With one game under their belts, Lions coaches now have a better idea of who should be starting.  Although the preseason gives coaches a brief chance to get an idea of what the depth chart should be, it can only tell you so much.  That is why after only one game there are quite a few changes to the Lions' depth chart.

The official changes that Rod Marinelli has confirmed are that newly signed wide receiver Brandon Middleton will replace Mike Furrey as the team's kick returner, Furrey will return punts instead of Shaun McDonald, and Leigh Bodden will start instead of Travis Fisher at cornerback.  Tom Kowalski also reports that Manny Ramirez will replace Stephen Peterman at right guard and Daniel Bullocks will start at free safety instead of Gerald Alexander.

I'm all for the above-mentioned moves as changes did need to be made after how bad things went against Atlanta.  Middleton looked good returning kicks in the preseason, and let's be honest, he can't be any worse than Furrey.  Similarly, Furrey can't be any worse than McDonald at punt returner, so here's to hoping that part of the Lions' special teams also improves. 

As far as Bodden starting instead of Fisher, I wonder why this move didn't happen sooner.  Moving to the o-line, Stephen Peterman struggled at right guard last Sunday, so him getting replaced doesn't come as a big surprise.  Finally, now that Daniel Bullocks is back to 100% health, he has retaken the starting job at free safety.

One other thing to mention is that Jordon Dizon will play more than he did against Atlanta.  This is being done as he played pretty well on Sunday and this move can ease him in gradually.  Eventually the hope is that he will be a starter, so the Lions are simply taking it one step at a time right now and are increasing his playing time game-by-game.

If all of the changes previously mentioned do happen, then below is what the Lions' depth chart should look like against Green Bay on Sunday.

The Lions unsurprisingly placed tight end Dan Campbell on the injured reserve today.  Campbell has been bothered by a lingering hamstring injury that just never seemed to get better.  He missed all of the preseason and was limited in practice when he was healthy enough to return. 

In Sunday's game, Campbell re-injured his hamstring injury on the only catch he made.  As soon as the play was over Campbell limped off the field, and the feeling yesterday was that he probably was going to be out for an extended period of time.  Knowing that, the Lions decided to put him on the IR for the second straight season.

To replace Campbell on the roster, the Lions signed wide receiver Brandon Middleton.  Middleton had a solid finish to the preseason and would have been the Lions' fifth receiver if they kept that many.  They didn't, though, and decided to carry an extra tight end instead, so Middleton was cut.  However, now that Campbell is gone, the Lions will have five receivers on the active roster, meaning Middleton is back with the team.

Losing Campbell hurts, but it isn't a devastating injury by any means.  The Lions have solid depth at tight end anyways, and the addition of Middleton will hopefully help Detroit's special teams as he is likely going to return kicks this week.  Mike Furrey didn't do much of anything on kick returns against Atlanta, so hopefully Middleton will some success against Green Bay.

The Lions announced their 53-man roster today after releasing 20 players and placing 2 on the injured reserve.  The two players placed on the IR were running backs Brian Calhoun and Aveion Cason.  With both Calhoun and Cason done for the year, you would have thought that Artose Pinner would make the team, but he didn't.  That means the Lions will carry only two running backs going into the regular season.

Here is the full list of the players released today by Detroit:

QB Drew Henson
RB Artose Pinner
WR Ron Bellamy
WR Devale Ellis
WR Brandon Middleton
WR Kenneth Moore
WR John Standeford
TE Clark Harris
OT Jonathan Scott
OG Frank Davis
OG Corey Hulsey
DE Victor DeGrate
DE Rudolph Hardie
LB Darnell Bing
LB Buster Davis
LB Leon Joe
CB Dovonte Edwards
CB Kiwaukee Thomas
S Greg Blue
S LaMarcus Hicks

I'll post a full analysis of what all of this means tomorrow.

• The Lions returned to practice on Tuesday in pads on the outdoor field.  This week's practice routine is similar to one the Lions will follow during the regular season.
• According to Rod Marinelli, wide receiver Devale Ellis will miss "one to two practices" due to a hamstring injury.  Ellis is now on the bubble when it comes to making the team after at one time seeming like a lock to not be cut.  Brandon Middleton is challenging him for the 5th spot at wide receiver, and there's a good chance the Lions may only take 4 receivers anyways, meaning Ellis could be gone by the end of the month.
  
• Even though he was removed from the PUP list over a week ago, tight end Dan Campbell still has not practiced.
• Drew Stanton has gotten much better since training camp opened.  He is improving his passing abilities and is learning to use his running abilities only when necessary.
• The Browns are limping into this Saturday's preseason game at Ford Field.  Derek Anderson suffered a mild concussion on Monday against the Giants, Josh Cribbs has a high ankle sprain, Braylon Edwards will be out as he is still not healthy enough to play after being cleated by a teammate during practice, and former Lion Shaun Rogers missed Monday's game due to soreness in various places.
• Every year this is usually the time when the Kool-Aid is flowing in Lions country.  There is always a great amount of optimism during the summer as all Lions fans are hopeful that this will finally be the year where things are turned around.  Sadly, that year hasn't come yet, but many believe 2008 will bring the Lions a turnaround that at least gets them a record of 8-8.
  
  Message boards and even this site are filled with optimism from some, but I don't think anyone is as drunk on Kool-Aid as Mike O'Hara.  He not only believes the Lions will win 9 games, but he also thinks they could win more.
  

  When the 2008 schedule was released, I wrote the Lions could win nine games. It wasn't a prediction, just a somewhat humorous way of showing how a 9-7 season was possible.
  
  From what I've seen so far, I was wrong. The Lions will win nine games, maybe more. They're super fast on defense, they will build a running game, protect the quarterback and have talent at wide receiver. I say 9-7 is the standard. Whether that earns a playoff spot remains to be seen, but this team will not fall apart, unless shredded by injuries.

  After a couple preseason games I can say that the team looks like they're improving, but a preseason game can only tell me so much.  Hell, a regular season game can only tell me so much.  Remember, after 8 games last year the Lions were 6-2 and nearly every single Lions fan was drinking the Kool-Aid.  I am included in that category as even I began uttering the "p" word (playoffs). 
  
  We all bought into the Lions and in the end were only setting ourselves up for disappointment.  This year if they start 6-2 again, I will wait until the end of the season to pick up the glass of Honolulu Blue-flavored Kool-Aid.  And at the very least, if they win 9 games, I'll be too shocked to be able to drink anything anyways.

• Before getting into last night's game, it should be noted that training camp is officially over.  The Lions are off today and will start having only one practice a day when they return to Allen Park.
• Calvin Johnson is a beast.  He towered over Leon Hall to make a catch to start the game and then got into the endzone by outrunning the Bengals' secondary later on.  I'm starting to realize why Roy Williams picked Johnson for his fantasy team.
• Through two preseason games, Jon Kitna's quarterback rating is a perfect 158.3.  He has only thrown one incompletion so far this preseason (it was against the Giants) and has 2 touchdowns to go along with 182 yards.  The best pair of stats is that he has 0 interceptions and hasn't been sacked yet, either.
• Drew Stanton definitely played better than Dan Orlovsky.  Stanton made a great TD pass and then executed a perfect naked bootleg that also resulted in a TD.  Orlovsky didn't play awful, but he certainly could have done better.  Many of his passes were thrown right into coverage, and he just couldn't catch a break when he tried to run a bootleg.  All three times (that I remember) Orlovsky ran a bootleg there was a defender immediately in his face.  He did a nice job of throwing the ball away, at least, as he didn't get a single intentional grounding penalty.
• Punter Nick Harris has always been an asset for the Lions, and last night he showed us why he is so important.  One of his punts actually rolled out of bounds at the 1-yard line, leaving the Bengals with little room to work with.  Although the punt was outstanding, the defense did let Cincinnati go 99 yards down the field to score a touchdown.  Earlier in the game, Harris had a punt downed at the 2-yard line by Mike Furrey, but Cincy got to start on their own 20 due to Furrey getting a penalty for being the first player to touch the ball after stepping out of bounds.
• Rookies Kevin Smith and Jerome Felton started last night.  Smith is already looking like the Lions' best running back, and Felton stepped in for an injured Jon Bradley, who didn't play at all against the Bengals.  I guess that means I'll have to revise my next roster prediction as it appears Felton will make the team as the second FB.
• Tatum Bell has really been disappointing so far this preseason.  He hasn't looked all that impressive, and honestly, Artose Pinner has outperformed him.  I would be surprised if Bell ended up getting cut, but then again, when others are playing better than you, your roster spot shouldn't be locked up.
• The running game as a whole still isn't coming off as something that will be a strength this season, but it was much better against the Bengals.  Rather than getting stuffed for only a short gain like they did against the Giants, the Lions did move the ball on the ground at some points in last night's game.  Kevin Smith and Artose Pinner played well, and as I said, Tatum Bell still didn't look all that good.  Brian Calhoun didn't do horrible, but he did put the ball on the ground, although Dan Orlovsky did recover the fumble.
• Rookie Gosder Cherilus played both right and left tackle against the Bengals.
• Wide receiver Ron Bellamy got a concussion during the game.
• Although it was assumed that Devale Ellis would be the Lions' 5th wide receiver if they take that many on the 53-man roster, he is getting challenged by Brandon Middleton.  Middleton had a 50-yard TD reception against Cincinnati and tried returning a kickoff.  The very fact that he was back there means that he could take Ellis' spot on the roster as he has versatility.  I don't think it will happen, but a lot could change in the next couple of weeks.
• Speaking of wide receivers, John Standeford really played well.  He is a big long shot to make the team, but he is making his case on the field.
• Chad Johnson strained his left shoulder when Brian Kelly ripped the ball out of his hands for an interception.  Johnson left the game and went into the locker room to get x-rays and an MRI (both turned out to be negative).