Merry preseason, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the huge issues the Lions still have in their secondary.

A year ago, it was easy to spot the Lions’ biggest weakness, as their offensive line was an absolute mess. But after a productive 2009 campaign and a couple of offseason additions, Detroit’s O-line is no longer an issue.

Now the concern shifts to a secondary that received an offseason makeover, but remains the Lions’ biggest question mark after a dismal performance in 2009.

Last year, Detroit finished dead last in passing yards allowed, yielding 265.6 yards per game. The poor play of the defensive backfield contributed to the defensive unit giving up 30.9 points per content and over 6,000 total yards.

To address the issue, the Lions traded for former second round pick Chris Houston, whom Atlanta had given up on after signing big-money free agent Dunta Robinson. Houston has an impressive skill set and enough talent to make him a No. 1 corner, but he has yet to put it all together for an entire season.

The biggest issue with the former Arkansas product is that he always seems to put himself in position to make the play, but rarely does. He has great speed and is a physical corner, but he’s at his worst when the ball is in the air. He fell out of favor last season in Atlanta because he had major trouble locating the ball when it was in the air and making a play on it. In fact, 66% of the passes thrown his way were completed, which is a staggering number to say the least. That said, if he ever lives up to his potential he’s going to be a solid player.

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Merry preseason, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the major issues the Browns could have with their passing game this season.

Usually teams have enough skill players to make an offense work, but their line holds them back.

The Browns have the opposite problem.

Joe Thomas is one of the top pass blocking left tackles in the game and will once again anchor a solid Cleveland offensive line. While he needs to improve his pass protection, young center Alex Mack is a budding star and Eric Steinbach completes a pretty dominating left side.

Unfortunately, not even a good offensive line will save the Browns from what should be one of the worst passing games in the NFL.

I’ve never been a fan of Jake Delhomme and while he may be fooling Cleveland fans with his “veteran presence” act right now, the guy was atrocious last year. He doesn’t handle pressure well, he forces passes into coverage and even when he does have time he still turns the ball over.

Granted, he was a consistent performer in 2008 before his disaster in the playoffs against the Cardinals that year. So if he can recapture some of that magic then maybe the Browns will be okay, but 1) I wouldn’t bet on it and 2) that means other players will have to step up around him.

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Merry preseason, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the woeful Rams and their concerns at receiver and in the defensive backfield.

When a team earns the right to select at the top of the draft, it’s easy to spot its holes.

And the Rams have a lot of holes.

Outside of running back Steven Jackson and a linebacker corps led by second-year player James Laurinaitis, the Rams have issues at nearly every position. The hope is that young players like Sam Bradford, Rodger Saffold, Jason Smith and Chris Long will step up in due time, but it’s going to be a while before guys like Bradford are ready to make major contributions.

The receiver and defensive backfield are currently the team’s two biggest weaknesses heading into the new year. Wideout was already a concern before Donnie Avery went down to a season ending injury and now that they won’t even have him, the Rams have an even bigger hole at the position.

I’ve been very high on Laurent Robinson since he came into the league as a third round pick of the Falcons in 2007. But despite flashing his potential on occasion, he’s been a dud due to injuries. He caught 13 passes for 167 yards and one touchdown in his first four games last year, then suffered an injury that shelved him for the rest of the season. With Avery out, he has the opportunity to be the No. 1 guy but can he stay healthy for 16 games? He hasn’t yet.

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Merry preseason, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the trio of issues the Redskins could face this season.

I always thought Jason Campbell got kind of a bad rap, although there’s no question that Donovan McNabb has better physical tools – even at this point in his career. Thanks to first round pick Trent Williams and former Saint Jammal Brown, the tackle positions got a much needed makeover in our nation’s capital as well.

So generally speaking, the Washington Redskins are an improved football team.

But it seems as though some pundits are going a tad overboard when predicting this team’s success this year. While they have made several upgrades on that side of the ball, the offense still has plenty of question marks as well.

Let’s start with the offensive line. Williams is a tremendous prospect, but he’s still a rookie and far from a guarantee. He also doesn’t have a ton of experience on the left side, which is where he’s expected to anchor this Washington O-line.

Brown is a massive upgrade over Stephon Heyer, but that’s like saying an authentic slice of New York pizza is an upgrade over Dominos. Heyer was one of the worst offensive linemen in all of football last year, so a broomstick cemented in a bucket would have been an upgrade.

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Merry preseason, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing whether or not inexperience could derail the Texans’ playoff hopes.

As we head into a new season, you get the sense that the Houston Texans are on the verge of making their first playoff appearance in franchise history. They have a great core on offense featuring Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub and Owen Daniels (when healthy), as well as several young defensive playmakers in Amobi Okoye, Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans.

But unfortunately, the Texans still have plenty of question marks at the cornerback position, enough to make you wonder if this team will once again come up short in their bid to make the postseason.

Their top corner left via free agency this offseason when Dunta Robinson signed with the Falcons. Some pundits will point out that Robinson struggled last year – and he did, recording zero interceptions despite playing the full 16-game slate.

But I asked both Daniels and wide receiver David Anderson this offseason about what Robinson brought to their team and they both essentially said the same thing: Toughness. Despite being 5’10” and 182 pounds, Robinson often played like a middle linebacker in that he never shied away from contract and loved coming up to make a big hit.

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