We need answers!

Training Camp is legitimately right around the corner. We are less than a week away from Tuesday, when veteran Detroit Lions report to camp. Things are going to be a lot different around here as you all know. It’s a brand new team essentially. With that comes a lot of questions that I’m sure you’re dying to know the answers to. Here are the burning questions I’m dying to know the answer to.

Will the presence of the coaching staff be felt right away?

This coaching staff has a cool feel that no other NFL team has. This is a group that’s almost exclusively former players who have played in the league recently. It’s a young group and they’ll likely bring a whole new flavor to the team that Lions Fans aren’t used to seeing. There won’t be any four wheelers out there this summer.

What I’m interested to see is how close to the action the coaches are going to get. Are they going to physically demonstrate? Or are they going to preside over everything from the sideline. Will you see the guys having more fun? Are they going to get to chose their own music that isn’t Metallica or something like Metallica? What is this all going to look like?

What will Anthony Lynn’s offense look like?

There’s a whole new scheme in town. What will we be able to glean from this? Lynn’s offense with the Chargers seemed to use a lot of shotgun sets which works out well for Jared Goff. Almost all of his snaps at Cal were out of the shotgun. How much will the run game be used and how will it be used? The Chargers were in the middle of the road in the run game last season in terms of yardage. Will that change?

How will this offense mesh together, and will Jared Goff step up to the plate as the team’s new on-field leader?

Who will rebound?

Someone has to, right? Right!? All eyes will be on guys like Tracy Walker, Trey Flowers, Da’Shawn Hand, Jeff Okudah, Amani Oruwariye and Jahlani Tavai. We’re going to get to see how a new coaching staff will affect these guys who have fallen on hard times in their career. For guys life Hand and Walker, this could very well be a last-chance situation. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond and see how coaches take them under their wings.

Who’s going to be the camp darling?

Carmen Messina, Matt Willis, Jerome Couplin, Zach Zenner, Jace Billingsley and Kellen Moore. These guys are your perfect definitions of the camp darling. Every year, Lions fans pick one guy they see busting his ass out there and appoint him as their guy they believe can go from being on the bubble to being a superstar or a simply a guy that makes the team.

Usually going into camp it’s easy to pick out the guy that it’s going to be. This year we don't know. Is it Jermar Jefferson? Rakeem Boyd? Sage Surratt or maybe Jake Hausmann? Who’s going to be the guy that everyone talks about? Who’s going to be the guy that just needs to get a chance?

Is D’Andre Swift for real?

Okay, it’s not really that big of a camp question because we won’t really know the answer to this question until the regular season. But due to COVID-19, we didn't get to fall in love with Swift in in the preseason last year the way we did with Kerryon Johnson, Ameer Abdullah and every other running back since Barry Sanders.

What will we see from the second-year running back who looked so good in his rookie year? Will Swift knock our socks off with some beautiful camp highlights that will have Lions fans falling head over feet for another running back? Will we we get the sense that he truly is the guy?

Who’s the star of this team?

Right now it’s really hard to tell. Previously it was Matthew Stafford or Kenny Golladay. Now that both of those guys are gone, who’s the guy? Whose jersey is going to be on everyone's backs out there? Who’s going to be the representative of this team to the rest of the world? Perhaps like the Swift question, it’s something we’ll have to wait till the regular season to figure out.

But maybe we’ll get a sense at camp. Right now it feels like the guy born for this role is T.J. Hockenson. He’s turned into quite a wildcard in the last year or so, and he’s already been featured in Kingsford Charcoal commercial with 49ers tight end George Kittle this offseason. Maybe he’s the next big NFL star tight end?

Are you excited to be back?

Okay, I’m getting cheesy with the last question. We all went through a tough time over the last year and half. Now that, things slowly starting to get back to normal, how excited are Lions fans to be back at camp this summer? How excited are you to see your friends out there? Maybe there’s someone you only see at Lions camp that you’ve been looking forward to hanging out with. Maybe you’re looking to find love at training camp. That’s kind of weird, but go off. Maybe you’re just looking forward to the food stands or the fanciest mobile restrooms you’ve ever seen. Whatever it may be, we’re excited to see you out there, we hope you’re excited too.