by a doctor for full contact after offseason surgery to clean up scar tissue in his abdomen.

On Monday, head coach Dennis Allen ruled out Hayden for Friday’s preseason game.

Hayden’s lack of clearance is likely hurting the rookie’s development to some extent. The Raiders are obviously hoping Hayden is cleared at some point during training camp, but at this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to when that might be.

Can Geno Smith Unseat Mark Sanchez as the Starting QB of the Jets for Week 1?

There are monetary reasons why Mark Sanchez is still competing to be the starting quarterback of the New York Jets. According to Spotrac.com, Sanchez’s cap hit is $12.9 million if he makes the team, but if the Jets wanted to cut him, he would cost $17.7 million against the cap.

Clearly the Jets are ready to move on from Sanchez. Otherwise they wouldn’t have drafted Geno Smith with the 39th overall pick last April. The two are competing for the job, but barring some miracle, Smith is going to start at some point in 2013.

According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Sanchez’s performance won’t matter if Smith is sharp during the preseason. At this point, the only question is if the rookie signal-caller can do enough during training camp to start in Week 1. 

The pressure is on Smith to earn the job during training camp, but can he do it?

Can the San Diego Chargers Protect Philip Rivers?

The San Diego Chargers revamped their offensive line to try to protect quarterback Philip Rivers in 2013.

After signing offensive lineman King Dunlap and drafting right tackle D.J. Fluker in the first round of the NFL draft in April, Jeromey Clary moved from right tackle to right guard and offensive tackle Max Starks was signed for depth.

San Diego’s line is certainly upgraded, but it’s also very much a work in progress. According to U-T San Diego, linebacker Larry English has run by Fluker in pass protection and all the tackles have struggled stopping pass-rusher Dwight Freeney.

If the Chargers can’t protect Rivers, it’s going to be very hard for him recapture the magic he had a few years ago when he was considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

It’s still early, but it looks like the Chargers are going to need a productive running game and play-action scheme to keep opposing pass-rushers at bay.