Detroit Lions: 5 Questions to Answer Against the Cincinnati Bengals

Finally the day is here—we get to watch football!  Too bad it's only preseason football, but I am sure excited. 

The Detroit Lions are probably the most hyped team this offseason, but with hype comes doubt.  There are many questions that need to be answered this preseason and it will be interesting to see which questions get answered in this Friday's matchup at home against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Who Is Going to Fill Mikel Leshoure's Shoes?

Well, by now you all know the Lions had a major blow with the Achilles injury to Mikel Leshoure.  He was slated to be a big part of the offense this year as a compliment to Jahvid Best. 

After Best on the depth chart the Lions have Maurice Morris and Ian Johnson.  Morris is trying to recover from a broken hand and Johnson hasn't really shown anything since his junior year at Boise. 

In a scurry the Lions tried to scoop up Ricky Williams but he decided to be Ray Rice's backup instead. 

The Lions did, however, sign Jerome Harrison and Mike Bell.  Harrison is a smaller back with pretty the same style as Best, but Bell at 6' and 225 pounds is almost a mirror in size to Leshoure's 6', 233-pound frame.  I look for Bell to emerge as the power back the Lions were searching for when they drafted Leshoure, but we will see if he fits the Lions scheme against the Bengals.

Is the Offensive Line Going to Be Able to Mesh?

Along with the injury to Leshoure, the offensive line has also been a bit marred.  Both starting tackles Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus are both currently out with injuries, along with backup tackle Jason Fox. 

That means the Lions have been busy trying to sign players here and get some depth.  They have veterans Corey Hilliard and Tony Ugoh (who is considering retirement), recently signed Isaac Sowells and Kirk Chambers and seventh-round draft pick Johnny Culbreath.  

As the Lions try and juggle their offensive line rotation, its going to be hard for them to get chemistry to prevail this season.  As we all know, it all starts in the trenches, and if the Lions can't stay healthy here, it's going to be a long season.

Who Is Going to Be the Lions Middle Linebacker?

After a stellar 2010 season there was no doubt in my mind who was going to call the shots at middle linebacker in 2011: DeAndre Levy. 

That all changed with the signing of stud middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch.  No disrespect to Levy, but Tulloch was No. 2 in all of the NFL last year in tackles.  In addition to Tulloch the Lions also signed Justin Durant, who also had a pretty good season with the Jaguars last year with 98 total tackles. 

With all of these new upgrades and versatile linebackers, the Lions have yet to decide who is going to start where.  It will be interesting to see where Gunther Cunningham lines up each of the Lions' talented linebackers on Friday against the Bengals.

How Improved Will the Secondary Be?

There is no doubt the Lions have one of the best young defensive lines in the league and I just went over how stellar the linebackers are.

I'm curious see how well the secondary matches up with the front seven. As a clear weakness, it will be interesting to see how much time the Bengal quarterbacks will get and how well the secondary can cover during that time. With Chris Houston slated to start opposite Alphonso Smith complimented by Aaron Berry, Nathan Vasher and newly acquired Eric Wright I am intrigued as to who will get the most playing time. 

It is a new era with the Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocino-less Bengals, and I think the Lions will match up well against A.J. Green, Jordan Shipley and Andre Caldwell, but we will see how well they fare.

Can Matthew Stafford Stay Healthy?

This is the picture I hope I only have to view during the preseason: Matthew Stafford in street clothes. 

The former first overall pick has all the tools to be a top NFL quarterback, he just has to stay on the field to show everyone.  We all know the story of how he never had a serious injury throughout high school or college, but he is becoming labeled injury prone.  This season is a make-or-break year for Stafford and it will be interesting to see how much the Lions use him in the preseason. 

They definitely can't sit him the whole time but they must watch his snaps and make sure backups Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton get ample playing time as well—but hopefully this is the only time we will see them all year. 

Overall, the Lions are probably the most hyped team this preseason, so we will see if any of these questions will be answered during Friday's matchup at home against the Bengals.

Better tune in to find out.